Blanca Álvarez Mantilla facts for kids

Blanca Álvarez Mantilla (born November 18, 1931, in Madrid, Spain – died July 5, 2000, in Madrid) was an important Spanish journalist. She is best known for being one of the first and most important TV presenters in Spain. She helped shape early television in her country.

Blanca Álvarez Mantilla's Life and Career

Early Work and Journalism School

From 1950 to 1955, Blanca worked for magazines made for young people, like Threshold and Alba. She went to Journalism School in 1956. While studying, she also wrote for newspapers such as Pueblo and Madrid in 1957 and 1958.

Joining Televisión Española (TVE)

Blanca joined Televisión Española (TVE), Spain's main TV channel, on February 10, 1957. From 1958 to 1970, she was a host and also worked as an editor for the news. She held many important jobs behind the scenes too. She was in charge of programs and documentation. She also edited the "Tele-Radio" magazine from 1958 to 1960.

Leading Children's Programs

Blanca was the head of Children's Programs at TVE at different times between 1970 and 1985. She also worked as an executive producer for cultural shows until 1992. Under her leadership, TVE created and showed many popular programs for kids and teens. These included news, theater, literature, and sports shows.

She also helped bring famous international shows to Spain. Some of these were "Sesame Street", "Pippi Longstocking", "The Fraguel", and "The Storyteller". She also brought European animated short films and various drama series.

Work in Teaching and Radio

Between 1975 and 1977, Blanca taught journalistic writing at the School of Information Sciences. In the 1970s, she also taught about programming at the Institute of Broadcasting. Through her teaching and daily work at TVE, she helped train many TV programmers. In the 1980s, Blanca also worked on radio shows, like "A 120".

As a TV Presenter

Blanca was a familiar face on TV. She presented several shows, including the daily TVE newscast "Telediario" from 1958 to 1970. She also hosted "Weekend" (1963–1964) and "Standard of Living" (1968–1970). In 1963, she won the Gold Antenna award for her excellent work.

Later Career and Legacy

Blanca was a co-founder of the Spanish Academy of Sciences and Television Arts. She was a board member there until she passed away. Her work helped shape television in Spain for many years.

Blanca Álvarez Mantilla's Family Life

Blanca was a mother to seven children. Six of her children grew up to work in film, advertising, and television, following in her footsteps in the media world.

Shows Blanca Álvarez Mantilla Presented

• "Telediario" (1957–1970)
• "Towards Fame" (1957)
• "Appointment with Music" (1957–1958)
• "Gossip Outdoor" (1957–1958)
• "New Faces" (1957–1958)
• "Questions to Space" (1958)
• "Weekend" (1963–1964)
• "Consult Your Doctor" (1968)
• "Standard of Living" (1968–1970)

See also

In Spanish: Blanca Álvarez Mantilla para niños