Friday, 10 September 2010

Searches: Jose Texidor Belgique & m texidor 1890

I have been looking at the new Statistics pages for this blog on blogspot...  And I think it is useful to look at the largest two searches that people are using to find this website...

Does this blog answer the two top searches in the Statistics?


The top search in the last month is:  jose texidor belgique

Jose Maria Texidor y Catasus... was my grandfather's elder brother.  After or before the Spanish Civil War broke out, Jose had moved to Paris, where he had enrolled at the Art Academy.  He later moved to Belgium. (See my previous post for some more details.)

During his late teenage years, Jose Texidor, together with his brothers and friends, formed the Moto Club de Barcelona, in which they raced motorbikes, side-cars and cars.  Jose played tennis along with his brothers and sisters.  Their names can be found in many Spanish sports newspapers between 1914 and 1929.

Jose was a Bugatti driver for Spain (Bugatti T35B) in the Penya Rhin Grand Prix in 1933 in Barcelona - he finished 7th having completed 36 laps.  This places him in Barcelona in 1933 just before the Civil War.  He was married and had two daughters.  His marriage broke up and he left Spain for France.

On http://wsrp.wz.cz/prewar1932.html he is listed as driving for Alfa Romeo (car: RLTF) under the name Jean Marie Texidor.  Coming in at 10th place in the Belgian GP in July 1932 24hrs SPA.

Jose may have taken part in about 5 or 6 GP races between 1932 and 1934.

I have also been told that he taught tennis to the Belgian Royal Family, whilst he was living in Belgium...

He is not to be confused (or is he?) with his contemporary, Jose 'Kamalof' Texidor... the boxer... whose fight for the Spanish heavyweight Championship in 1924 had to be fought in Paris.  [Either because his wife was expecting a baby there, or because he had dodged the military draft and would have been arrested if he returned to Spain.]   If anyone knows the second surname of Kamalof, I'd like to know...


The number two search this last month was for: m texidor 1890

The most likely answer to this search is Modesto Texidor y Torres, whose was actively painting landscapes and portraits of the aristocracy in Spain at that time.

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