Stories and Narrative: Ovacion Sports Magazine

Ovacion Sports Magazine

The one that people like

Written by Raúl Behr

The most important sports magazine of the seventies and eighties let us remember the greatest editorial effort of 'Pocho Rospigliosi, which was valid for three decades. On May 2, 1973, the kiosks of Lima were decorated in white and red. Three days earlier, Peru had taken a vital step towards what seemed like a safe qualification for the World Cup in Germany: they had defeated Chile 2-0 with a double from 'Cholo' Hugo Sotil. As is known, the end of this story was not happy. But, in parallel, there was a crucial event for the Peruvian sports press: that May 2, 1973, in the midst of that effervescence, Ovación magazine was born.

The leadership of Pocho

At that time, Alfonso 'Pocho' Rospigliosi was already highlighted as the most multifaceted sports journalist in the country. He had been head of sports for the newspaper La Crónica for more than two decades (a position he left with the expropriation of the newspapers in 1974) and his Ovación program on Radio El Sol had been in effect for nine years. In 1973, 'Pocho' undertook his most daring editorial adventure: with the same name as the radio program (an already established brand), he founded the magazine Ovación. The format, in its first year, was very large and most of its pages were in color. It was a luxury for the time. Then economic reality set in: the format was reduced and color photos were limited to special occasions.

The quality of the paper was variable: sometimes bond paper was used, sometimes newsprint. He usually went out on Tuesdays. Its frequency was weekly until the 32nd edition (December 1973). Then, he took to the streets every two weeks, although sometimes three could delay his appearance

The team

'Pocho' was director and guide of the magazine from its foundation until its end. His team was made up of the closest colleagues and disciples he had in his career; those who worked on the radio also worked for the magazine (especially when they were sent to cover abroad). The postón of the first number had Ramiro Berríos as chief editor. As editors, Lucho Garro, Conrado Falco, Luis Izusqui, 'Koko' Cárdenas, Manuel Doria, Enrique Roel, Lucho Ossio, Luis Valdez, Carlos Enciso (who signed under the pseudonym "Carlos Soza") and Mario Grau (to quote those of greater validity next to 'Pocho'). The head of photography was Alfonso Ego Aguirre, sometimes seconded by Raúl Sagástegu . As editors

Miguel Portanova and Litman Gallo entered shortly after; later, among the young litter, we could mention Elejalder Godos, who was the only one who signed a note in the last edition of the magazine, in 1987. It should be noted that this list of editors was somewhat intermittent, as some left and returned and others, like Falco, died in that period (1973-1987).

Ovación also had outstanding foreign collaborators. One was the famous Chilean journalist Renato Gonzales, 'Mister Huifa'. Another was the remembered Emilio Lafferanderie 'El Veco', even when he lived in Montevideo: 'El Veco' wrote his first note in the second issue of the magazine, about Juan Joya. The magazine also welcomed him when he came to live in Peru, in 1982, and allowed him to write a chronicle about the classic of August 29, 1982, with an Alliance victory by 0-1. The pen of the 'Veco' stood out, because the writing of the magazine was, in reality, not very neat. Not because of the orality traits of 'Pocho' himself, but because of the serious errors of syntax and grammar; did not seem to have a copyeditor. 'Micky' Rospigliosi, son of 'Pocho', began writing notes at the age of thirteen: the writing of those notes corresponded to a teenager, but they did not seem to have a later editing job. The richness of the texts was not, in short, the greatest value of Ovación.

The sections

The magazine hosted some sections that 'Pocho' had headed in La Crónica: La Coctelera, that mix of various data that became famous in the newspaper, had a prominent place in the magazine. A very similar section was gossiping...: it was a double page where casual encounters of 'Pocho' with various sports personalities (in the stadium, at the Hilton chicken shops or in a cafe) were reviewed and the talk was reproduced. It could be comments about a match, criticism of a leader, praise of a footballer or some covert 'rage' against an undesirable colleague. It is worth highlighting the marketing spirit of 'Pocho', who, as in his radio, managed to get his sections to have a sponsor. Thus, the photo of the Goal of the Date was always published on one page; Consul, whose logo appeared on the side, while Ceras Susy did

the same with the Souvenir Photo

, for example, sponsored this section. This last section included very old photos, thanks to the extensive graphic material that 'Pocho' kept. The central or back cover posters with the Decentralized teams, always in color and couché paper, were very prominent. His publication was plural, since it included all the teams in the tournament. Of those posters are the vast majority of photos of alignments that circulate on the web today. Regarding statistical work, Ovación stood out for having complete records of all the games during the first two years (73 and 74). Later, he only published one or the other sporadically.

The toppings

The magazine's international coverage was notable; it was greater, even, than any publication could undertake in these times. 'Pocho' was favored by working in various media, including television and radio, which multiplied his coverage. Ovation was in all the World Cups developed during its validity: Germany 74, Argentina 78, Spain 82 and Mexico 86; also, in all the Olympics (Montreal 76, Moscow 80 and Los Angeles 84). He covered almost everything with his own material. Likewise, he carried out extensive coverage of Peruvian soccer players abroad: he was with Teófilo Cubillas in Switzerland, Portugal and the United States, with Hugo Sotil in Barcelona, with Gerónimo Barbadillo and Julio César Uribe in Italy, in addition to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and others. Countries.

Curiosities

A particularity of the magazine was its approach, more notable for collecting than for analyzing: as its frequency was every two weeks, it agglomerated events. Spanning two weekends of football, it also included match notes a week late, without necessarily giving them context. One could observe entire chronicles, for example, of the penultimate and the last game of the 'U', but in scattered notes, not linked between the two. One problem with the magazine is that many editions were badly dated and others were not numbered; this represents a difficulty for the search that collectors undertake. As for the covers, 'Pocho' was plural with all sports: its front page not only included soccer players and teams, but also other disciplines such as basketball, volleyball, athletics and motorsports. He also took advantage of them for self-promotion, such as when 'Pocho' himself appeared on the cover of the April 3, 1984 edition, after winning the Circe award. Per edition, between two and three opinion columns of 'Pocho' could appear, despite the fact that, editorially, he never stood out for being critical; rather, it promoted the spectacle of football. However, he did have a grudge against some characters: he was relentless in his criticism of coach José Chiarella, both when he was in charge of the national team (1979) and Sporting Cristal (1984), due to the poor relationship that this DT had with the players 'consecrated ', such as Cubillas, Chumpitaz, among others. He also had a controversy with the magazine Caretas before Peru-Colombia in 1981, defending the Argentine coach of the 'coffee growers', Carlos Salvador Bilardo, from the criticism of the latter. Per edition, between two and three opinion columns of 'Pocho' could appear, despite the fact that, editorially, he never stood out for being critical; rather, it promoted the spectacle of football. However, he did have a grudge against some characters: he was relentless in his criticism of coach José Chiarella, both when he was in charge of the national team (1979) and Sporting Cristal (1984), due to the poor relationship that this DT had with the players 'consecrated ', such as Cubillas, Chumpitaz, among others. He also had a controversy with the magazine Caretas before Peru-Colombia in 1981, defending the Argentine coach of the 'coffee growers', Carlos Salvador Bilardo, from the criticism of the latter. A curious presence in the magazine was Ovación's Computer, the “journalistic boom of 1984”. It was intended to be the statistical archive of the company; 'Micky' Rospigliosi was designated as “Head of the Computer” (sic)

The end

Why did Ovation disappear? The obvious reason is the terrible economic crisis in the country. But there was another one and it had nothing to do with the health of 'Pocho' (which only deteriorated at the beginning of 1988, dying in October). In the middle of 1986, 'Pocho' had left El Comercio, which had opted for a renewal, with the birth of Total Sport. He left hurt and returned to La Crónica, where he was also unable to consolidate a project. At the beginning of 1987, he received an offer from the newspaper El Nacional to take over as head of sports and he decided to throw all the bullets at that project, as a way to get rid of the thorn; the sports supplement of said newspaper was renamed La Revista de Pocho. In this context, on January 29, 1987, the 343rd edition of Ovación, the last of the magazine, went on sale. The weekly had not lost quality, although its greatest sin was, perhaps, not leaving its structures and renewing itself. The last edition had Franco Enrique Navarro, wearing an Independiente de Avellaneda shirt, on the cover. Micky relaunched Ovación as a newspaper in 1994. But he also did it as a magazine, although it only lasted one issue: it was published on April 16, 1996, with Jorge 'Loverita' Ramírez on the cover after Alianza Lima's 6-0 win over San Agustín for the Decentralized. The magazine came out on thick couché paper and in full color, and curiously it was numbered as edition 577; it is likely that they simply calculated the number of weeks since January 1987, as if publication had never been interrupted. In that number, Micky appeared as director, José Luis Rospigliosi as managing director and the late 'Pocho' as founder. He highlighted an interview by Rolly Cadillo with the former Peruvian president of the CSF, Teófilo 'Lito' Salinas; other editors listed were Raúl Carrasco, Carlos Cano and Álex Chacón. As special collaborators, the Argentine Guillermo Giacosa and Eloy Jáuregui were mentioned. But the fourteen years of Ovación, between 1973 and 1987, were unique. The end of the magazine was also the break of a substantial, cumulative, perhaps naive and messy journalistic style, with the virtues and defects that this implies; a style that, despite pursuing the philosophy of “what people like”, never submitted to cheap mercantilism. Because 'Pocho' knew how to take care of Ovación's identity, which was, finally, his.

Photographic composition: Roberto Gando / DeChalaca.com Photos: Ovación magazine

With affection, Ruben