“Luis Miguel played in my house as a youngster”

His story is well worth a documentary series on any television platform.. Beauty queen in Argentina in 1964, she later won the title of Miss Latin America, becoming the most spectacular woman of the moment. The crown opened many doors for her and it was on one of her countless trips where she met her husband, Enrique Corcuera, the inventor of paddle tennis, in Mexico. With Viviana Corcuera we talk about those golden years of the international jet set and the present between Mexico and SpainAt eighty years old, we meet in an elegant apartment in Madrid where she has stayed for almost three months. While I interview her, one of her daughters is preparing to receive a group of friends for lunch. The day before they have been seeing Luis Miguel, a good friend of the family with whom Viviana has spent afternoons playing paddle tennis at her house in Acapulco. Beautiful and with enviable bones, The ‘Queen of Acapulco’ is still a top woman. That’s how it feels.

What is your connection with Spain?

VC: I was invited by my children to spend some time there. We all live in Mexico but I have lots of friends here and that’s why we spend a few weeks in Madrid every year, a city that fascinates me and that is not only beautiful but also super safe. As Agustín Lara used to say, “when you come back to Madrid, my darling…” He fell in love with Madrid and I feel the same way.

When did you first discover Spain?

VC: I got married in 1969 and we spent our honeymoon at the Ritz Hotel in Madrid because my husband had many relatives and friends there. Since then I have been captivated by the city’s atmosphere. I am of Italian origin but I was born in Argentina and then married a Mexican.

It has a textbook story.

VC: I was Miss Argentina and Miss Latin America between 1964 and 1968. I came fourth in Miss Universe and second in Queen of the Pacific in Australia. Returning from that pageant, I traveled with some friends of my parents to Mexico. I remember that we stayed at the Hilton Hotel and, as they wanted to cheer me up, they found some friends. One of them was Enrique Corcuera, whom they invited to dinner and listen to Los Panchos. From that night on, we were inseparable. He introduced me to all his family and friends. It was a very nice story.

Mexican men have a reputation for being jealous.

VC: My husband, no. He was great. He had an international culture because he had studied in Europe and he was very attractive. He was 55 compared to my 22 years old but I fell madly in love with him. I remember that we played tennis non-stop and anything that had rackets. He loved that and even more that I enjoyed it.

And that’s where padel came from…

VC: I was always thinking about how to make a court where the tennis balls wouldn’t go out. At the sugar mill we had in Mexico, I called a specialist to design the idea I had of closing our court with walls. At that time I was very good friends with Prince Alfonso de Hohenlohe (his mother was Mexican) and it was one afternoon in our house in Acapulco when we painted the lines of the court together. And that’s how it all started. Super fun. My husband had studied in England and always remembered those horrible, freezing winters when he had to go out to get the ball and since then he dreamed of an enclosed court. That’s how it all started.

At what point did you realize that you had just invented padel?

VC: In 1969 we put up all the cement walls and the wire fence on top of that. It was improved with the friends who visited us, like Manolo Santana, who came a lot. Or Henry Kissinger, who spent his holidays in Acapulco when he was Secretary of State, and you don’t know how many anecdotes he told us about his trips. He got up very early, around 8 in the morning, and everyone had to get up with huge hangovers because they had been partying, but their youth allowed them to bear it and they wanted to listen to Kissinger. My house was a meeting place for ambassadors and diplomats. But it was when the Argentines came and brought some wooden rackets with holes for Enrique to try out that everything fell into place. We improved them over the years and today we have a great company, COPA (Corcuera padel) that makes the best rackets in the world.

We agreed that Acapulco was the origin of everything.

VC: That’s where the first track came from. The second one was created by Manuel Arango, Plácido’s brother, and his was blue. It still exists. Mine doesn’t because I sold that house when my husband died and the new owners tore it down because they weren’t sportsmen.

But was her husband aware of what he had done?

VC: Yes. He experienced it a lot during his travels around Argentina and Latin America. He died in 1999 but the current trend in padel is truly incredible. I still play with my grandchildren and I love it.

In Spain we had a Prime Minister, José María Aznar, who was addicted to padel.

VC: I know that they built a court for him in the Moncloa palace, but the truth is that it was Santana who brought him to Spain. When he came to Acapulco, he loved to play and he told us that he was going to build two courts in the Marbella club and he invited us to the annual awards ceremony for the tournaments. There are images of Prince Felipe, of Julio Iglesias’ children playing… How much fun we had. Our best friends were the Soto Domecq family who were from Sotogrande and we used to spend two months in Europe with them. When his daughter and father died, we returned to Marbella with the Von Pantz barons. They had a beautiful castle in Marbella and we played golf every afternoon.

He has been lucky enough to get to know the most elegant part of Marbella.

VC: We traveled to Marbella for twenty years until my husband passed away. We had a great time. Today my life is my family. I have three children, my grandchildren and soon I hope to enjoy my great-grandchildren. In our new house in Acapulco we made another court and we all play.

Well, the Mexican singer Luis Miguel seems to be putting down many roots in Spain because of his love with Paloma Cuevas.

VC: Luis Miguel used to play paddle tennis at my house in Acapulco when he was young. I have photos of him and he was adorable. You can’t imagine how happy I am to know that he has found a woman like Paloma Cuevas who makes him so happy. He is the greatest genius of the moment. He has such a beautiful and modulated voice that I confess I am fascinated by it. We owe his transformation to Paloma because he has found the woman of his life.

And you never wanted to rebuild your life?

VC: No. I’m fine alone without a partner.

And what is her secret to remaining a true queen?

VC: I have never stopped playing sports. My body is flexible and used to being active. I play golf, paddle tennis, tennis. And I love it. Sport is what gives you the agility to live.

Spain has become fashionable among Mexicans who settle in our country.

VC: In Mexico we have a serious problem with insecurity. Mexicans look to Spain and Madrid is the safest city I have ever known. The other day I left a bag in the pharmacy and they called me to give it to me. That is called honesty and honest people are wonderful, so I congratulate the Spanish.

What is your paradise today?

VC: Of course Acapulco.

And your indelible memory?

VC: The birth of my three children. I remember those days perfectly. My children are the best thing I have in my life and I am satisfied with the education I have given them because they are honest, friendly and adorable people.

Does family still come first?

VC: Without family there is nothing. It is the first thing of all. My daughter is doing the same with my grandchildren, encouraging everyone to unite.

How is the summer going?

VC: It’s over because I’m returning to Mexico and there it’s always summer. They have a great climate but I don’t deny my Argentine origins, where I travel every year to see my people.

What do you think of your president Miley?

VC: I love it. I hope he can achieve all his goals. A man with that preparation only comes along once in a century and my wish is that he can improve the country economically.