Manu Ríos: "Only a Neanderthal insults you by calling you a fagot"

From the adolescent who was forged in Calzada de Calatrava,

(1998) still maintains the "values" that his parents and the streets of that small town in La Mancha gave him.

Although his life has mutated into a continuous catwalk stuck in the

centrifuge , which has just released its sixth season on Netflix.

«I always have that thing of coming from a small town and having a very normal childhood, but deep down I like it, it keeps me down to earth.

If I had been born in another environment, I would not have certain values ​​that my origin has given me»

Does that limit when you are at events like the premieres or the Met Gala that you were at this year? No, even though I have that thought, I also believe that I deserve these opportunities like being at the Met Gala, which I had always dreamed of for my fans trendy, but impressive.

Because when he left home, his videos on YouTube had already put him on the social map.

And

, as a good adolescent phenomenon, did the rest despite the insecurity of a young man with little experience in the sector.

«

».

I understand that nudity and sex scenes shouldn't help much eitherNo, at that time I dealt with it as best I could, but now they ask me to undress and no problem.

You have to normalize sex because it is part of life and remove the taboo.

I don't mind getting naked or doing a sex scene if it serves a purpose or tells something.

If it's free and I feel like I'm naked for being there, I don't like it. That criticism is made a lot of Elite precisely. The format of the series is like that and that's partly why it works.

I speak as an actor, there it depends on whether you are more or less comfortable, because I think that as a spectator it would not impact me.

The issue of insecurity also seems quite generational.

At least expose it We have normalized validating how you feel and it is great.

We all have insecurities, more sensitive days or when we feel like crying.

Beneath all that banal appearance, focused only on sex and the carnal, Netflix's fiction seeps in social debates: from the situation of trans people to the relationship problems of racialized people, including homophobia in soccer.

This season it is the latter that emerges, just when the World Cup is being held in a country where homosexuality is punishable by jail and physical punishment.

But in Europe, where the defense of LGTBI rights is more widespread, insults have not disappeared from the stands nor is sexual diversity public.

«I don't go to soccer games, but I have many friends who do go and the typical insult is faggot.

».

When you're filming that, how do you experience it having it normalized? My body gets sick, it happened to me filming it and even more watching it, because you know that this happens.

Many people use fagot as an insult, which already says a lot about them.

It doesn't affect me personally because I don't consider it an insult right now. In fact, we don't know of a single footballer who has declared himself homosexual. And if they did, they would have the disadvantage of losing sponsors, which is what is reflected in the series, because there is a lot stigma and many fears.

We see it in the World Cup in Qatar, which is why it is so important to speak about it and show it in a crude and open way. You said that it no longer affected you as an insult, but when you were a teenager? Of course, because you are a child and everything affects you much more because you are not used to receiving criticism.

When I was a child I tried to avoid being called a fagot, but over time I've learned and I don't even consider it an insult. How much does that bad experience mark when it comes to defending certain rights publicly? I don't want to be a benchmark for anything, it's a day to day thing, and we all make mistakes.

Just a few years from now my speech has changed and I have educated myself in other things, but now I try to take advantage of the attention I have to talk about issues like this.

We only ask that people be respected, nothing out of the ordinary. It seems that the new generations have already internalized it. There is still a lot of work to be done because not everyone in our generation is equally aware.

In my field, yes, but I still live in a bubble surrounded by people who respect and accept the rest as they are.

But if there is something in

, it is the forward flight of rich teenagers delivered to sexual pleasure while toxicity surrounds almost all their relationships.

"People need to see it so they don't repeat that in real life.

".

There is also the danger of being idealized. There will be someone who does it because they have a good time watching it and it's exciting, but that depends on the viewer.

My recommendation is that they see it as what not to do, it is not exciting to be in a toxic relationship.

It's a pain in the ass because you suffer all the time. But if you see rich teenagers partying, enjoying themselves... many will want to replicate it. If I compare myself with these teenagers at their age, I was a sucker and I'm glad.

There will be time to grow up because sometimes you want to grow up very quickly and then it goes badly for you. Should there be fewer perfect physiques and more normal ones in these series? Of course, it is very unfair that there are actors who often do not give the opportunities they deserve for their talent.

I am aware that I am privileged,

but I am very much in favor of putting people who are heavier, more curvy and who are not normative into adolescent series.

I personally find beauty in things that are not normative, I am more interested in an attitude or a personality. Does it create pressure when they tell you that you are a star in the making all the time? Sometimes it generates pressure, although it is appreciated because it means that they see potential in you .

In my day to day when I'm at home in my pajamas, I don't feel like a star.

Even when I go to an event I can feel more charismatic, but I don't idealize myself so much.

I can't put pressure on myself to be perfect all the time and always say the right thing.

I can do it wrong and it's okay. I think you're one of the few young actors I've ever heard say they don't go to a psychologist.

I have never gone although I have needed it and I am the first to tell my friends to go.

I don't go because I'm lazy and afraid to open up and tell someone everything I have inside, but of course I should go.

Even if I don't do it, I encourage people to do it, it will be a goal for next year, although I'm in a good moment right now.

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• Articles Pablo R. Roces