Gabriel Montoya Vidal was 16 years old when he helped transport the dynamite that would blow up the Madrid trains on that fateful March 11, 2004. 193 people died and another 1,700 were injured. The journalist Manuel Jabois, when he was already in prison for his involvement in the terrorist attack, became interested in him. Who was that kid they called Baby or El Gitanillo? How did a problematic teenager from a broken family end up carrying dynamite to Madrid?
Montoya, after patience and insistence on the part of Jabois, agreed to be interviewed. This led to the publication of See You in This Life or the Other, a journalistic novel based on the statements of the convicted man. And now it is the brothers Jorge and Alberto Sánchez-Cabezudo who have become interested in this figure: on March 6, a dramatized and audiovisual version of the same marginal story can be seen at Disney. Both have written the six episodes and are executive producers of the work titled See You in Another Life and Jorge is in charge of directing.
According to those responsible, it is “a criminal chronicle where the everyday is terrifying. It tells how the lives of some petty criminals end in an enormous tragedy that even today has left a great wound in our society.” The Sánchez-Cabezudo, who have filmed in Asturias and Madrid, are precisely known on television for their ability to adapt delicate material: in 2011 they premiered Crematorio with José Sancho, Alicia Borrachero and Juana Acosta, which was based on the novel by Rafael Chirbes, a work of fiction that x-rayed the corruption of the Valencian Country.
This time, they have approached the project as a character drama told from three different timelines. The character of Gabriel Montoya Vidal, for example, is shared by two actors: the newcomer Roberto Gutiérrez in his adolescent stage and Quim Ávila (Wild Sunflowers) in his adult role. Completing the cast are Pol López (Suro) as Emilio Trashorras, Tamara Casellas (Ama) as Baby's mother and Mourad Ouani (Unity) as El Chino, who was one of the leaders of the jihadist group.
Sofía Fábregas, vice president of original production Disney Spain, has assured: “It is a necessary series. From the authorship of Jorge and Alberto Sánchez-Cabezudo and the collaboration of Manuel Jabois, we bring to the present day and to the new generations, one of the most painful episodes in our history from the rigor of the facts and the sensitivity towards the victims," he said. declared Sofía Fábregas, vice president of original production at Disney Spain.
The series also has the screenwriters Pablo and Daniel Remón, winners of the Goya for Intemperie, Roberto Martín Maiztegui (La ruta) and Guillermo Chapa; director Borja Soler, who in 2023 came to the forefront of the television industry with La ruta; and Abel Hernández and Olivier Arson, who wrote the music for As Bestas and The kingdom that won the Goya, will be in charge of the musical composition.
