Telmo Aldaz de la Quadra-Salcedo (born 1970) is a Spanish globetrotter, sailor, media personality and politician. He is best known as host and participant of various TV reality shows and series of geography-related documentary programs, in which he appears as bushcraft expert, adventurer and traveller. Earlier he took part in re-enactments of historical Hispanic naval voyages. He is also organizer and manager of an annual education project España Rumbo al Sur, focused on Africa and intended for the youth. As a politician he supports the Traditionalist cause. From 2018 to 2020 he headed the Acción Social section of Comunión Tradicionalista Carlista; from 2020 to 2022 he presided over the CTC executive, Junta Nacional.
Family and youth
The Aldaz family is of Basque origin,oldest known references to the Aldaz family are related to the Navarrese village of Izurdiaga, Alberto García Carraffa, Arturo García Carraffa, El solar vasco navarro, Pamplona 1996, pp. 235-236 ennobled since the 17th century;Aldaz entry, [in:] Heraldry Institute service, available here it got very branched, especially in the Pamplona county. Telmo's grandfather Cecilio Aldaz Urricelqui (1887–1944) was born to a petty bourgeoisie family; following education in the Pamplonese Escuela de Artes y Oficiosfor 1895 see La Lealtad Navarra 26.06.95, available here, for 1907 see El Eco de Navarra 21.06.07, available here he worked in the La Agrícola bank.Josu Chueca Intxusta, El nacionalismo vasco en Navarra (1931-1936), Vitoria 1999, ISBN 9788483731437, p. 420 His son Cecilio Aldaz ElsoCecilio Aldaz Elso entry, [in:] Geni genealogical service, available here (1913–1987)Cecilio Aldaz (1913-1987) entry, [in:] Sysoon service, available here worked as teacherExilio español folder, [in:] Memórica Mexico service, available here, p. 168 and was a locally recognized sportsman.e.g. in 1933 he was noted as taking part in swimming competition, Diario de Navarra 13.6.33 Though a Republican and left-winger,in 1934 a Navarrese section of Asociación Católica de Padres de Familia gathered information on teachers in public schools in terms of their ideological and political preferences. Though Cecilio Aldaz was classified as “n/a” against religiosity, morality and press rubrics, he was defined as “leftist/republican” in terms of his political preferences, María Reyes Berruezo Albéniz, Juan José Casanova Landivar, Francisco Javier Ema Fernández, Francisco Soto Alfaro, Religiosidad, moralidad, prensa y filiación. La frontera del magisterio navarro, agosto de 1936, [in:] Príncipe de Viana 80/273 (2019), p. 438 according to his son he volunteered to requeté;at least this is the claim of his son; Telmo Aldaz de la Quadra-Salcedo apuesta por la Tradición Católica frente al timo de la modernidad, [in:] Ahora Información service 25.01.21, available here he later deserted and joined the Republican guerilla unit, active in 1937–1938 as Batallón de Montaña Pirenaico.Cecilio and his twin brother Juan Aldaz Elso are referred to as “brothers Aldaz”, who served in a guerilla unit named “Batallón Alpino”, "Batalló de Muntanya Basc-Catalá" or "Batallón de Montaña Pirenaico". They were entrusted with procuring arms in France, Francisco Manuel Vargas Alonso, Navarros contra el Alzamiento. Memoria documental de una lucha (1936-1939), [in:] Gerónimo de Uztariz 9-10 (1994), p. 183 On exile in France, in 1939 he applied for refuge in Mexicoon April 10, 1939 Cecilio and Juan Aldaz Elso resided in Dax; they wrote a letter, intended for the Mexican consular service in France. They applied for residence permit in Mexico hoping that their teaching credentials would be honored there. They introduced themselves as Republican officers and “maestros nacionales que tenian sus escuelas en la provincia de Navarra, escuelas que tuvieron que abandonar al ser llamados por Franco en 1.936 y que desertando de las fuerzas de este, para pasar a prestar sus servicios militares en el ejercito de la Republica, donde fuimos organizadores de las Columnas Alpinas y capitanes de las mismas”, Exilio español folder, [in:] Memórica Mexico service, available here, p. 168 and later lived in Dominicana.both twins, Cecilio and Juan, are listed as exiled teachers who between 1939 and 1945 lived in the Dominican Republic; however, none of them practiced as teacher, Juan B. Alfonseca Giner de los Ríos, Escenarios dominicanos de la escuela republicana en el exilio, 1939-1945, [in:] Historia y Memoria de la Educación 9 (2019), p. 213 His later fate is not clear; according to his son, Aldaz Elso witnessed the Pearl Harbor attack.No hay nada más humano y natural que el Carlismo. Entrevista a Telmo Aldaz de la Quadra-Salcedo en El Mundo, [in:] Carlistas service 18.01.21, available here From 1943 to 1945 he served in the US Armyin US military records Cecilio Aldaz is registered as enlisted on Feb 3, 1943, and as discharged on April 23, 1945, see Cecilio Aldaz entry, [in:] Fold3 service, available here and reportedly fought in Europe.according to his son, Cecilio Aldaz "survived four wars", Edurne Urreta, Telmo Aldaz: sobrino de Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo, aventurero y nuevo líder del carlismo, [in:] El Mundo 16.01.21, available here. One of these wars would be the Spanish Civil War and another World War Two, but it is not clear what other wars are referred to Afterwards he joined a merchant navy of an unspecified country and following decades of service, he grew to a captain. His status in the Francoist Spain is not clear.also the fate of Telmo's grandfather is unclear. He is on the list of Navarrese emigrees who at unspecified time fled the country when facing the Francoist repression, see Censo Provisional del Exilio Navarro, [in: ] Paz Y Convivencia service, available here. However, a Geni genealogical service claims he died in Pamplona 1945 In the 1940s he was formally purged from teaching;in 1942 Cecilio Aldaz and his twin brother were suspended indefinitely without pension, categorized by the administration as “inhabilitación para el desempeño de interinidades”, Berruezo, Casanova, Ema, Soto 2019, p. 438 In the 1950s, he was reportedly fishing with Hemingway in the trout rivers of Navarre.Telmo Aldaz: “Ser moderno está pasado de moda”, [in:] Centinela service 21.05.18, available here
When in his 50s Aldaz Elso met Ana María Quadra-Salcedo Gayarre (1935–2012), born in Irún but resident in Madrid.see necrology note of Ana María de la Quadra-Salcedo, [in:] Esquelas en Prensa service 06.01.13, available here She was descendant to a few distinguished Basque families; her paternal great-grandfather owned a large mayorazgo in Biscay and served as local deputy in the 1860s;see Andrés Bruno de la Quadra-Salcedo y Trevilla entry, [in:] Euskalnet service, available here another one was a longtime member of Isabelline Cortes,José Miguel de Arrieta-Mascarua y Sarachaga served in the Cortes in the 1840s, 1850s and 1860s while others were Navarrese entrepreneurs.Marcelino Gayarre Urzainqui was a “comerciante” in Pamplona, Joseán Garrues, Mérito y problema de las eléctricas pioneras: Arteta, 1893/98-1936, [in:] Historia Industrial 31 (2006), p. 99; Vicente Galbete Campión was a textile entrepreneur, Miguel Angel Riezu Boj, El nacimiento de la banca moderna en Navarra, 1863-1864, Pamplona 1994, pp. 4, 5 and passim Her maternal grandfather Miguel Gayarre Espinal was a well-known psychiatrist, member of the so-called Madrid School of Psychiatry.Juan Medrano, Hace ya algún tiempo: Miguel Gayarre Espinal (1866-1936), [in:] Norte de Salud Mental 17/64 (2021), pp. 123-129 Her father was an agriculture specialist employed by the Madrid diputación; he volunteered to requeté and perished in 1938.Esquela requeté Estanislao de la Quadra Salcedo y Arrieta Mascurua, [in:] Todo Colección service, available here Ana Maria herself became a known archeologist and led a number of excavation projects across all Spain.Ana María de la Quadra Salcedo y Gayarre, [in:] Arquelogas service, available here Cecilio and Ana Maria married in the late 1960s; they settled in Madrid. The couple had 3 children, born in the early 1970s,initially the siblings were identified as Telmo, Mar and Leonel, ABC 01.11.77, available here. However, later the children were identified as Telmo, Mar and Vito, ABC 06.01.13, available here all initially educated by their mother within the homeschooling framework.No hay nada más humano y natural que el Carlismo. Entrevista a Telmo Aldaz de la Quadra-Salcedo en El Mundo, [in:] service Carlistas 18.01.21, available here
At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s Aldaz studied law at Universidad Complutense; he then specialized in maritime law at Université Montesquieu in Bordeaux.Juanma Fernández, El lobo de mar, [in:] El Español service 14.09.16, available here He has never practiced; since the early 1990s he started to make a living as co-organizer of adventure projects, commencing with Ruta Quetzal in 1993.Fernández 2016 In 2006Enlace Isabel Ussía-Telmo Aldaz, en la iglesia parroquial de San Adrián de Ruiseñada, [in:] El Diario Montañes 07.05.06, available here Aldaz married Isabel Ussia Hornedo,Isabel de Ussia Hornedo entry, [in:] Geneanet genealogical service, available here daughter to well-known publisher Alfonso Ussía Muñoz-Seca and great-granddaughter to Pedro Muñoz Seca.Repertorio Familiar service, link https://repertoriofamiliar.blog_pot.com/ blocked by WP It is not clear whether the couple have any children. Numerous of his more distant relatives were public figures; sister of his maternal grandmother Carmen Gayarre Galbete counted among pioneers in paedology, while brother of his maternal grandfather José Miguel Quadra-Salcedo is recognized as an architect. The cousin of his mother Tomás Quadra-Salcedo served as minister in the 1980s and 1990s. The best known relative was his maternal uncle Miguel Quadra-Salcedo Gayarre. Initially an athlete and reporter, since the 1970s he became a media celebrity as a globetrotter.he gained particular attention as manager of adventure and education projects for the youth, intended to strengthen the global Hispanic community, Miguel de la Quadra-Salcedo y Gayarre entry, [in:] Real Academia de la Historia service, available here
Adventurer