Never has a summer tasted as bitter as that of 2017, when the people of Barcelona received the news of a mass hit-and-run on La Rambla. Time stood still; vacations were on hold; WhatsApp was on fire. With Cronos, by Fernando González Molina, we relive those 124 hours of anguish until the last terrorist fell, from the other side of the news, as experienced by the communication manager of the Mossos (Patricia Plaja, played by Diana Gómez); a police officer from Ripoll (Mónica López) and Inspector Jordi Rodón, who launched the operation that gives the film its title.
The actor dresses for us in the family clay house of Rupià, a beautiful medieval village in Baix Empordà, while his mother, Mercè Sardà, a dancer specialized in dance pedagogy, cooks some meatballs, and his father, architect Lluís Auquer, explains the operation of the bioclimatic pool. The tragedy dissolves among water lilies, and the conversation turns to topics such as work-life balance, the longing for theater, or writing in solitude.
Where were you on August 17, 2017, and how did you experience the attack?
I was right here, at my parents’ house in Rupià. And I experienced it with much astonishment, concern, and sadness. I remember watching it on TV, paying attention to my phone, calling friends who live nearby. That feeling of not being able to believe what is happening…
Cronos is almost a monument to all the officials involved in the operation. Just as many joined the operation while on vacation, they have done the same with the film, in which more than a hundred participate.
Yes, the film has an almost institutional will to pay tribute to the civil servants who resolved the situation in the best possible way with great willingness to serve.
No police officer is prepared to kill anyone”
Did you want to humanize the police by focusing on their emotions?
We are too used to American movies where police officers are tough guys. But no police officer is prepared to kill anyone. Even my character, who only gave orders, had to accept that some could be lethal.
Has playing that character changed your view of law enforcement?
It depends. If I go to stop an eviction, and the Brimo considers it appropriate and proportional to beat us to evict a person, then something inside me awakens that hurts me. I am in the Tenants’ Union and other platforms, so I have experience. But during the crisis of the attacks, there was a very beautiful closeness between the citizens and their police. That is something that also deeply affected them.
It was a very emotional moment.
Yes. There are police officers who are icebergs, but they talk about that and still get emotional. When firefighters, SEMU, Urban Guard, National Police, Mossos, Civil Guard see the film… they will get emotional.
In Cronos, you go down La Rambla from Plaza Catalunya, while in the series Ravalear you go up from the port, and they are very different characters, isn’t that curious?
The same setting allows for many stories. Saving the differences, the series created by Pol Rodríguez based on the loss of his family’s restaurant is a bit like The Wire putting the issue of housing and gentrification first. There are also problems with the port, cruises, tourism, and Barcelona becoming less and less the city we have lived until now.
You live in El Born, right? Like María Rodríguez, with whom you have been siblings and partners twice on screen.
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Yes, and if Dani de la Orden makes Casa en llamas 2, we will be siblings twice. She is my confidante friend, that’s why you saw her swimming earlier in the pool, and Lupe is the girl she was carrying in her womb when they filmed The Days to Come. In fact, when I separated, I moved to the apartment below hers, which is where the film was shot. My ceiling is her floor.
Do you live a neighborhood life in El Born?
Yes, I live and live my life there. I try to get to know the people in the neighborhood. My daughter Carmela goes out alone since she was nine, goes shopping or to her mother’s house.
I’m saying no to working outside Catalonia because my priority is to be with my children”
I see you are not a helicopter parent.
No, although my children always have a point of reference. Especially in Rupià, where we come a lot, especially in summer, because they are very happy here. In Barcelona, there is a kind of neurosis, imposed by certain discourses, that the city is very dangerous. I was heavily criticized when I said that children play in the street in Raval. But it’s the truth. By culture, migrant communities trust their neighbors more.
Did acting help you with your ADHD?
Yes, my mother signed me up for theater, and that helped a lot to channel all that runaway energy I had, because acting is about listening and being very present. Then I did a casting for Mediterranean Diet and said to myself: “Wow, this is incredible. You have fun, get paid well, work little.” Then I started going to the theater, reading it, meeting actors, talking about theater, wanting to do theater and write theater…
Don’t you have it a bit on hold?
I love theater, but luckily I’m getting many films and series. In theater, I must earn about 6% compared to film, and it’s two months of rehearsals, one month of performances, and a year of touring… Either another project like The Day of the Watusi comes along or I do something I’ve written myself. Something like that I would like. But, with the life I have, twice separated and with two children, I can’t live off theater.
You have a hard time balancing.
That’s right. That’s why I’m also saying no to working outside Catalonia, because my priority is to be with my children.
I didn’t know you wrote.
Yes, I have discovered that writing is a great tool to sustain solitude; when you are bored, the best ideas come out. I am writing a monologue about a gifted boy who has a very big complex because he has a very small penis. I like getting into characters, the stories become tree-like: about fifteen ideas arise, and I only have to choose one. But I don’t plan to publish anything.
Has success caused you problems?
No, because I have always kept my feet on the ground. Now I feel a lot of affection and gratitude, especially in Catalonia, I suppose because I have given characters with a lot of soul like the one in The Teacher Who Promised the Sea. Many people tell me: “We love you at home,” and I like that it is something for the whole family.
You are perceived as a vitalist.
Yes, I really enjoy life. I have a great time in life.
Photographer: Adrià Cañameras / Photography assistant: Rodrigo de la Mora / Stylist: Miriam Arruga / Makeup and hair: María Cabello for Salones Compte Barcelona / Production: Chus Casarrubios
