The Positive Muse

On Javier Vázquez and Daniel Estandía’s “Comiéndote a besos” (“Smothering You with Kisses”)

Behind this affectionate title we find the very first interactive tale on HIV; as a matter of fact, you get two for one. For further understanding, keep on reading—

On the one hand we meet María, a singer-songwriter. When she was 24 years-old she moved to Madrid for new opportunities, and she is currently playing her guitar in a little pub almost every week. For her compositions, María usually finds inspiration in her granny, her village in Albacete,[1] and social injustice. However, her Muse is hard to find these days. One evening at the bus stop in Lavapiés[2] she finds a young bearded man with lifeless eyes. Although she is sitting close to him, he does not even realize! María can see teardrops falling from his eyes. When he is about to leave, he suddenly turns his head and finally looks at María. She introduces herself, and then they chat for a long long while until they all in all have to say goodbye. She cannot help singing with her sweetest voice while leaving. What is so appealing in this man?

I bet that you are dying to know who the guy is. OK, here you have a short recap: the name is Juan, and he is a teacher of Spanish for foreigners. He misses his days as an Erasmus Program student[3] in Berlin: his old friends, Claire (a French student he fell for), the parties, the trips, all that laughing—

Juan never liked housework, so he usually purchases convenience food. One day in a restaurant he met Tere, a collaborator of Imagina MÁS.[4] She asked him whether he has ever got tested for HIV, and persuaded him to do it. Unfortunately, the result was positive! Juan had had sex with some girls without protection in his Berlin days. Back then, he was afraid that the women could get pregnant only. All of them were using birth control pills, so. . .Yet, Juan never thought of sexually transmitted diseases.

Tere took Juan to a hospital in order to take the test again to confirm the result. Damn it! He had to wait for a week to know. Tere stated that there was no need to worry, as great achievements in new treatments have been attained: HIV+ individuals can live normally. Juan eventually relaxed, and hugged her.

A week later, Juan got the corroboration. He was not enraged, though sorrowful; he was afraid of social rejection. What would his friends think about him? Probably no girl would accept his condition. . .After a long day at work, Juan usually walk back home. That day he decided to take the bus in Lavapiés instead—and now you know the rest of the story.

Juan wakes up earlier the next morning. He is befuddled: has it all been a dream? Juan opens his backpack, and there he finds the test result and the note with María’s phone number. For the very first time in days, there is a smile on Juan’s face. He is wholly determined to phone her, and consequently they arrange a date in a restaurant.

After the lunch, Juan and María go out for a walk in Parque del Buen Retiro.[5] Juan wants to hold her hand, but he does not. How would María react to his disease? She swiftly kisses him, and tells him that he looks somewhere else. Juan summons all the courage that he has left and tells his truth. María takes some seconds to answer: she holds his hand, confesses that she is falling in love with him and that no disease will stop this. Oh yes! Inspiration finally comes to María, and she just has to write down the lyrics echoing in her mind.

Some time later, María gives a concert in a little café. She looks so beautiful tonight! In her black dress, with a red flower in her hair. . .Juan cannot be prouder! María dedicates to her boyfriend her new song: “Comiéndote a besos.” The reaction of the audience is really enthusiastic. After the concert, when everybody has left the building, Juan and María meet but say nothing: they just hug and smother each other with kisses.

THE END—

Hey now! This is spanishgayfiction.blogspot.com! Then, where is the LGBT issue in all this? Have not we promised another story? Yes! Please read below.

Pedro came to live in Madrid from Almería.[6] He initially felt so weird as he was used to an easy going way of life, definitely not so busy as the one in Madrid. Pedro wants to become a journalist. To make some money to pay his studies, he works as a waiter in a café in Chueca, the world renowned gay neighborhood in Madrid. It was too hard for Pedro to come out since he supposed that his parents and friends would reject him. His sister Bea meant a big support for him, and helped him tell the others. Pedro luckily found no disapproval, but decided not to mention the issue at home frequently. Now he is an outgoing college boy enjoying his sexual liberation, and everybody likes his gift of gab and sense of humor.

Pedro is not particularly very much experienced in love. He went crazy about a guy that he met when he had just arrived in Madrid. After a long year, Pedro still remembers him. Imagine his surprise when the guy himself phones Pedro! He has something important to say, so they resolve to meet in a park. It is obvious that this guy has been crying. Something is wrong. . .It will not be long before he tells the cause: he has taken the test and he is HIV positive. All of a sudden, a memory from the past calls to Pedro’s mind: in a moment of passion, they had sex without a condom. Pedro can be positive as well!!

. . .And that is what the results finally proved. It took Pedro some time to see things easier. The very moment he knew that he was HIV positive he felt extremely anxious, but he is calmer now. Anyway, Pedro is terrified about falling in love again. How to tell your sweetheart that you are seropositive? He occasionally has sexual encounters—no strings attached.

One evening an attractive stranger comes to the little café where Pedro works. This hot man is glancing at Pedro from time to time. Pedro has blithely noticed this, so he gets close to the stranger’s table and introduces himself. The stranger is so petrified that he cannot hardly speak a word! Probably the company of his friends has meant an obstacle in talking easily. Nevertheless, life is full of unpredictable surprises: it is closing time, and Pedro sees the stranger gazing at him on the other side of the street. He has been waiting for Pedro, and he is alone now. . .

This time the stranger feels comfy and accounted for introducing himself: his name is Rafa and he works as a caring nurse in the emergency department of a hospital. (By the way, Rafa has become a huge fan of María, as he has listened to her songs on the radio and just loves them! Rafa has used the internet to collect some data about María, and he is happy as a lark since she is going to give a concert soon in the little café.)

Cupid shot a couple of his golden arrows and you can take for sure that he did not miss this time! As it could not be otherwise, Rafa and Pedro had sex all night long. Although they have taken precautions, Pedro still feels awkward. That night Pedro dreamed of him and Rafa on the beach of his village—the vision of true happiness! The sexy nurse has totally destroyed the invisible wall that Pedro had put up to prevent others from getting close to him.

After an amazing week together, Rafa is sitting at a table of the café, waiting eagerly for the stellar appearance of his favorite singer-songwriter. Pedro is also there, working as usual. As you may already presume, it is the very night when María sang “Comiéndote a besos” for the first time. When she declares to the audience that her boyfriend is HIV-positive, it makes Pedro’s heart skip a beat; Rafa spots his babe’s odd reaction and realizes what is going on. When the song is over, Pedro starts to cry. Then Rafa comes close and kisses him, whispering that there is no need to hide anything as he loves him.

If you are not touched by this dazzling, kindhearted story, you really are not worthy of being a human! The author Javier Vázquez made an outstanding work in producing a narration that can move anyone, straight or gay, as well as a genuine portrait of the panic that seropositive individuals may feel of the others’ response to the disease. In addition, the publication displays the winsome illustrations by Daniel Estandía conveying the tender, graceful, precious moral of the story: Love is the most effective weapon against any kind of intolerance.

As this is a 2014 interactive tale published online, there are many sound and visual effects throughout its pages. If you click on the pictures you will hear the sound of the sea, the rain falling, a pot boiling, a cat purring, and so on. At the end of the story, there is an extra bonus for your consideration: a video in which Rozalén,[7] the real singer-songwriter of “Comiéndote a besos,” performs the song. Enjoy it!

You can find the original text in Spanish here.

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[1] Located in the south-east of Spain, it is one of the five provinces of Castilla-La Mancha, worldwide known as the setting of many adventures in Cervantes’ Don Quixote.

[2] A popular neighborhood in the city of Madrid.

[3] A European Union student exchange program established at the end of the 1980s. Named after the Dutch philosopher Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466 - 1536), this mobility experience has become a cultural phenomenon among European college students.

[4] Imagina MÁS (“Imagine MORE”) is the name of a Spanish non-governmental organization aiming at HIV prevention, as well as sexual education, health care, awareness campaigning, support for HIV positive individuals, etc. “Comiéndote a besos” means one of their educational projects.

[5] Park of the Pleasant Retreat: one of the largest parks in Madrid, and one of its main attractions too (runners love it!). Here you can find, among other charms, a large pond for rowing under the gaze of the statue of King Alfonso XII, the nostalgic Crystal Palace or even a Monument of the Fallen Angel—inspired by John Milton’s Paradise Lost—, which is the world’s only public statue of Satan; Madrid is definitely the epitome of diversity.

[6] This province represents the ⅛ part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. At the southeast—on the Mediterranean Sea—, it is one of the hottest, driest places in Spain. Its unique desert-like landscape made it the perfect location for Spaghetti Westerns such as Sergio Leone’s.

[7] María Rozalén (Albacete, 1986) has become an audience favorite thanks to her performances published on YouTube. She has released two albums so far, as well as her collaborations with other popular Spanish musicians.

Interview with Rosana Briel

Spanishgayfiction.blogspot.com offers the reader an interview with “Como un torrente” author Rosana Briel (Barcelona, 1966). Universal topics such as love, sex, masculinity, literary creation, the art of narration, or the role of the author are discussed in Briel’s amusing, enjoyable conversation. Sure the reader will think so.

SPANISH GAY FICTION: When did you write “Como un torrente”? Do you remember what led you to write a story of love and sex between two men?

ROSANA BRIEL: I remember this perfectly: a challenge. This must be 7 or 8 years ago, and I was discussing with a couple of friends whether a novel series author would make up her mind and tell the homosexual story that she was suggesting in every novel; then one of my friends (a very nice one indeed) defied me with the typical challenge: Would you dare?…The truth is that I just cannot be bothered with this kind of challenges, but this one attracted me right away, so I wrote the first line the very next day, and then, for whatever reason, all the rest sprang forth just the way you can read it. I think that this is the fastest piece I have ever produced; Seth and James were born just in two days.

SGF: Did you write the story with intent to post it on a literature forum or blog? The reaction of the readers in those media is immediate. What was the response?

RB: As I said before, I wrote it for my friends, just for fun; but one day the same friend who defied me—hi, sweetie! I love you lots!! [laughs]— encouraged me to post it on the romance fiction forum we belonged to, claiming that I was selfish if I did not share the babes—as she called them—, that I needed to show all the others my writing, and bla-bla-bla…In short, I followed her suggestion and posted it, and guess what…I was really shocked by their response: They loved it all!

SGF: Although nowhere specified throughout the story, the names of the characters (Seth, Aidan, James) suggest an English-speaking environment. Why did a Spanish writer want to impose that foreign touch to her story? May it be a nod to the American M/M erotic literature written by female heterosexual romantic authors, very popular in the USA, as a model for your story?

RB: What you say about American literature is true, but there is nothing about it in this case. I chose Seth because I like it, I love its taste; Aidan, just because I loved it alongside Seth, and my friend chose James. All of them were chosen with no specific location, origin or whatever else in mind—just the feeling that they were the proper names for them.

SGF: The feature which might make “Como un torrente” so unique is that the main character, Seth, is constantly attracting his muses' attention. Besides the fact that this is a direct, enjoyable technique to get the reader’s complicity, did you have in mind that women would be, mainly or solely, the target audience when you wrote it? To what extent can be said that “Como un torrente” is a story about gay men for a straight female audience?

RB: I guess Seth somehow wanted to involve my friends at first. Later, when the story was published, it turned out that the character’s calling attention spread out to each and every reader, making them Seth’s mates. And of course, this was aimed at a female audience; after all, women are the main audience in romance fiction.

SGF: The description of Seth as a lonely man, a kind of rough, with uncertain background and a long dark hair, reminds me of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. What was your source of inspiration for Seth? Would you say that he represents the physical description of your ideal man, tattoo and shaved skin included?

RB: To be honest, and at the expense of seeming a kind of nuts, sometimes I also wonder where some characters come from, since I am positive that I really do not know where Seth does come from. He just did it, period. And I love the way he is—By the way, I also love Heathcliff, he is an extraordinary character.

SGF: In the story there is a funny comment about the fake six-pack abs that the actors of a popular film about Spartans exhibit thanks to the magic of cinema.[1] Seth also describes himself as well-built with no need for gym workout. And, according to the description, it could be said that Seth’s and James’s clothes are very basic, simple and traditionally masculine. Can your story be understood as a defense of the natural, genuine man, far from false impressions, affectation or up-to-date fashion trends?

RB: They themselves decided the way they are; if they feel easy in jeans and T-shirts, I will not be the one who opposes.

SGF: There is a moment in the story in which Seth notes about James: “It is curious that there is so much tenderness concealed behind such a masculine man.” Is masculinity a synonym for tough self-sufficiency lacking of tenderness as for Rosana Briel too?

RB: Rosana Briel is pissed off at macho men acting thug, so she was pleased when she realized that Seth felt that about James as something positive. He shows that masculinity does not need to be at odds with tenderness.

SGF: It was Aidan who instilled in Seth the notion of being strong and independent, as nobody would care about him; and it is James the man who eventually gives him affection, tenderness, and love. Could it be said that, as for Rosana Briel, Aidan added to James equals the formula of the perfect man, that “toughness + tenderness” pattern of the previous question?

RB: This worked with Seth and James, so it must be a good combination. [laughs]

SGF: Regarding Seth’s melodramatic past, did you need that his story with James were something more than a one-night stand, as a way to redeem him and mend his broken heart? Just as if something deep inside made you give your character a happy ending?

RB: Well, romance genre structure somehow comes into play here, which means: a happy ending, no matter what. However, they went their way. I just watched them and, though it might seem a bit weird that a feeling could just come out of nowhere, that is what really happened. As far as I know, they still do well together. [laughs]

SGF: The way these two strangers who have just met fall in love is while having sexual intercourse, what seems to be their starting point as a couple. I find this a very romantic idea but, do you think that such a thing can come true in fiction only, or in real life as well? Let me be a bit nosy: this situation, has Rosana Briel herself experienced it?

RB: No, Rosana herself has not experienced it, but I do think that this can actually happen in real life. Love just shows up without notice or permission, and in spite of your shortcomings many times.

SGF: Why did you remember Casablanca at the end of the story? Do you feel there is a gay subtext in the fact that Bogart lets Ingrid Bergman fly away and stays beside the gendarme with mustache instead?

RB: No, the final scene in Casablanca is perfect, nobody change it! I just tried to introduce a touch of fun at the end of the story and that sentence seems spectacular to me, so I allowed myself to use it regarding Seth’s love for movies by the way.

SGF: Now let me criticize the characters...I do not understand why Seth and James use a condom when playing anal...if they ejaculate in each other’s mouth when playing oral. In this age of prevention of sexually transmitted diseases campaigns, I invite you to use this opportunity to defend your artistic choice.

RB: Oral sex undoubtedly implies certain risks at different levels, and I believe fiction can also be another way of education and information but, as this is fiction and at the risk of being simplistic—Should I have denied such a very intimate moment to Seth and James?

SGF: In my review of “Como un torrente” I praised your narrative art, as you are constantly playing with the reader expectations. There are so many tone changes that seems to be several stories within the story, making it a rich, varied, and entertaining read. Is this a recurring feature in the rest of your work?

RB: Every time I face up to a new story it seems as if everything previous does not exist. I start over, and just the very story and its characters trace the path that I try to follow. This is like a very sane insanity.

SGF: Concerning your only novel so far, Sin remisión (“Hopeless”), this seems to be an erotic novel peppered with BDSM elements. It was published in 2010, just one year before Fifty Shades of Grey. Could it be said that you were on the cutting edge earlier than E.L. James? Or, including BDSM elements in romance books, was it usual before the Fifty Shades trilogy super-hit?

RB: When Sin remisión was born in my mind I had no idea about how this was going to flow out; I was just moved by the stimulus to tell the story of two people who find love in a BDSM background. The only thing that I know is that I needed to write it whatever happened, with all the flaws, achievements, uncertainty, inexperience, emotions—It was awesome to get in touch with people from that world and find out their trait, being well aware that it would be impossible to reflect just the slightest part of what this entails, and in the frame of romance fiction by a long shot.

SGF: What are you working on now? What are your most immediate projects?

RB: My head is plenty of people that I try to keep at bay in order that they grow up and think over along with me, though sometimes I have no idea where things spring from—That is nonsense, isn’t it? Every story is different. I need time and so do they—the last thing I have produced has took me two years of research as my knowledge on the topic was very superficial and I had to find out many things, from simple (people’s treatment) to complex (an eye drops recipe)—, so I go step by step. There will soon be news, but I still cannot speak about it.

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[1] If you still have not guessed the name of the film, do not worry. In the meanwhile, you can keep yourself entertained by trying to solve the following arithmetic operation: [(7 + 8) / 5] x [(49 - 24) + (15 x 5)] = …

The Lonely Heart Is a Hungry Hunter

On Rosana Briel’s “Como un torrente” (“Like a Torrent”)

Months ago, during an interview with Bésame y vente conmigo author Olivia Ardey, she stated that one of her favorite Spanish M/M romance fictions is this short story by Rosana Briel. Once you have read it you can surely agree.

Seth, an orphan, self-sufficient guy on his 28^th birthday, recalls his life so far. Very wild in his teens, his past can be summed up as a constant moving from foster families back to orphanage over and over again. He only could find peace in his sole friend Aidan, another orphan. Painfully, a lethal leukemia took him away from his side too soon. Aidan was not only the love of his life, but also his big brother, his mate, the one who taught him the most important lesson: Nobody cares about you, so do it yourself.

Years went by and Seth could make his living. Now he is a successful professional illustrator, as well as a 6’3”, long wavy dark-haired, amazing green-eyed lone wolf who is sure of one thing: he will never ever love again—

This unsatisfying exposition could make the reader feel we are dealing with a sad story…By no means! From this moment on, Seth is keeping a conversation throughout the story with a group of women (his “muses,” as he calls them) that he is agitating, teasing, joking with..., while they—together with the reader—are playing the role of witnesses in his vivid account of his birthday celebration. A hot celebration, indeed.

Instead of a pleasant party with friends (if any), our stand-alone hero plans to club tonight to have some fun, probably to wipe away those sad memories from the past. That is why he turns down an invitation from a mild guy who looks like an absent-minded teacher. No way. Tonight he really needs an extra-challenging stimulation. And Seth the hunter will eventually find it close to the bar.

There, an irresistible wave of Davidoff’s “Cool Water” invades his nostrils. A picture of the scented prey, you ask? Dark eyes. Thick lips. Short hazel hair. Strong arms. Powerful thighs in tight blue jeans. A hunky trunk wrapped up in a raw lumberjack shirt. The name: James. Or, the perfect chance for a sex & drugs & alcohol night in a hotel room.

By now, you are presumably expecting a swinging series of meticulously described sex sessions starred by this charming pair who do not believe in underclothing. Well, you are truly right—and will be overwhelmingly satisfied! Anyway, what the reader might not imagine is that tonight will turn crucial in Seth’s destiny.

Like Scheherazade in Arabian Nights, we find unarguably true that Rosana Briel is an amazingly skillful storyteller. Reading “Como un torrente” is like being on a rollercoaster: The first paragraphs make us think of a weepy, heartbreaking narration; all of a sudden, the whole thing becomes a light ironic comedy—until the plot slides into the realms of eroticism…But Briel has kept an ace up her sleeve, and what could be another witty-but-idle story about two horny beefcakes enjoying a big time turns into something deeper. Love at first (torrential) ejaculation, could be said? Paraphrasing Warner Bros. all-time screen classic Casablanca, though changing the last word (as Briel does at the end of her story): “This is the beginning of a beautiful love.”

You can read the original text in Spanish here.

Interview with Sebas Martín

Sebas Martín (Barcelona, 1961), the author of Aún estoy en ello, has talked to spanishgayfiction.blogspot.com about his work, same-sex marriage, comics, politics, love, sex, life, and so on. I will always appreciate this plentiful, interesting interview he has granted.

SPANISH GAY FICTION: What did you do the day of the same-sex marriage law approval? Did you live a huge celebration on the streets such as Salva and his friends do in Aún estoy en ello?

SEBAS MARTÍN: Almost… I was somewhat less expressive, but I do remember me and my circle of old friends joining for a home dinner to celebrate it. Along came institutional and associational events I was invited to, where we all congratulated one another. It was a great day and a great achievement for people like me, who still had experienced the customs of the Francoist regime in its death throes: peepholed-door gay clubs, social dangerousness law, and so on. I have no intention to get married (at least for now, LOL), but the right to do so puts me on the same level than the others.

SGF: The final sentence of your comic is: “After all, it did seem things were changing…” Nine years (it seems like it was just yesterday!) after the same-sex marriage law approval, do you really think things have already changed? Is there still a lot to do?

SM: Things have changed because laws have to be like the mirror of the current society. Firstly, a law must make a righteous deed legal, and then it is a matter of time that society in general makes it normal. Let me paraphrase my own comic and say: we're still on it. While it is true that the LGBT fact can be seen as something ordinary in the big cities (a law considering homophobia as a crime has just been approved in Barcelona), you cannot say the same in the question of smaller cities or rural communities. And these rights are, apparently, in constant danger of being abolished. We must not forget that one of the election promises of the PP[1] during their last campaign was to abolish same-sex marriage. There are still not only pending issues, but we also cannot drop our guard about the work done.

SGF: I am totally ignorant about the status of the Spanish gay-themed comic domestically… Is it a rising value? Do you have multitude of followers? Or is it a minority, selective audience?

SM: The number of followers is constantly increasing, though it is still for minorities as it may be considered a genre comic. The problem with gay comics is the same as mainstream comics. In Spain, the comic has always been considered a second-rate literary genre, and it was only until very recently that it has attracted attention from the world of culture. If a comic book artist is like a pariah (sorry for the comparison) in the literary creation world, then a gay-themed comic book artist is a female pariah. However, I cannot complain: While it is true my target audience is more limited than others, it is also really devoted.

SGF: And how does the Spanish gay comic work beyond our borders? In your case, are you an internationally-recognized author?

SM: The places where comics work best are, generally, French-speaking countries, since they consider comics a very important part of their culture. However, it is also true that these countries are suffering a wave of conservatism, and that does not help too much if you are gay-themed work author. Regarding the Spanish gay comic abroad, it is almost completely unknown. Well, I would even dare to leave out ’almost’. I think some work by Nazario[2] was translated long time ago to some other language, but I have no news about more Spanish gay-themed comic authors having their work translated (I may be wrong, anyway). I think Ismael Álvarez and David Cantero[3] have done something, but I am not sure.
I took my first steps internationally---with modest results, I must confess. Some of my work has been translated into French, English, German, and Italian. Eve my contribution to the comic album Historia de Sitges ("The Sitges Story"), which was Machos al sol ("Machos in the Sun"), was translated into Croation, since I gave the copyrighs to an LGBT association in Croatia for a very underground publication.
In addition, I have been invited to comic conventions in Angoulême and Helsinki, and given lectures in Berlin and Paris, and I am still surprised to be the speaker or guest of honor beyond the Pyrenees.

SGF: In the very first pages of Aún estoy en ello we can see a manifestation against gay marriage, where you portrayed a series of characters, all of them representing the most conservative population of Spain, giving their reasons why they do not admit it. One of them bears a suspicious resemblance to Rouco Varela, a member of the Catholic Church in Spain who has shown his opposition to this law in the most emphatic way. Did you have fun working on these two pages of the comic? Or, were you in an enraged mood and the result was a kind of settling of scores?

SM: Well, it was a settling of scores and I was enraged---but it was very funny, LOL. I believe these suspicious resemblances came from deep inside my guts. And the ‘pearls of wisdom’ the protesters let out are taken directly from actual statements that I read in the press or heard on the TV news. I had a very good time working on those pages, but it was also a kind of little catharsis.

SGF: The stable, long-term relationship is represented in Salva's parents in the comic. However, these characters do not show any complicity or affection for each other. What is your opinion on LTRs? Do you believe in them? Or, do you think, as Rafa says, that marriage is an outdated, anachronistic institution?

SM: See... my characters express opinions which can be far from matching mine. Each one of them thinks in a different way than the others. Salva's parents represent those typical elderly couples based on an affection that has gradually turned into monotony, as many people of their generation. In addition to this, if things between them did not go well, they even could not divorce as a means of escaping. Rafa's remarks about life as a couple are very libertarian, but he eventually asks his boyfriend to marry him in the last pages of Aún estoy en ello. Rita and Salva believe in the GREATEST love and do not find it...There is not a general rule to measure for everyone. Love can last for ever or not. But I do not believe in marriage as an excuse to make it last. You must stay with your partner just because you want to, because all your body asks for it. If not, turn the page of your life story. Years ago, one of my characters said this: “Love is like a butane bottle: When it is out of gas, you have to replace it.”

SGF: Salva is a fervent follower of Sex and the City, a TV series which has usually received criticism due to its gallery of somehow stereotyped characters. Salva's friends seem to represent, each one of them, a cliché linked to the gay universe: Rafa, the bear; Oriol, the drama queen; Rita, the fag hag... Take this opportunity to stand up for stereotypes.

SM: Well, I defend the use of stereotypes because they do exist. You only need to go out and see the people on the street. Society compels to define one’s self by clichés: bears, gym queens, hipsters, tops, bottoms... Perhaps we are generally not so stereotypical (well, the people you can see in a circuit or a kedada[4] are reliable evidence of the existence of stereotypes--and how!), but clichés are useful tools that help tell stories in a way that characters are more defined and you can develop a very specific feature in them. Let’s just say it is a literary license that works very well.

SGF: During the Christmas shopping episode, Oriol defies an old man who talks disparagingly about homosexuals. Oriol defends his attitude, despite his friends' warnings, stating this is the way to earn popular respect. Do you agree with Oriol's behavior in similar situations, or do you think it is better to conduct yourself otherwise, even ignoring the provocations?

SM: You cannot confront anyone who says things you do not like or agree with. It is neither necessary nor worthy. But there are times you hear such nagging things that you can hardly shut up. I do not use to be a troublesome guy--just the opposite! But I am very proud of being the way I am, and if someone questions this by forcing me to listen to their opinion---Well, I am afraid that person will have to listen to mine, like it or not.

I think you should not go the agitators' way, but you cannot let them humiliate you.

SGF: With your permission, I would say that your generosity with Lucas (when you give him such a beefcake as a boyfriend at the end of the story) is so excessive that sounds just like a tall tale--really hard to believe. Were you carried along by the celebration moment of positivity, or do you know of any similar case?

SM: Curiously, things seeming more unreal are, many times, based on true stories in my comics. I know of three very similar cases--handicapped guys, unattractive guys, or both--and they are dating real stunners. And up to this point I remind the popular Spanish saying: ‘La suerte de la fea, la guapa la desea.’[5] (Quite true, by the way… LOL)

SGF: One of the aspects I find most interesting in Aún estoy en ello is the way sexuality is portrayed: You show it bluntly, but without falling into pornography; you do not judge, although there is clearly a rule breaking in the conventional game of monogamy. There are no fixed roles with respect to the top/bottom positions. Do you think homosexual relationships can be too shocking in the eyes of the heterosexual population?

SM: Well, they first make much fuss--and then they confess they work the same. There are very active women and very passive men, and also straight people who live their sexual life openly. The Gay Kama Sutra I created along with Diego J. Cruz has been more successful among straight girls than gay men. Even they ask for my personal dedication! Some confess it is always good to learn new things. You can find very timorous heterosexuals, that is true---but also very timorous gays.

SGF: The episode of the beefcake of Naples in the trattoria seems taken directly from an erotic film. It is now when you shut me up and say it is based on a real experience…

SM: TOTALLY REAL… but my lips are sealed.

SGF: The story of old Román is my favorite. It could well deserve a comic book itself. Have you ever met someone who has lived a similar story in those times during Francoism? Did you do some research? Was the gay-hunt as ruthless as you depict it?

SM: I did research, I met with a group of gay elderly... charming all of them!!! And I have a drawer full of notes to do something set in that period in the future. I am really willing. I also admit it is one of my favorite chapters. It is a humble tribute to all those who lived in a much harder time, when you risked your job and even your life just for loving someone of the same gender. We owe the situation we are in now to many of them, thanks to their struggle and courage.

SGF: Now let's talk about the way you depict the young homosexuals in the comic. Aitor, the cunning, hypocritical young student, makes Salva get fired from his job since he could not get what he wanted. Xicu is eventually (Poor Salva!) a complete nightmare. Both are selfish, manipulative characters. Aún estoy en ello may even be understood as a warning for middle-aged gays to act warily with the younger. Do you feel there is a big difference in attitude between young gay men and gays of Salva's generation?

SM: It is not exactly a question of generation. In the gay universe (and in the hetero universe many times also), youth is a rising value that seems to override any other. The other day, when discussing a political issue with someone ostentatiously younger than me, he replied I am a "fat, ugly old lady"...Weight reasons in political issues, don't you think?---In the gay universe (not always, but often) the young tend to domineer the older...now and 200 years ago. In the case you mention, the different attitudes between Salva and his friends and young people are that the latter do not value what they have, since they found it all done, and the point of defending LGBT rights seems to them a thing from the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

SGF: Salva is a huge Corto Maltese fan. I can see in Xicu certain features similar to Corto’s. Was it on purpose?

SM: Absolutely. Everybody searches for their fantasies. Unfortunately for Salva, although Xicu may look like Corto just in appearance, he lacks of the romantic, adventurer nature of Hugo Pratt's creation. Never mind...

SGF: I find priceless Xicu’s explanation on people’s outlooks about the difference between a gay tourist and a gay resident in Ibiza. Do you think there is still such a hypocritical attitude?

SM: I heard this statement from a guy of Ibiza. Not someone living in Ibiza in that time, but a lifelong resident, someone whose surname is Marí or Tur, the most popular, traditional family names in the island. And now I recall one of your first questions, where you asked me if there was still a lot to do. Keep in mind that there are tourist places where the only aspect the residents consider in gay visitors (no matter if they have been crowds for decades) is their money. However, they do not like the idea of having gay relatives. It is amazing to know the large number of citizens in Sitges, one of our first national gay destinations, who still denies this situation and claims “there are just a few clubs for people like this, and that is all.”

SGF: Talking about Xicu, he is quite an irritating character. The fact that Salva, a homosexual going through a midlife crisis, could withstand all the humiliations just for sex and fear of solitude reflects a certain masochistic aspect in relationships. To what extent does the story of Salva and Xicu represent your own view of relationships?

SM: I have seen things like this in several couples. When I broke up with the partner I lived my longest-lasting relationship with (12 years), an acquaintance told us he did not understand why, since it is better to be in bad company than alone in this world. And there are many people who think so. Sometimes, gays seem to be women of the 1940s: Society instilled in them a dreadful fear of being single. Life as a couple is wonderful, but only if it is fulfilling. You live and share with that someone, you do not put up with. If so... out! And if your love dies ’of overuse’, as Jurado[6] sang, then try to find another...or not. You have to learn to be okay with yourself in order to feel comfortable with someone.

SGF: Anyway, I think that, despite Xicu's annoying behavior, you are not too harsh on him. He is a repressed guy ready to conquer the big city, get the most out of a freedom he has not enjoyed in his small town; but his immatureness will cost him dear, and he will finally have to give up his constant-party dream and go back home with his tail between his legs. I have the feeling that you somehow feel affection for him, understand him...

SM: Yes, because he is just an immature guy. He is not a vicious son of a bitch: He just cannot do better. Xicu is one of those guys (and we all have met lots of them) who are very true and loving when you meet them in the loneliness of their town, and then they come to the big city and see so many hot gay men on the street. And as they do not want to miss a thing, then you cannot stop the inevitable… In a dialogue finally deleted in the script, Oriol said to Xicu: “Okay, so you were not a slut in your village just because you didn't have the chance.”

SGF: What are your current projects? What are you working on?

SM: I am ending up the second part of Kedada, the new adventures of Peluche, and making a cookbook to win over beefcakes, LOL. Meanwhile I make flyers and posters and take part in all the collaborations I can make some money with. I am making exhibitions from time to time. I do not know how I can find time to do it all...

SGF: And finally, a doubt... In the last panel there is a man with a camera. Who is he?

SM: Oh! It is the photographer Guillem Medina, a good friend of mine, who asked me to appear in and helped me in several works. He was one of the first cameo appearances I made. Now all my friends ask to appear in, LOL.

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[1] PP: Partido Popular (“Popular Party”). It is the political party which won the last general election. Thus, it forms the current national administration in Spain.

[2] Nazario (b. 1944) is considered the father of the underground comic in Spain. His most popular creation was Anarcoma, a transvestite detective.

[3] Ismael Álvarez (b. 1978) and David Cantero (b. 1972) are two of the most outstanding, celebrated Spanish gay-themed comic authors nowadays.

[4] Kedada: a gathering arranged through the net.

[5] Sorry, but I do not know any equivalent expression in English. It could be said: ‘The beautiful covets the luck of the homely.’

[6] Rocío Jurado (Chipiona, Cádiz, 1944 – Madrid, 2006) was the perfect example of the Spanish popular folk singer. Her fans used to call her “The Greatest” because of her powerful, over-the-top performances. Sebas Martín mentions here a line from “Se nos rompió el amor” (“Our Love Broke into Pieces”), one of the most popularly demanded songs of her repertoire.