A Monday is always less Monday if you are surrounded by friends. For this reason, Carme Elias's face lit up when she entered the Teatre Akadèmia and saw many familiar faces in the audience. Old classmates from high school, filming and life in general. This time, it was not a function that they came to enjoy, but the presentation of the book Cuando ya no sea yo (Planeta/Columna), in which the actress narrates in the first person the Alzheimer's that has been diagnosed.
The filmmaker Isona Passola and the artistic director Guido Torlonia, "two of the most important people for me", acted as masters of ceremony in an evening in which the interpreter took advantage of the closeness with those present to open up in channel. "If it weren't for my profession, it would have taken me much longer to realize that I had memory loss," she acknowledged. When she was awarded the Gaudí de Honor award in 2021, the protagonist of Camino already knew her diagnosis but she opted for silence.
“I didn't want illness to stain my special night. I only told Isona and asked her to keep it a secret. Of course, until I made it public, I suffered. I was afraid of slipping up and going blank. Once I said it, I broke free and started to flow. Feeling the warmth of the public is what has helped me the most these months ”, she thanked shortly after reading a decalogue in which she set the limits she establishes in order to lead a dignified life. Her sincerity led the attendees to applaud the great visibility work that she is carrying out.
Although there was no performance at the Teatre Akadèmia that afternoon, the Barcelona literary week did have a performance, which took place at Casa Amèrica Catalunya on Wednesday. The actors Luna María Mercado and José Pesina, under the direction of Alexandro Guerrero, starred in a staged reading of Trilogía del 68, the book by the Mexican playwright and anthropologist Tania Campos Thomas that brings together three plays.
A sepulchral and respectful silence reigned for more than half an hour in the center's auditorium, which was attended by dozens of people of very varied ages to learn first-hand about Campos' work, which deals with the historic events of October 1968 in Mexico and which tells the story of his own family and the student movement.
“I am very moved that this function is taking place here today and that I am joined by people who can contribute so much to this debate”, the author thanked. She was referring to the psychologist Tomás Ibáñez Gracia and the historian Gemma Carbó Ribugent, who offered their point of view on the movement and on what is known as the Tlatelolco massacre, which took place during a rally held by students in Ciudad de Mexico. “These are events that should not be forgotten and this is partly due to memory works such as the one carried out by Campos. Revisiting these facts allows us to ask ourselves how many movements of 1968 are taking place today”, reflected Carbó.
The day before, in the Finestres bookstore, another performance took place, although very different from the ones mentioned: a sailor contest organized by the Comanegra publishing house. The stars were Jack London and Herman Melville themselves, two classic authors represented by Melcior Comes and Marina Espasa, who replaced Mònica Batet at the last minute.
Each writer had the mission of defending tooth and nail the story they chose from one of the American authors. The objective? Get to be the most voted by the public. The award? "The applause and recognition, that there is nothing better than that," said Jaume C. Pons Alorda, also a writer and translator, who became the master of ceremonies that afternoon and caused more than one laugh with his remarks. . It should be said that entertaining the afternoon and acting as a mediator were not his only functions. “Do you see this bell here? I will touch her if anyone goes over the established time, ”he warned. And boy did he do it. The writer took his role as referee seriously, much to the delight of the public, who glanced at the clock to see how much was left before the bell sounded.
The winner of the tournament was Leticia Asenjo, who played on Jack London's team and who, with the story Encendre un foc, vindicated the author from San Francisco as "a modern man out of the ordinary for his time."
