gatabella: “The plane arrived and Ava Gardner appeared. She started descending the steps, luminous a
gatabella: “The plane arrived and Ava Gardner appeared. She started descending the steps, luminous as a day. I remember her, fixed on my retina and in my feelings, wearing a suit jacket, a blouse and a natural silk scarf around her neck. She had a coat hanging on her right hand. I came to her and with the classic “Welcome to Spain” gave her a flower bouquet. It was at that moment that she lingered her beautiful emerald green eyes on me, smiling enchantingly. Something immediately happened. Something impossible to explain. It was as if lots of fascinating flashes saturated everything and separated us from the rest of the world. I saw her radiant again that same night. At the hotel Ritz Madrid salon. The National Radio of Spain organized an informal reception in Ava’s honor, splendid in her black moire dress, neckline covered with tulle. Ava was amazing during the whole night. It was her first time in Spain and everything surprised her. All the new things always have an attraction that goes away as one is getting used to them and the extraordinary becomes habitual. “ - Mario Cabre, toreador and Ava’s co-star in Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, filmed in Spain in spring of 1950 -- source link