Manel Fuentes: "In the end they are going to ask us to do the rain dance to lower the price of electricity"

Manel Fuentes' career was about to end twice before even starting. A call to the mayor of Lepe imitating the voice of Jordi Pujol in his first stage on Catalunya Radio was the first warning: "That was when he was still in charge, we didn't know it was like that," recalls Fuentes. "The only thing he said was 'no more happens', that depending on where the filter is, it could be 'you're fired.' Luckily, Pujol's secretary, Carmen Alcoriza, called the mayor and said he was very nice.

». It sounds like a joke.

Far from learning, the Catalan repeated at the beginning on television, in Crónicas Marcianas, with King Juan Carlos as the protagonist: «Imagine what it was like at that time to imitate the king.

I remember that Sardá told me that if it was going well, it was a bit that we were going to sign up, but if it goes bad, the one who was going to leave was me ».

Not only did he not

but, 25 years later, he is still there, now in the world of entertainment in front of

, where this year he is 10 years old, and

, which today premieres on Antena 3 (22.40 hours)

Are you still nervous when the red light goes on after 25 years on camera? Yes, because in all my professional decisions there is an element of risk and expanding the range as a presenter. I started with an imitation of the King in Chronicles, I went on to my own late night, which was something I longed for and no one had done, and I put myself in front of Caiga Quien Caiga after Great Wyoming. Risk is always necessary.

Surprisingly, for Fuentes the risk is the leap to television that should generate less risk: entertainment, white humor. "

" he laughs. I don't understand the pejorative tone towards white humor. Nobody asks Mickey Mouse to mess with anyone, to be aggressive or to give annoying opinions and people still like him ». And it is said by those who clung to the blackest of humor to enter the halls of a large part of the Spaniards with nocturnal and treacherousness.

Is that path from the irreverent to the familiar part of maturity? Perhaps that evolution is a matter of maturity, but there is a reading code in going one point further, taking advantage of the path traveled. Crónicas was a daily improvisation, Fuentes y Cía had the goal of being an American late and CQC was an incredible journey. Then I had my parenthesis in the more political radio and now, in entertainment, I know how to play without the net to put balls to the rest and make them shine. You leave the lead, you are in the middle of the field and you distribute because that is how you are going to be successful. Besides, I came from a family that was a bit rigid and I couldn't allow myself many sins of youth. Come on, there was a good fight at home. Not for work, but when I said that I wanted to dedicate myself to this when I was 12, they told me to do something else. When the time came,at home they respected my decision.

That is how he ended up studying Journalism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

And now he charges against his system: «

because there are people with a high level and very high marks.

This system is the great drama of young people who want to dedicate themselves to this ... Their teachers have never been in this world, I would be delighted to give classes but they have never called me ».

Still, he made it to television, not without difficulties.

The Chronicles call came to him in Buffalo, in a time without cell phones, on the way to Niagara Falls.

.

How did they find you? They called me on a hotel phone that only my parents had. Just to find me I had to say yes. Later, when Sardá called me, I became very dignified and told him that I only wanted to do a

American. He told me that we would see and I ended up in Chronicles imitating the King. If that call hadn't come, I don't know what my life would be like now. Would it be possible to retrieve a Chronicles or a CQC today? It should be possible. I would not do the same, but I would like to see a different beat from the things we are seeing now. Updated, it is a format to be successful. You do not have to be afraid and take risks without being unconscious or throwing yourself against a wall, but there is a way. But it is that the beat in this country does not quite work for anyone. Ours (Fuentes and Co.) worked very well for five years. It was not closed due to lack of audience because we went to the top.

After going on the radio again, Manel Fuentes came across

and the entertainment formats. So a decade has passed. "And let it continue," he points out, before entering his musical side.

Two shows, your Springsteen tribute group ... Do you have any spare time? It is a legend that I am a workaholic, there are people with a daily program and a prime or two. Just like people who think I only listen to the boss. Now I am full with John Mayer and if you saw my playlist for the end of the year, you would be shocked by the tacky sounds. Do you still think that Spain and Catalonia are going to find a way to understand each other? I trust people: beyond the Politics, there is a willingness to throw a cable next door when the electricity and gasoline are fired, the debt is monumental and pensions are not insured. In the end they will ask us to do the rain dance to lower the price of electricity. What is the point of almost everything that we live? What makes sense is that your neighbor is okay. I agree with Manuel Vilas,that in his latest novel he says that with the pandemic the nations will end and we will only have our neighbor.

And probably Manel Fuentes on television.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

See links of interest

• Last News

• Home THE WORLD TODAY

• Work calendar

• Fact checking