Interview with David Cantero

Take it or leave it; that seems to be the chief maxim for erotic gay comic book author David Cantero (Cartagena, Murcia; 1972), regarding not only his work but also his life attitude in this unsettling world. Just find out by yourselves.

SPANISH GAY FICTION: As for your work as a whole, you seem to have specialized in erotic comic book. Thus, what led you to create Boxing Julián?

DAVID CANTERO: I have always been interested in sex. I think there is no story without sex. Sex moves the world more than we think! [Laughs.] With Boxing Julián, I wanted to show how difficult it is for some people in this society to live with themselves, with their sexuality.

SGF: How was the response to your comic book?

DC: I had a very nice feedback from readers; some of them recognized themselves in the character, and they shared with me their personal experiences. I felt touched by these testimonies.

SGF: How important is Boxing Julián to you?

DC: My stories are all special to me. Back then, I was very happy with the character design for this comic book. Today, twelve years after, I cannot even look at it! [Laughs.] I did it a long time ago, and now I just see errors everywhere! [Laughs.]

SGF: Have you ever been familiar with a similar situation in real life?

DC: Yes! Unfortunately, it is a pattern that repeats itself too many times in our society ― Maybe not so extreme, but in different degrees.

SGF: Do you think that there is always a tormented homosexual behind a homophobe?

DC: [Laughs.] Not always! But yes! It is usually true!

SGF: The world of fiction has always found boxing appealing as a theme. What is your opinion about this sport? Is there any previous work that has been inspiring for Boxing Julián?

DC: I chose boxing because it is a very manly sport with a lot of physical contact. It is brutal and direct. It fit very well with the character, and it was perfect for channeling his rage. The movie Rocky really helped me, actually!

SGF: Ben’s quiet attitude towards Julián’s aggressive behavior is really painful. Why did not he report Julián to the police?

DC: I did not want to delve into Ben’s nature that much; I just wanted to show a nice guy. We never know if he is gay. . .We never know why he did not sue Julián. . .I like this kind of endings, making the reader think!

SGF: Do you feel that the toxic couple relationship that Lola and Julián represent is still recurring nowadays?

DC: In my opinion, these situations will never end while education and religion still continue to create strong stereotypes for men and women.

SGF: Do you think that Julián will eventually do to Lola what his father did to his mother?

DC: Of course! Even worse! [Laughs.] I had an idea for a sequel to this story, where we would see Julián, Lola and their son twenty years later ― Maybe I will do it!

SGF: You have previously worked in collaboration with other scripters. Why did you create Boxing Julián alone?

DC: In general, I work alone. I have many stories and series. It is rare that I make collaborations. At present, I am (sometimes) collaborating only with Patrick Fillion for the series The Brigayde for Class Comics Inc.[1]

SGF: How would you define your style as illustrator?

DC: My style is a mix of European comic books (such as The Adventures of Asterix), Marvel comic books, and Japanese animation. I am in love with the line; inks are very representative of my style. A definition for my style? Well. . .I do not know. It is just the way I like to draw!

SGF: Julián is a dreaded character; however, his design is really alluring. Did you make this contradiction deliberately?

DC: Sure! There is nothing more disturbing than someone to hate and desire at the same time!

SGF: Are your characters physically based on actual people?

DC: The characters are not real persons; I created them according to their personality. . .I always think of details for the characters because they make them strong.

SGF: Apart from the fact that you were born in Cartagena,[2] I feel a Mediterranean air throughout the comic book. Did you want to depict a lifestyle that you know first-hand?

DC: I created this story when I was living in a village near Tarragona.[3] This place was full of Juliáns!!! [Laughs.] I thought that this background was perfect for the story!

SGF: Can you tell about your upcoming projects?

DC: Right now, I am drawing the episode 7 of the series The Brigayde, written by Patrick Fillion. You can see my working progress at Patreon. This year, I will be working on my series Exodus (Volume 5), and probably Dibearcity (Episode 2). I am also working on my children’s books for my other publisher, La Cantera Editorial: my next book, Sky and Heart, is just in process.

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[1] Owned and operated by Patrick Fillion and Robert Fraser, this independent comic books publisher has specialized in gay erotic-themed comic books since the beginning of the 21^st century.

[2] This tourist Spanish destination is located in the autonomous community of Murcia, by the Mediterranean south-eastern coast; it is famous for its Roman Theatre, the naval base, and the Carthaginian and Roman parade, among other attractions.

[3] Port city located in northeast Spain on the Golden Coast by the Mediterranean Sea; the location contains significant remains from the Ancient Rome.

The Beast in the Beauty

On David Cantero’s Boxing Julián

This time in spanishgayfiction.blogspot.com we present quite a disturbing experience: a 2008 comic book dealing with the most ultra-violent homophobia.

In the first pages we find Julián, a promising small town boxer achieving an easy victory in a fight; when in the locker room, he is praised by Paco, his boxing trainer, and Lola, his sexy fiancée. When they leave Julián alone, he cannot help jacking off by looking his magnificent nakedness over closely; after this, Julián punches the wall furiously: it means the first indication for the reader that there is something about Julián.

Paco decides to hire the services of Benjamín, Ben; a hot, blond, angel-faced physical therapist. All of a sudden, Julián shows an unexpected rough-and-tumble towards the boy, trying to hide (or should I say making clear instead?) a powerful sexual attraction. From the very beginning Julián wants to leave proof of his discomfort: he likes neither queer nor sassy people who would ever dare to contradict him. Paco will need to mediate so that Ben does not quit promptly after an abrupt, vehement outburst from his protegé. . .resulting in Ben exhibiting his mouth-watering chest after Julián stretched the gorgeous therapist’s tank top.

Lola pays a visit to her man at the gym; the moment she lays her eyes on Ben she openly claims that the cutie is really stunning. Immediately afterwards, Julián calls her bitch and menaces her. After this, he pushes Lola to the restroom, and there he fiercely attempts anal sex ― vainly: Ben is in his mind, so Julián loses his erection. Lola meekly tries to give him a blowjob, but Julián’s reaction is hitting her hard.

After a massage session, Julián asks Ben whether he is a fag; Ben avoids the question. (As a matter of fact, Ben’s sexuality may be the biggest mystery of the comic book.) Later, Julián jokingly encourages Ben to give him a blowjob, but Ben leaves the room all annoyed ― has Ben got tempted to do it, at least for one second?

During a fight, our cocky boxer remembers how his father used to attack him physically and verbally when he was a weepy child; his father justified himself by saying that he hated pussies, and he told his harassed sonny to have big balls to face life. At the end, Julián gives his opponent a cruel beating, and Paco threatens to leave: Julián has to stop fighting that dirty in the ring, since he has been about to finish his rival off.

In the middle of the subsequent massage, Julián bitterly tells Ben to go away: he does not want Ben to see that he has cummed all over himself while Ben was squeezing him.

Through another journey to the past, we see that Julián was witness to his mother’s dying at his father’s hands. Young Julián took hold of his savage daddy’s gun ― he was a policeman ―and shot him. This memory heavily seizes Julián while having sex with Lola, to the point of almost choking her to death. When Lola gets over, Julián apologizes groaningly and tearfully; Lola, mad about her macho, forgives his bad manners.

The time of the final combat is coming, and the prize money will do Julián good for the upcoming wedding ceremony. He keeps teasing Ben with insults such as queer. Like Lola, Ben also forgives and keeps a submissive attitude towards the ferocious fighter.

Julián eventually wins the fight, and they all go out partying. In the disco, Lola asks the psyched-up victor to stop drinking, as it turns him aggressive. Julián tells her to leave with Paco, and Ben promises Lola that he will help Julián be back home safe and sound. At the wee hours of the night, on their way out, Julián gets audacious sneakily and lewdly: he beats and assaults Ben in a dark, lonely place.

The ending of this dreadful story is just terrible. Lola, oblivious to what is happening around her, is making the guest list for their wedding, and she suggests her betrothed to invite Ben. Julián flatly refuses, basing his resolution on Ben’s ultimately leaving him high and dry. The image of a bruised, wounded Ben walking down the street and exchanging glances from a distance with a sinister (and defiant) Julián puts a terrifying end to this troubling story.

No doubt this is a significant story about homophobia and violence, depicted by Cantero in a brutally visceral way. His illustrations are as attractive as disgusting, leading to a flawless portrait of Julián’s double identity: a bewitching object of desire on the outside / a frightening demon on the inside. We find particularly worthy of the most enthusiastic praise the pages concerning Julián’s recalls about his shady past (his monstrous father; his miserable, dummy-like mother); there, red, black and a blazing white are the cardinal, over-suggestive colors to show the ultimate horror.

The design of the main characters is also creditable; the contrast between the pair of hot men, the shiny Ben and the shadowy Julián, smoothly reveals the central conflict of the story. Regarding the details, the tattoo that Julián shows on his arm ― the name of his girl on a bleeding heart pierced by a sword ― is too meaningful about Julián’s darkest instinct, Lola’s cursed fate, and the comic book’s overwhelming lesson: Violence begets violence. In sum, a provocative work of art.

Interview with Hecheres Beltrán

Here in spanishgayfiction.blogspot.com we appreciate the honesty displayed by the author of Billete de ira y vuelta, Hecheres Beltrán (Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 1978). Considering his words, writing the novel must have been a way to exorcise demons from the past. We hope that the reader who is suffering or has suffered from bullying pays close attention to this interview, as it is the speech of someone who was a victim and is now recovered from all that emotional pain. In sum, an inspiring story.

SPANISH GAY FICTION: Up to what point can you say that Billete de ira y vuelta is an autobiographical novel?

HECHERES BELTRÁN: This novel is full of autobiographical elements, but not entirely. I was a bullying victim myself, hence my need to tell a story connected to this subject. In my case, and in the time that I had to suffer from bullying, it was shame that made me conceal from my people what was happening to me.

SGF: Do you feel that there is much contemporary LGBT literature on school bullying, or is your novel one of the few examples?

HB: School bullying is a social issue rather recently regarded. In the past, bullying was disguised by adults responsible as things that kids come up with. Not until the people who have undergone it could tell the consequences that this abuse causes has society become aware of the magnitude of the problem. From my point of view, the visibility that has come from the popularization of the internet, where every kind of cases and experiences has been shown and/or denounced, has played an essential role as well.

It is also necessary to make clear that bullying is a problem that affects us all, since it can come from any given circumstance: race, gender, physique, sexual orientation, etc. I do believe that there is much literature on several of these circumstances, but literature on gay bullying may be scarce due to the fact that LGBT visibility is a rather new thing too. There have always been different sexual orientations, but their integration and normalization in society are still in progress, therefore it is reasonable that there are not many books on this subject.

SGF: How much do you understand Javier’s outlook and reactions?

HB: I totally understand his outlook because his experiences are based on my own ones, and his feelings are taken from what I was feeling in those days. The only thing that distances me from the character is his anger, since some time ago I left it behind and forgave everyone who hurt me. It is not healthy to keep all those hard feelings inside yourself. Hate will never let you be happy; I understood it once, and carried out an amazing acceptance exercise that made me get rid of negative feelings which did not lead to anything good.

SGF: What role does Billete de ira y vuelta play in your work?

HB: For the moment I can say that every one of my books is a world. They are dissimilar to one another, and largely due to my constant attitude to learn new things. I like getting into different genres, learning their ins and outs in order to produce, with varying degrees of success, the stories that strike me later. None of them is my number one; they all are important parts of my life and witnesses to my internal process (maturing), and external process (style polishing).

SGF: What does Madrid mean to a Spanish young gay small town boy?

HB: Freedom. Eclecticism. Diversity. Learning.

SGF: After witnessing the father’s homophobic attack against Javier, the mother asks her husband whether he must be hiding something. What did you mean by that?

HB: Fear is a very difficult thing to explain, as it is a very primeval instinct which has helped us keep alive for a long time. But homophobia is not the only fear, there are many others, such as, in this case, the need to give an explanation to the mistreatment that a father metes out to his own son before a frightened mother’s very eyes; the demand for an answer to such behavior towards the one who is supposed to be your main, absolute priority. That is what I meant.

SGF: When the novel seems to lean towards the romantic genre, it suddenly takes a turn and dives into the thriller chasm. I would even dare to say the horror chasm. Would you say that your novel affirms the idea that violence only begets violence? Could it be said that Javier is a monster created by abusers such as Rayco, Alejandro, or his own father?

HB: While I was writing, I bore in mind references such as the film PacificHeights (1990); those stories seeming to lead one direction and then turning the whole thing around. Also Psycho (1960), for instance: a movie about a theft at first, and then a psychopath shows up in an astonishing twist which everybody knows. I wanted to produce something like that; that is the germ of the plot structure in Billete de ira y vuelta.

From my viewpoint, violence does only beget violence. And resentment, hatred and every kind of worthless, unwholesome feelings. But above all, the novel intends to reflect the avenging feeling, which beats inside us even though we are not aware (or we do not want to be), and blows up with certain triggers. That is why the protagonist eventually behaves like his attackers.

SGF: If you were in Javier’s shoes, would you accept the mother’s invitation, or would you flatly refuse to set foot in there again?

HB: I have been in Javier’s shoes [Laughs]. I gave life to him and suffered a lot with him. This novel was the beginning of a cathartic process in which I gave up negative feelings, as I have already said. You need to be at peace with the past, and it may take a long time to achieve this. You must accept invitations when you are ready to face what may happen when you stir up the past. Although you never can tell what is going to happen, feel up to find out at least; otherwise the situation can get worse. In answer to your question, regarding the way that Javier is presented in the novel, no, I would not.

SGF: It is understandable that Javier distrusts Manuel at first. Do you think that it is possible to fall in love with someone who took part in your humiliations? Can you come to forgive so much?

HB: You can forgive even more than that. Fortunately, love is mightier than any other feeling. I believe that this can truly happen, otherwise I would have not written it.

SGF: When he was a child, Javier explained his teacher the abuse that he was suffering and she tried to play it down. I feel that many teachers have acted and go on acting like this. Why do you think that they act this way?

HB: The answer is similar to the one that I have given before: there was no bullying awareness in the past. “There have always been bullies; they will get over it when they grow up,” this is what people used to think. But nobody spoke about the consequences that you could suffer after being bullied. Until today. In my opinion, teachers must pay attention to this kind of things and act accordingly. An attitude of looking the other way and downplaying is not only a mistake: it is similar to non-assistance to a person in danger.

SGF: What is your opinion about the current situation? Do you think that they are really applying zero-tolerance policy in Spanish primary and secondary schools?

HB: I feel that we still do not give it the importance that it deserves; not only in Spain, but worldwide. If we did, there would be no bullied children’s suicides, for example. But I think that now we are aware of the fact that it is a problem and it must be main objective in the country’s education policy.

SGF: Regarding the quote by Balzac which you end the novel with (“In revenge, the weakest one is always the fiercest”),[1] would you say that Javier was the weakest one in the story? His revenge is dreadful—

HB: Exactly. Javier was the weakest among his classmates, who did not act individually but as a group. And the weaker you feel in humiliation and under threat, the more destructive your revenge will be.

SGF: The Canary Islands mean to many gay people, both Spanish and foreign, a vacation spot or even a place of residence. How true is this image of a gay-friendly place?

HB: The Canaries (just as the rest of Spain) has changed too much in this sense in the last 30 years. The novel is written upon the memories that I have from what I lived when I went to school, at the end of 1980s and the beginning of 1990s. But the current situation is the same; they publicize gay-friendly tourism not only for economic reasons, but also because the islanders have become more tolerant. Even in big cities such as Madrid there are homophobic assaults these days, therefore it is not a problem localized in a community, but globally.

SGF: What are you working on now? What are your next projects about?

HB: I keep writing, of course; it is a basic need for me. However, I am a kind of superstitious and never like talking about unfinished projects. Call it a writer’s habit.

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[1] This is the original French version: “Dans la vengeance, le plus faible est toujours le plus féroce.”

Pay Back in Anger

On Hecheres Beltrán’s Billete de ira y vuelta (“Rage Trip Ticket”)[1]

The protagonist of this 2008 novel is Javier, a young gay man from the Canary Islands living in Madrid for the last ten years who accepts his mother’s invitation to visit hometown for some days. At first blush, you may think that it will be a lovely personal event for the sonny. Well. . .nothing further from the truth: Javier is actually scared about going back home. Why? Just keep reading—

When he flew to Madrid, Javier left behind a history of abuse by his classmates. In primary school, he had to suffer Rayco’s cruel mistreatment; in secondary education, it was Alejandro the source of all evil. (Things have been developed as expected for these two scummy bullies: at present Rayco is involved in an issue about minors used as drug dealers, and behind Alejandro’s dazzling façade—he got married for money—the perfect example of an inveterate cheater is hiding.)

In addition to this, Javier’s family was not particularly empathetic towards him. His siblings hardly paid attention to him; when they did, it was hell. Moreover, his father used to hit him and insult him, calling Javier fag all the time, and griping that his son did not act as a regular boy.

Since Javier’s memories are full of abuse situations, both physical and psychological, he currently undergoes hard consequences: Javier is claustrophobic (a pretty bad feeling when taking a plane, or even the subway; that is to say, when trying to pop out with total freedom); besides, he distrusts people, what prevents him from socializing naturally.

But not everything goes wrong for Javier. Dancing and swimming meant a new lease on his life in Madrid, and now Javier has become a good-looking man, far from the image of fatty campy nerd from his past.

For his surprise, revisiting the island helps Javier live three awesome meetings:

·       First, his joyful reunion with Muriel, a good-natured Argentinean woman settled in the Canaries who had (unsuccessfully) tried to become Javier’s close friend: for the record, she was the first person who took him into a gay bar;

·       Secondly, his brother Sebastián, now grown into a gay-friendly straight man under his girlfriend’s decisive influence (she has a gay brother herself);

·       And last but not least, Manuel, a former classmate who made Javier sing the blues in primary school, but now he has become a hot surfer mad about Javier the very moment that he takes a look on our visiting hero.

Nonetheless, evil boils over in the sizzling festive atmosphere on the black-sanded beaches of the Fortunate Isles, and so Javier himself will check out that homophobia is a tightly rooted concept in not only town residents’ minds, but also a few of his own relatives’—some things are painfully impossible to change.

Javier’s response to the sudden end of what might have supposed a beautiful love story turns into another pretty darker thing. Whether Javier acts fairly or not, justifiably or not—it is up to the reader’s view. I just want to say that I find hard to remember any other novel’s grim, sore, harrowing conclusion such as this.

This disconcerting narration by Hecheres Beltrán means an impressive depiction about the tragic effects of one of the most dangerous plagues of our time. Sadly, bullying is not new: there have been lots of LGBT people enduring abuse and humiliation (in school, at home, etc.) throughout history. Nobody should turn a blind eye on this social problem, and reading Beltrán’s book is an excellent means of consciousness-raising.

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[1] The original Spanish title is a play on words: the author puns on the terms ira (“anger”) and ida (“departure”), altering the usual expression billete de ida y vuelta (“round-trip ticket”) for just one consonant. Thus, we could not find any other translation better than the one proposed.

Interview with Lluís Maria Todó

One of the most significant Spanish authors devoted to LGBT themes currently, Lluís Maria Todó (Barcelona, 1950), has discussed with us his young adult novel Isaac y las dudas; you will find his interesting remarks on topics such as creativity and reality, sexuality and censorship, if you read this juicy interview.

SPANISH GAY FICTION: If I am not wrong, Isaac y las dudas came up from a request. Could you please explain this?

LLUÍS MARIA TODÓ: It was around 2002 when the person who was in charge of La Magrana publishing house made an appointment for me. She told me that secondary education schools were lacking a fiction depicting young gay people and their issues in a positive way, and asked me if I wanted to solve this deficiency. That is to say, to write a young adult novel about teen gays who are not discriminated, attacked, or eventually determined to commit suicide or hopelessly embittered. It was supposed that the book would become a recommended reading in high schools, and therefore sell well, as well as an opportunity to visit schools and talk to young readers about the book, about them, about me. I really liked the idea and accepted.

SGF: Are there autobiographical elements in this novel?

LMT: Not in the least. This is the least autobiographical of all the novels that I have ever published. It is all fictional.

SGF: Do you remember when you realized your sexual identity? Would you say that it was a relieving experience like Isaac’s, or rather different?

LMT: I talked about this in El mal francés:[1] it happened when I was a 19-year-old student in France, while my girlfriend was expecting my first child in Barcelona. No doubt my experience was much more dramatic than Isaac’s, indeed. Other times, other manners—And all that was reality, not fiction.

SGF: Do you think that Dimitri’s story is now much more up to date than the time the novel was published, regarding the current Russian administration’s homophobic attitude and the increasing number of homosexual Russians exiled in our country?

LMT: Absolutely. The type of the gay pretty Russian boy has sadly changed from a sort of sexual fantasy (like in the novel) to become a tragic reality in mass media and host countries.

SGF: Roser, David’s mother—is she based on any real person that you have ever known?

LMT: No, I have never met any woman keenly wishing that her son declares himself as gay, so that he may lend a hand in her dance studio—As if all gays were good at dance! This character, like many other elements of the book, meets the general strategy to display a favorable—though not too much sentimental—scene for teen gays, modulating this positive vision with a touch of humor.

SGF: The most original aspect in your novel may be the fact that a boy has sex with another boy to reaffirm his heterosexuality—no fuss, no mock. How did this idea come about? Have you ever known any straight guy who has experienced anything similar?

LMT: Yes, I know boys who have had homosexual experiences—to reaffirm their heterosexuality?, I do not know. But they wanted to see how it is, and then resolved that they like sex with girls rather than boys. My first homosexual experience fits in this scheme. Of course, it was the other guy who was testing, and gratefully resolved that it was not bad, but he was determined to stay with his girlfriend.

SGF: How important is this novel in your work? Is it one of your favorites?

LMT: It plays a special role in my work. To start with, and as I said before, this is the only time I write a book on request so far, and was thought as a young adult novel. Isaac y las dudas is also special for me as this is the only novel of mine which does not include any autobiographical element. I liked it, and was pleased to see that I was able to make up characters, situations, a funny, believable plot. Years go by, and this group of young boys, Isaac and his doubts, and his boy friends and girl friends, and their partners and dads and mums—it all seems to me too sweet.

SGF: As this is a project on request to make homosexuality become normalized in secondary education schools, do you feel that this affects the tone of the book? Is Isaac y las dudas very different from your most personal projects?

LMT: Absolutely. I wanted to design an imaginary scene in which young gays are not only accepted by their families, but also their sexual orientation is considered better in some cases. In addition, the book contains a mystery plot, a joke on contemporary dance (which gets my nerves), plenty of humor. Yes, everything in Isaac y las dudas is different to my other books. Another point is, for reasons that I ignore but can guess, that the book did not become a recommended reading in any secondary education school—as far as I know.

SGF: Now let me vouch for Rafa and other swishy gays. Why in this much more diverse society are effeminate homosexuals still made fun of, or not taken seriously, even within the gay universe?

LMT: I really cannot diagnose such an interesting topic. But I can state without hesitation that the character of Rafa was created just to vindicate the swishy gay, to fight against one of the most long-lasting homophobic strongholds, even (or should I say above all?) in the gay community itself. Prejudice against being swishy is unfair, reactionary, stupid, and very usual at the same time. Do not ask me why, but it is so. I actually have the impression that nobody knows well what is to be swishy about (saying it means effeminacy is an absurd simplification; women are not used to be swishy). Why some little children and some adults are swishy, and what the connection between being swishy and homosexuality is, what being swishy expresses to us. . .Many mysteries and one slogan for the moment: you have to love swish.

SGF: Let’s talk about Ferrán, Isaac’s teacher. . .Do you feel sorry for him, or do you think that he is a miserable wuss? What do you really think about him?

LMT: Regarding Ferrán, let me tell you an interesting story: when I went to the publishing house to give the novel, the person in charge was not the same woman who had requested me the book. After a few weeks we met and she told me that she had found the tone of the book too frivolous for a significant topic such as homosexuality in teenage (of course, this was her idea, not her words). And worse: if they had to suggest the book to high school teachers, Ferrán could not come off so badly, so coward. I tried to defend my choices, but I finally adapted to the new manager’s needs. After all, it was a novel on request. In the Catalonian version[2] Ferrán is therefore a much more positive character, he manages his pupil’s love in a more courageous way, or at least more elegant. Later, when the possibility to translate the novel into Spanish arose, I recovered the original, uncensored version, where Ferrán is more afraid of a kind of teen sexuality that he himself has made spring forth. As a punishment to the censor, every time they ask me, I say that I prefer the Spanish version, which is a very good translation and displays a plot more faithful to my intentions. 

SGF: When the kids are working on a project about homosexuality and literature, they take an interest in homosexual authors’ wives. Are you also interested in these women historically overshadowed by their renowned gay husbands?

LMT: That was also one of the publisher’s suggestions, and a price that I paid with no objections, given the circumstances. Actually, I do not think that the type of the gay author’s uncomplaining wife is too usual. Moreover, it is almost disappeared, typical in the times when every homosexual needed to marry a woman to be socially accepted. Of course it would be very interesting to portray women married to homosexuals in the pre-gay age, no matter if their husbands were authors, taxi drivers, or presidents of the government. These women were lots, and they are still many today, and for sure they have a lot to say.

SGF: Isaac’s father, Lluís, is worried that his son may be gay. Is it a homophobic issue, or rather a feeling of unease since his son may suffer in life a lot because of his sexuality? According to you, to what extent may parents concern the same in real life?

LMT: Lluís’ dialectical trick is too usual. That is to say: “I am not against gay people, but I would prefer not to have a gay son, since he would otherwise suffer discrimination.” People who say this do not realize that they themselves are discriminating, and causing suffering to their children. The only honest position before your children’s homosexuality is to love that homosexuality, as this is an essential feature of them. Anything else is homophobic rubbish.

SGF: Is there any criticism on those writing workshops that Lluís attends? What is your opinion about these workshops where you can learn to write?

LMT: In writing workshops they teach to write books that meet the publication market demand, best-selling books. That is absolutely okay, but has almost nothing to do with my concept of what literature is. Until proven otherwise, to be a good writer you need talent, a lot of reading, deep knowledge on the language you are going to write in and, above all, something original to say. The main point is that you need to have the feeling that there is something in your mind which is still unwritten, and take over the task to get it down on paper or record it in a hard disk.

SGF: What are you working on now? What are your next projects?

LMT: I am writing a somehow weird book, still unnamed. There I will explain my varied relationships with the books, or the authors that have helped me the most become the writer that I am. I will speak as a reader, as a teacher, as a translator and as a novelist about the authors that I have been keener on, in terms of similarity or just for professional need: Proust, Flaubert, Stendhal, Balzac. It is a combination of informative essay and intellectual autobiography. We will see—

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[1] A title hard to translate, as this phrase is polysemic. Possible choices: ‘The French Disease’ (that is, syphilis), ‘The Bad Frenchman,’ ‘Broken French’. . .This book is a journal in which Todó portrays a turning point in his private life, as well as he considers the recent history of Spain, from the last years of the Franco regime to the first stages of our current democracy. This book won the 2006 Josep Pla Prize, a prestigious literary award for books in Catalonian.

[2] This book was published in Catalonian first, the title being Isaac i els dubtes.

Interview with Julia Ortega

This is the time of Desde Londres con glamour bilogy author Julia Ortega (Barcelona, 1971). She has thoroughly answered questions dealing with a variety of topics such as feminism, homophobia, current affairs, science fiction, the importance of music in creation or—Prince Charming! Wish the reader will be pleased with her amusing, unusual, somehow controversial, non-filtered pouring speech.

SPANISH GAY FICTION: How important is Desde Londres con glamour bilogy for you in your work up to date?

JULIA ORTEGA: This marks a milestone in my career. Caprichos del destino (the 1^st part) came after a seven-year hiatus, and from the very beginning this was a very personal, intimate, almost necessary project in an emotional viewpoint. This has been an awesome project for me.

SGF: Did you conceive the project as a bilogy since the beginning, or the second part came later?

JO: Caprichos del destino was supposed to be a stand-alone novel at first. But several readers went enthusiastic about Gillian, and that encouraged me to dive deep into her story. I also was sure that I wanted to produce a situation comedy to balance all the dramatic content of Caprichos del destino—I anticipate that this is a total weeper—. Since 2014 I seriously started to think of this pair of novels as a whole, but it has not been too long since I have finally understood the concept as a bilogy and given a special, exclusive name to it: Desde Londres con glamour.

SGF: Although there are also male characters, in both novels women have the power. Both Judith and Debbie are the ones who call the shots in their corresponding relationships with Josh, as a sort of matriarchal society; the same happens with Saffron’s and Sam’s mothers. Would you say that this depiction has been a way to highlight the power of women currently, or the power that you would want women to hold in the future? Is it a reflection of what you have experienced in your family environment?

JO: Right now I openly say that I am an ardent feminist—in the best sense of the term, okay? Some people are not clear about this thing called feminism—. But the women in my fiction do usually have a strong personality and rule over men. Not old-fashioned men, but those who do not feel superior and treat women as equals (unlike my grandmother’s days).

Regarding my family environment, it is just the opposite. I belong to a family of very submissive, male chauvinist women. I want no thing alike at all in my novels—at least in those set in the 21^st century. Entirely different when historical fiction is concerned, where women act submissively in accordance with old times’ fashion. But in Desde Londres con glamour I look to the future; this is futurist, though not in a dystopian, sci-fi way. I am an incurable optimist, and I am certain that future will bring great achievements to women. We have already reaped great success for long, but this is just the beginning. We have a long way ahead, and it is very important that women must fight together.

SGF: Women are so predominant (and men are so small) in both novels—no wonder several lesbian relationships occur throughout their pages. Apart from real-life psychological explanations, can it be seen as a literary symbol of the lack of men at the height of these women, as if love between women could be their only understanding comfort?

JO: This does not arise from feminist thoughts or inquisitiveness. Caprichos del destino is certainly based on true facts, and that lesbian triangle did happen time ago. From that point on I have written a story of women for women, though, curiously enough, men like it more than initially imagined. I see it as a very positive attitude, telling the evolution from the macho values towards a new behavior, more tolerant and appropriate to the century we live in now. Yes, it really could be said that my babes do not find men who make the grade—at least intellectually and emotionally. In the case of Judith, Josh is a trophy husband that she can socially boast about; actually, he is a weak alcoholic man whose weakness too much highlights the strength of the leading lady in Caprichos del destino. Regarding Gill and Alex—especially Gill—, I could really say that this is a sheltering love—But I will not say a word.

SGF: The heterosexual male type is anyhow redeemed in Sam, who is a kind of sensitive, understanding straight boyfriend, with a pinch of enthusiastic madness. Did you create Sam with your own personal idea of the perfect boyfriend type in mind?

JO: [Laughs.] Yes, probably when I was a child (like every little girl), I have dreamed of my incredibly idealized Prince Charming; that knight in shining armor, holding firmly his lethal sword, who rescues the maiden from the usual evil villain’s clutches so as to live in eternal love with her. Sam really is that knight, though adapted to the 21^st century circumstances. He is a modern, urban knight; a bit nuts and too absent-minded. But he makes himself loveable—Or that is what some female readers have claimed.

SGF: Although there are women who love other women in your bilogy, you also describe inflamed detestations. I refer to Michelle’s towards Judith in Caprichos del destino, or Olimpia’s towards Gillian in Nuestro lugar en el mundo. Would you say that your novels support the old saying that women are their own worst enemies? To what extent do you agree with this statement in real life, beyond fiction?

JO: Absolutely, you have hit the nail on the head. There is something you can call hate, and in both cases you can talk about the binary jealousy/fear. Both women are exaggeratedly possessive, and dreadfully scared of losing what they do not own, but mainly they are afraid of being on the shelf, as my grandmother used to say. Yes, as I said before women must stay together since there is still a long thorny way ahead. Women facing women, either straight or gay, do feminism a disservice. Though this may sound quite old-fashioned, quite suffragette, I am sorry to say that just a few things have really changed since 1915 up to 2015, and you only need to see the news to realize that, like it or not, women and men still do not compete on equal terms. In my personal viewpoint, I only say that we all are humans, we all have passions and impulses, and from that undeniable fact on, everything is possible.

SGF: From the whole list of characters, which is the one you can call Julia Ortega’s alter ego?

JO: Judith, period.[1] People who know me well see me behind this character. Anyway, Judith and I do not always go hand in hand, or share the same opinions, or react the same way under the same circumstances. Because there is a time (I will not go into detail) when Judith separates from any preconceived notion at all and goes it alone. Judith is bigger than life: indomitable, rebellious—a free, wild Amazon.

SGF: Is there any character which is not necessarily similar to you, but you would like to be akin to?

JO: They have asked me this question before [Laughs.], but I will answer the same, no matter how many years go by: Alex. Alex. Alex. It is not only that she is red-haired, or turquoise-eyed, which is something that I go crazy for; it is almost everything—Anyway, Alex is a totally invented character, and that may be why I have endowed her with all those divine and human features that I have always missed in me. Buy I do not think that I am the only author who does this sort of things, so I do not regret or find pleasant that this could be held against me.

SGF: In your bilogy you quote pop song lyrics, both Spanish and international. How important is music for Julia Ortega when writing? They all are sung by female artists—

JO: Inevitable. Music is everything to me. I am incredibly sensitive to music; I do not think I could live without music for more than a day, I mean it! As Caprichos del destino is concerned, every life has their music score, and that is, of course, Judith’s case. And in Nuestro lugar en el mundo music puts Saffron’s life in motion; she lives and breathes for and because of music. She can sacrifice everything except her singing career. And if she had to give up music and public life as an artist, she would never stop singing in the shower. There are some male singers amongst my favorites, but it is undeniable that women win by an overwhelmingly wide margin when I am creating a playlist for any of my novels.

SGF: Your bilogy is set in the future, but it is clear that you rejected the idea of depicting a world full of inventive devices and fabrications since the very beginning. Was it a response to this tendency to romanticize about the coming future beyond any realistic boundary, so usual in futuristic fiction? What is your opinion about this genre?

JO: The truth is that I feel that they took the 60’s and 70’s younger generations for a ride through sci-fi movies, and then we all became disillusioned when 2001 (the space odyssey year) came and nothing happened. At least nothing that took place in the outer space and concerned each and every one of us. Well, I had my own 2001 odyssey, but it had nothing to do with space, and I did not leave the planet Earth or even my place. And the same happens with New Yorkers after 9/11. Disasters? Yes, but they are all earthly and human. Also I openly admit my lack of imagination to create this kind of dystopian societies like The Hunger Games (by the way, I do love it!). Anyway, the future that I have created for that particular universe in which my babes live in is for the next 25 years more or less; I honestly do not believe that a post-apocalyptic society or civilization could take place in so little time.

SGF: To continue with the future topic, you present Catalonia as totally emancipated from Spain. The characters are too critical of this independence. What is your opinion about this issue now that this is breaking news in any Spanish TV bulletin?

JO: Jeez!!! I am talking about this on September, 27.[2] I wrote that part relating to a hypothetical independent Catalonia at the beginning of 2014; it should be February more or less, and you could perfectly see that a commotion would take place, though nobody knew (and nobody still knows, actually) how it is going to end. I do not think that Ruth, who lives and works in California nine or ten months a year, is worried; and the same happens with Gillian, who visits Barcelona as a tourist and does not give a damn whether Catalonia is independent—unless this would be somewhat detrimental to her. Judith might have been more controversial about this, but by then she had already assimilated London lifestyle, and whatever happened to the Spanish or the Catalonian—she found it irrelevant.

SGF: According to your novels, in two decades’ time homophobia will be still present in the Western world. Do you think that this tendency is so difficult to eradicate?

JO: My grandmother used to say: “Te mastico pero no te trago.”[3]  That is to say: people are beginning to tolerate homosexuality, but they are light years away from accepting it naturally. Great achievements have been made on paper, and we all are used to applaud when celebrities come out, but this is just for show. When in small groups, with family, at home, with reliable friends—then people openly speak their mind and admit they do not like gay people, as they feel that gays are disgusting or unnatural—. I can even state that I still experience it myself today. We are still far away from a total tolerance, and I am not sure up to what point gay pride marches or any other flamboyant mass celebrations of the same kind may help the cause—

SGF: Judith Ordóñez is killed by an Islamic terrorist group. You describe Judith as an outspoken feminist. Do you think Islamism is nowadays a menace to all the rights that women have achieved after centuries of struggle in the Western society, and then a menace to the Western culture in general?

JO: Radicalism is shocking. So is fanaticism. Judith struggles against fanaticism. And it is a fact that now in the 21^st century, religious fanaticism comes from the Middle East. I am sure that people will say that Christian fanaticism does also exist. And I do not question it; Protestantism, especially in the USA, can reach a high level of fanaticism, actually. I mean what I say: I have lived among them for seven years and I know well their weak points. However, I am much more worried about Islamic fanaticism, since it is absolutely unfavorable towards women. Furthermore, the LGBT community is also enduring their homophobic attacks. I know that they will always defend themselves, claiming that this is not true, that we the Western people are manipulating reality to show them as the bad guys. I will not enter into debates—this would be a never-ending interview otherwise. I only say that the facts that I was describing in 2009 have unfortunately become much more prophetic than I would have expected.[4]

SGF: I admit to have a soft spot for villains in fiction since ever. According to this, you can well understand that my favorite character is Michelle. I enjoyed her depiction as a twisted, hopelessly mean bitch so much that I missed her in Nuestro lugar en el mundo. In fact, you played with the presence of Bárbara here—and then you never tell what happened to her. Why did you get rid of these characters so easily in the second part, when they had been so significant in Caprichos del destino?

JO: I confess that I am more into villains than heroes. They are more human, less self-righteous, more believable and quite much appealing. You may be missing Michelle in Nuestro lugar en el mundo, but you should be OK with me when I say that, once Judith is dead, the presence of Michelle cannot be justified at all. So I had to come up with another bad girl, and then Olimpia was born. Saffron’s mother could have played a much more important role, though I decided to leave the Gone with the Wind theme as a mere funny remark, without further ado.

Regarding Bárbara, she could have been more prominent in the second part—But we are back into the same thing; neither Judith, nor Michelle, nor Bárbara have any business in Nuestro lugar en el mundo, mostly because they are not together anymore. I felt that adding Bárbara in the plot could mess it up, therefore I decided that this character was not worth it.

SGF: In Caprichos del destino you defend two awarded Spanish female authors. On one hand, Lucía Etxebarria and the reference to her Nadal Prize for Beatriz y los cuerpos celestes (“Beatriz and the Heavenly Bodies”); on the other hand, Maria de la Pau Janer and her Planeta Prize-winning novel Pasiones romanas (“Roman Passions”),[5] on which critics were really harsh. Why did you want to sing their praises? Was it just a literature issue, or is there anything else behind? Do you think these authors are/have been injured more than they deserved?

JO: I liked Lucía much more when I was younger, and I just wanted—needed—to mirror an author’s manners. I read Pasiones romanas in 2007, and I loved it; when I heard that this book had received so much negative criticism, it really shocked me. And as I was intensely working on the novel by then, I decided to make a mention. But this is just another mention, another anecdote. Caprichos del destino is a novel knitted on old remnants from the storehouse of memory. This is nothing but a simple literature remark, as well as Judith’s criticism, since she is an over judgemental woman.

SGF: Have you thought about what is going to happen in the life of little Maerwyn? She represents the future of woman—

JO: Do not even mention it. At the present time, I flatly refuse to write a trilogy. Believe me, I have more than ten projects waiting for the go-ahead; I imagine that any story may get sequels or spin-offs if the author is determined and readers are longing for. But I really mean that I have too many projects to be held up embroiling a thing that looks good just the way it is now. I actually have fantasized about it, that is true; but this is just fantasy, a dream. “Que toda la vida es sueño / y los sueños, sueños son,”[6] as Calderón said.

SGF: What are you working on now? What are your next steps?

JO: Now I am involved in several things, and I do not know pretty well which one must go first: a historical saga, another new adult saga, a love triangle drama (I am really keen on these issues, as you can see), a couple of weepers with a touch of historical facts—So much to do, so little time. Horreur!!!!

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[1] Julia Ortega / Judith Ordóñez. Note they both share same initials. This way, the author makes obvious this affective connection to her creation.

[2] This day pro-independence parties won the regional elections in Catalonia, and this administration consequently organized a popular vote on November 9, in which people expressed whether they wanted to break away from the Spanish nation. This referendum has not been considered legal, and ongoing political and judicial proceedings on this matter are being carried out at present.

[3] The more or less literal translation would be: I chew but cannot swallow you. It is used to express you can hardly get on with someone but never be friends with. I do not know any equivalent expression in English. Perhaps cannot stomach something or somebody, but this expression sounds to me a bit more categorical than the Spanish one.

[4] Even more, as this interview was made months before the terrorist attacks in Paris last November. In addition to the Catalonian independence issue abovementioned, Ortega’s novels have undoubtedly achieved a trending dimension.

[5] Nadal and Planeta literary awards are extremely popular in Spain, so their presence in mass media is nationwide. Some of the most outstanding Spanish (and Latin American) authors have won these awards. Regarding the Planeta, two Nobel Prize-winning authors (Camilo José Cela and Mario Vargas Llosa) are on the list of past winners.

Etxebarria’s novel is about the story of love/friendship between two teen girls and its progression over time, somehow similar to Ortega’s creations Alex and Gill’s. I still have not read Pasiones romanas, but according to several references, this is also a romance novel dealing with non corresponding love stories—a predominant topic in Ortega’s bilogy.

[6] Since one’s whole life is a dream, / and dreams are dreams themselves. Well-remembered last lines in Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s play Life is a Dream (Original title: La vida es sueño); a total classic from the Spanish Golden Age literature.