LET’S GO DIVING by Bill Barada, in Spanish

[luis]

I am looking of a copy of the Spanish translation of “LET’S GO DIVING” by Bill Barada.

I don’t remember the name of the book after it was translated into Spanish (I remember the name wasn’t just a literal translation), so if anyone knows the name that would give me a starting point in my search.

The picture on the cover was also different from the original English version, but I can’t remember what it looked like exactly either. I do remember the rest was just a direct translation with the same drawings and pictures.

It was the first diving book I read in the late 60’s. A few years before I actually got certified.


I do have a copy of the “New Revised Edition” January 1970, in English. I got the English copy in the 1970’s, but I don’t know what ever happened to my original Spanish copy.

Thanks for any information or help locating a copy.

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["luis"]

"I am looking of a copy of the Spanish translation of “LET’S GO DIVING” by Bill Barada.

I don’t remember the name of the book after it was translated into Spanish (I remember the name wasn’t just a literal translation), so if anyone knows the name that would give me a starting point in my search."

FRONT COVER;

EL BUCEO CON "AQUA LUNG" (((ie Diving with the Aqua Lung))))
por Bill Barada
COMPENDIO DE INSTRUCCIONES PARA EL BUCEO AUTONOMO CON MAS DE 75 DIBUJOS

(BLUE PRINTING AND PICTURE ON WHITE BACKGROUND)

INSIDE FRONT COVER;
...
VERSION ESPANOLA POR JOSE ALVAREZ dE MANZANOS
REDACTOR dE PESCA y MARINA
...
Copyright 1965
...
Catalog No 7804-10

...
precio $1.25 US



"The picture on the cover was also different from the original English version, but I can’t remember what it looked like exactly either."

It is the same blue cover that was used on the 1962 edition of the US Diver's "Let's go diving." A young girl in the surf at the Wedge with her hand in the air as if to be waving to some one. ( she was not a diver but a surfer -- she was discovered walking down the beach with a surf board on her head during a product shoot. She was approached to be a model for US Divers--she accepted on the spot and the rest is history. Sorry I can't recall her name)

FYI and please bear in mind there were five different editions of "Lets Go diving" published by US Divers during the time Bill "Bac a ruda" Barada was employed as their PR person. Each had a different cover and different content in order to remain a breast of the ever changing diving technology. The one you have is one of the last ones published and is a great starting point for developing a collection however it is certainly not representative of the entire five "volume" collection



"I Thanks for any information or help locating a copy.[/quote]"

This "book" may be very difficult to locate since items such as this are considered epherma and often tossed by the book sellers. It was a company product and did not carry a LCC or ISBN number.

I would suggest that you may want to contact various well established dive shops in the latin countries who just may have a spare copy. There were several in Mexico at that time who are still in business, "Deportes del Tigres" in Vera Cruz and several whose names I have long frogotten in Mexico DF.

Unfortunately the export manager of US divers during that time, and the person responsible for it's being, John Marrtinez retired from US Divers and has passed on to the big reef in the sky.

You may also want to concurently search for Spanish versions of the US Diver's catalog. They were first printed in 1960 in wonderful Black and White.

Hope that this bit of information helps with your search.

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[luis]

Thanks Sam

I knew I could count on you for that information.

All I could remember was the blue cover, but reading the title (and the description following the title) it brings great memories.

I suspected that it will be hard to impossible to locate a copy, but I if I don’t try I will never know.

Now that I know the name and a better description at least I can try to search for it.
I think I may even post a request for it on Scubaboard.com just to reach a bigger audience. It is unlikely that I will get any positive response, but it is worth a try.

I tried to see if "Deportes del Tigres" in Vera Cruz has a web site, but no luck.
I will continue looking.

[luis]

( she was not a diver but a surfer -- she was discovered walking down the beach with a surf board on her head during a product shoot. She was approached to be a model for US Divers--she accepted on the spot and the rest is history. Sorry I can't recall her name)


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I am so disappointed...lol


Thanks again

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"...I tried to see if "Deportes del Tigres" in Vera Cruz has a web site, but no luck.
I will continue looking..."

Deportes del Tigres just may be out of business. In the 1950s and 1960s, my last contact with them, they were a huge multi sport store catering to all activities. Diving was becoming very popular in that era, especially since the Mexican Naval Academy was a few miles south at Alvarado and they were offfering diving as an academic activity and the Mexican Navy was becoming or had become involved in military diving. In addition aquatics activties was becoming increasingly popular since Abalono (?) had won the first and only gold medal for swimming in the olympics for Mexico.

During that era there were also several huge dive shops in Mexico DF but their names escapes me at this time.

John Martinez was charged with estabishing a dealer net work through out Latin America, Mexico, Central and South America. Mexico was not a problem, but he met considerable resistance from the rest of the countries, as he explained, do to the possibility of using SCUBA as a military weapon for revolutionary actities. And the banana republics certainly like their revolutions in the 1940 and 1950s.

Therefore I would seriously doubt if you would have sucess in locating a copy in CA or SA. But "never say never," so give it a try.

I note that you posted on the other web site and had only one almost valid response. Why don't you post that you have the answer and direct the interested parties to VDH and this thread?

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