Nature and the fluctuations of destiny drag us along, and no matter how much we oppose, the course of history is what it is, be it in the big curves as in the little things. Or not so small.
On Tuesday, the Ateneu Barcelonès honors Mercè Rodoreda with the Oriol Bohigas room full of youth. Marina Porras, who has just published the biography Al mig de la vida, jo (Bruguera), explains how the writer in the twenties, when she was a journalist, "wanted to be listened to", "to appear and feel important". Well, she had to earn a living, and the context of the time was what she was, but she "was frivolous for a long time." And then came the Civil War and exile, and on top of that, while in France, the Second World War. As Porras says, “the world was not the same and she was not the same”. And also, of course, "she needed to have Armand Obiols by her side", and then "she sets to work like a true maniac" until she arrives at a work that "appeals to an eternal thing, without expiration", "a greatness that resists to expire over time.
Later, L'Arannà, the duo formed by Anna Sala and Lara Magrinyà, interprets five stories by Rodoreda from the album they are preparing, a proposal for piano, voice and electronic music that goes from minimalism to pop, with a playful point without abandoning the epic and the importance of "people who do things well done," says Porras.
Sergio Heredia is a journalist for this house, you know, and that he writes in Sports does not mean that it is a frivolous section. Heredia presents on Wednesday at the Dry Martini Speakeasy I am a superhero (Libros de Vanguardia), a selection of portraits about the world of sport from the more than 300 articles of the Vuelta y vuelta of him.
There are a good handful of the protagonists, whether or not they appear in the book, such as Reyes Estévez, Carlos Ruf, Maria Petit, Ander Mirambell, Jorge Ramírez, Montse Durà, the brothers Tomàs and Rafa Jofresa, Gabriel Masfurroll, or the host, Javier de las Muelas, which vindicates the social and cultural function of bars. The editor, Ana Godó, remembers the path of sports information in the newspaper since in 1899 she began with a section to explain the will to modernize through sport. The head of the section, Joanjo Pallàs, recalls how Heredia has made it his own "in a very literary way" and works on it with a style that "must hold the world record for points and asides." For José María Rubí (RNE) it is clear that the author "is a photographer who stops time" and Aleix Parisé (RAC1) insists on the need for a different sports journalism, with pause, and is grateful that Heredia has also taken him to the radio.
The author recounts anecdotes, some spicy –such as running naked with De las Muelas in the desert: “the call of nature”, he says–, others more difficult such as that of Aroha Sibilio or María Salvo, marked by death, the of the father, Chicho Sibilio, and that of the sister regarding the rally co-driver – “now they are painful for me, because this weekend we buried my father-in-law,” says Heredia emotionally. He also shares some strategy, such as that "going back to childhood is often a gift for the interviewee, because it allows them to take a trip." Later, a great family photo, a great family that Heredia has been forming by taking on the challenges that he set for himself.
For a time, Regina Rodríguez Sirvent was so lost that her challenge was to find her vocation, to know what to dedicate her life to. And her life was found when she, as an au pair in the United States, was approached by a girl she didn't know at all to ask her why she hadn't sent an e-mail for days explaining the life of the fascinating family she lived with. It was 2007, no watsaps or anything, just a few calls and the e-mails she wrote were read and forwarded by friends to friends of friends and some laughed so hard that they were kicked out of the library...
From there, with everything, nothing came of it until it got serious between 2017 and the pandemic, and now Les calces al sol (La Campana), the adventures of Rita Racons, her alter ego in fiction, is already on the way. eighth edition and is the editorial surprise of the year. In the presentation, on Thursday with Bibiana Ballbé at Soho House, in addition to the editor Núria Puyuelo (and Ricard Planas, from Males Herbes) there are a few who are dedicated to cinema, starting with her brother Albert, a specialist, but also Oriol Mendieta, Sam Farràs or Joseph Díaz. There is also Maria Petit, who is a big fan of the book and buys four as gifts.
The juiciest anecdote, however, is explained by the author when, on one of the gastronomic tours she does around Barcelona, she hits a roll with an American couple about how a scene from the movie Good Will Hunting inspired her and he, Jeff, responds who is a close friend of Matt Damon, the screenwriter and actor, now also a producer, and was with him when he wrote it. Jeff tells Matt, who tells him: "No one should fuck with destiny" (no one would have to mess with destiny). And now Les calces al sol is in a box in her kitchen, waiting for her to open it when the Air promotion ends. Then who knows where fate will take things.
Catalan version, here
