Joan Marí Muñoz, Warships, 1964-5 © Joan Marí Muñoz 

 

p. 229 in Eivissa-Ibiza: Island Out of Time / La isla de antaño (Barbary Press, 2005) 

Image and text (re)published in Pacha Magazine no. 26, August 2009, p. 68

The four destroyers in this rare shot, plus another not visible here, formed a small flotilla based in Cartagena and nicknamed Los Cinco Latinos after a popular Argentine vocal/instrumental group, the South American answer to the Platters. These sleek vessels, regarded as among the best equipped in the Spanish navy, were actually US-built Fletcher-class destroyers, 175 of which came into commission between 1942 and 1944 following the attack on Pearl Harbor (December 1941). Spain received the ‘Latinos’ on permanent loan thanks to the 1953 Pact of Madrid, a mutual defence agreement which put an end to the country’s post-war isolation and opened the door to international tourism. The four ships were given brand new names in Barcelona between 1957 and 1960: (left to right) Almirante Valdés (D23, formerly USS Converse), Alcalá Galiano (D24, USS Jarvis), Lepanto (D21, USS Capps) and Jorge Juan (D25, USS McGowan. The missing ‘Latino’ is Almirante Ferrándiz, D22, USS Taylor). After several days of rest and recuperation, the destroyers continued manoeuvres in local waters. Thanks to Capt. Mariano Juan Ferragut for identifying the vessels (he was a lieutenant on the Lepanto) and to photographer Joan ‘Mureno’ Marí, whose unique shop at Vara de Rey no. 5 has some fine nautical memorabilia.  (Martin Davies)