The lives of Enrique Granados, the illustrious composer and pianist from the early 20th century, his son, who was the most prominent figure in Spanish swimming in the 1950s, and his grandson, who was an Olympic swimmer and started children’s swimming schools in the early 21st century, are intertwined not only by their family ties.

In 1914, the musician and his wife were returning from the United States after the premiere of the opera “Goyescas” at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and being received by President Woodrow Wilson at the White House. The First World War was beginning, and the German submarine UB 29 mistakenly sank the ship they were traveling on. Enrique Granados and his wife Amparo Gal did not know how to swim and died in the waters of the English Channel. Their deaths sparked an international wave of solidarity in support of their six children, but it also led the subsequent generations of the Granados family to dedicate themselves to swimming, becoming instrumental in the establishment and development of this sport.