Antonio José Muñoz y Valcárcel (born 19 November 1958), commonly known as Kitín Muñoz, is a Spanish adventurer, scientist and former

commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

. He was appointed a

UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador is an official postnominal honorific title, title of authority, legal status and job description assigned to those goodwill ambassadors and advocates who are designated by the United Nations. UNESCO goodwill ambas ...

in 1997."Biography of Kitín Muñoz"
''UNESCO''.

Life and career

Inspired by

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...

, Muñoz made three attempts to cross the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, two of which failed, and one failed attempt to cross the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to prove that ancient seafarers sailing in reed boats could have crossed the oceans before the European expeditions of the 15th century. Muñoz is also a former member of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

special forces (the Mando de Operaciones Especiales), and an honorary consul of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Marriage

On 26 October 2002, Muñoz married Princess Kalina of Bulgaria, Duchess of Saxe, Countess of Murány, only daughter of Simeon II of Bulgaria. The

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

wedding was the subject of a television

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

. Their son, Simeon Hassan Muñoz, was born on 14 March 2007 in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. In 2015, Muñoz, Kalina, and their son were living near

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

, in Morocco.

Honours

Dynastic

* House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-Koháry: Grand Officer of the Order of Saint Alexander (1 July 2024).Kitín Muñoz suma un lazo más con Bulgaria al recibir una importante condecoración de manos de su suegro, el rey Simeón
/ref>

References

''Kitin Muñoz sets out for a new maritime challenge''
Information on "Mata Rangi III" expedition

Information on the "Uru" expedition in Spanish
Kitín Muñoz
mini-bio in Spanish
Obituary of his father
in Spanish
Obituario of his mother
in Spanish

External links