Ricardo Liaño Gil, Spanish from Barcelona, swimmer, cliff diver, boxer, skier, film stunt, dancer, journalist and entertainment and sport events producer, was born in La Habana in March the 20th, 1921.

By the age of 16 he entered the republican forces to fight against the Franco army, following his sister’s example, the famous anarchist Conchita Liaño. By the age of 18 he returned from exile and became a Franco follower. By the age of 20 he tried to swim across the Gibraltar Strait. Although he didn’t make it, this helped him get a passport to emigrate to France, where his brother, the famous Pedro de Córdoba, seen as the critics as the “Picasso of dancing”, lived.

In Paris, he met Olivia Martínez, a 16 year old dancer whom he married and turned into a worldwide known artist: “La Greca”. They took around the world for 15 years a show in which La Greca danced, sang, played the guitar and fought bulls. They performed in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, places where Ricardo Liaño established bonds with important celebrities from all over the world.

Ricardo used these contacts to carry on parallel activities, like correspondant for press agencies, international artists’ management and entertainment productions. While La Greca performed whole seasons in Tokyo, Buenos Aires or Mexico City, Ricardo traveled around the world taking care of his countless business, leading a luxurious and unaffordable life style, which sooner or later would fall.

La Greca fell in love with the guitar player working on her show. She asked Ricardo for divorce and he, out of spite, told her to stick the savings and all they had where she thought they would best fit. By the age of 48 Ricardo Liaño returned to Spain without a penny in his pockets, to live in his mother’s house. He had to start all over again.

In 1971, Ricardo Liaño patents the “VITAFOR Magnetic Cross”, a jewel with healing properties that got him the attack of the Spanish Catholic Church for using a religious icon with commercial purposes. However, the Magnetic Cross did have supernatural powers and turned Ricardo Liaño into a millionaire “in dollars” for the first time in his life. Liaño traveled to America to spread the miracle, but, unfortunately, the person he left in charge of the business in Spain betrayed him and took over it. Once again, Ricardo was left without a penny.

Then Ricardo focused his efforts in becoming an important box manager. That is how he got a huge television contract in Chile for the production of international boxing shows, which allowed him, for the second time in his life, to become a millionaire “in dollars”. He even made, for the first time in history, a Chilean become world champion in his weight; an also ephemeral success, since the fight was deprived and the title cancelled. The crash was definite when the moment the payment of the important television contract was to be made the dollar in Chile suffered an historic devaluation. Ricardo Liaño was forced to leave the country to hide from important local and international creditors.

In 1985 Ricardo Liaño definitively returns to Chile. In his mind he had the immovable project of becoming, for a third time in his life, a millionaire “in dollars”. The movie, “A Man Aside” narrates the final phase of this attempt.

Ricardo Liaño died on February 11th, 2004.

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