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Ángel Martín
(Barcelona, 1977) conversed with dogs and with Death, piloted spaceships and in his head more people chatted than a bar.
It was in 2017 and that psychotic outbreak ended with him in a psychiatric hospital.
Four years later he wrote a book recounting his experience,
In case the voices return
, which has since sold more than 300,000 copies.
An atrocity.
In the wake of his success, books of celebrity testimonials about his mental health problems have proliferated, and he continues to tie his experience to his work in his new monologue:
Punto para los locos
.
But aside from his odd habit of talking about himself in the second and third person, the most serious comedian I've ever met is fine.
"No, I'm fucking crazy," he points out.
Even better.
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You have invented a literary genre.
Host, thank you very much.
I had never seen it from that perspective, it took me completely by surprise.
Because you said so?
With what eyes have you seen it?
As a result of your success, many other celebrities have been encouraged to tell their cases and I think that this has contributed to the normalization of the subject.
Damn, much appreciated.
The truth is that she had never analyzed it from that point of view.
Since one is inside the spiral of what is happening, one is not very aware of what is happening around us, of what causes what you have written.
Yes, I have seen that more books have been published with testimonials of this type and it is nice if I have been the cause of more people being encouraged to say: "Hey, I have also gone through things, I will tell you what I have experienced in case It does you some good."
It is very appreciated that people do not rush to mention that they have been through difficult things.
What is the trick to talk about mental health without falling into superficiality or drama?
Above all, do not set a chair.
I try to say: "Hey, this is what I have experienced, this is what I have done to come back and this is what I do now to try to continue well."
If it works for you, fucking good and that's it.
It is interesting that people who have gone through problems like this tell you about it in a language that you understand.
That is the most important.
There are many medical books, but when you're screwed you need clarity above all else.
That is what I was looking for when writing: a very, very clear language that is quickly understood, because when you are in the darkest moment you are not there to juggle words or to undo knots of what they are trying to tell you.
Have you ever fantasized about your book being a bestseller?
No no no.
I don't belong to the publishing world, I have no idea what can be sold and what can't.
You do not write with any claim beyond the fact that your experience, with a little luck, can be of use to someone.
That's all I intended with
In case the voices come back
, because I had left the hospital needing a book like this and I couldn't find it.
So, if you're as screwed up now as I was, looking for the testimony of someone who has gone through your move, has gotten out of there and tells you how, well here it goes.
You don't write with the intention of selling a lot... Man, it would be totally stupid to say that one doesn't do things trying to make it go as well as possible, but I wasn't in the mood for it to be a success.
The chip was: "I hope this helps someone."
For me, the repercussion of the book, beyond sales and editions, goes in that direction.
People come to tell me that reading it has helped them and the feeling is fantastic because that was the intention.
I generally don't do things with the intention of success, I do them because I feel like it.
Do people look at you differently now, for better or for worse?
For good.
You notice that there is much more affection, much more brotherhood.
People aren't in a rush to walk up to you and mention that they've been through a tough move, because they know you have, too.
A different code is established between us.
Many times, when it comes to interacting with others, we are afraid of what they might think of what we say, if they will understand it or not, but if you are screwed and you come to talk to me, you know that I will understand you because I have been there.
You lose fear and shame.
There is a bigger link produced by the book and probably also by the news.
It is a more beautiful relationship than when it was on TV, because on TV you don't know who is on the other side of the screen, they are numbers, audience.
With the book I have established a much closer relationship with people.
You premiere a monologue based on the book.
Are you still giving of yourself?
More than based, it is as if it were part of the wake of the book.
As a result of writing it I realized that the use of words and comedy is quite powerful if you combine them with the intention of throwing a cable.
Until now, I wrote monologues with the intention that they be very funny and that's it: that there be a number of jokes, that it be very cool, we all laugh and go home happy.
But as a result of
In case the voices return
, I wondered if I could write a monologue that, in addition to making you laugh a lot, could also be of some use to you.
I wanted to play with that, with the chance to see if you could create a monologue that clicked on your head when you came out of watching it.
Is called
Point for the crazy
.
Should we normalize the word 'crazy'?
Depends.
Usually people don't think very well: they care a lot about the word, but they forget the context, the way they are using it.
I use the word crazy to talk about myself.
That's okay, because I can talk about myself and my experience however I want, no one is going to come and tell me what word to use.
People who have been through situations of this type are in no hurry to use certain words, but we are not stupid and we know how to distinguish when it is being used to hurt, offend or annoy us and when it is being used because we are having coffee and it is a lot faster to understand us.
People who say crazy in the negative context forget that when a firefighter goes into a building to save a baby, they are the first to say: "Holy shit, this guy is crazy."
Has success raised the level of criticism?
Doesn't everyone like you anymore?
It may be, but I don't care.
I totally ignore the critics, I don't pay attention to them and I absolutely don't care.
I am honest with what I live and what I say, it has no more history, so it seems perfect and super respectable that someone bothers what I say or does not like it.
What I am not going to do is give ball to those stories.
Today, many people make the mistake of focusing more on criticism than praise.
It catches my attention a lot.
Someone makes a joke and there are 100 who are offended and 1,500 who are not, but their reaction is: "I am going to apologize because people have been upset".
Wait, damn it, there are many more who haven't bothered.
I don't know why, all of a sudden, we're submitting to those who take offense, so I'll pass.
I do the news, upload it and continue with my life.
But it is inevitable that they will come to you.
In the summer your outburst against the political class went viral, you were attacked from equidistant and you responded the next day.
Yeah, I wasn't surprised either.
I said what I felt, that I was critical of each other, and in this country it has always been like that: people go with one side, everything the other does is negative and everything theirs does is positive.
And that's it, there's no more.
You will defend to the death even things that you know are wrong.
I don't know, I'm not like that, not everything is so perfect and not everything is so imperfect, but there are many people who consider that you have to say exactly what they expect you to say.
Besides, why do I have to tell you what I think about things?
I mean, my friends know what I think, but why do I have to tell you that I don't know who you are, I don't know you, I don't know your intentions, or anything at all.
Why do I have to let you into my house?
Man, because if not the interview is going to be regular.
Yeah, yeah, it was an example, I wasn't referring to you.
What I want to say is that today everyone seems very willing to comment on everything and reveal what they think about any topic, but not me.
I am dedicated to culture, not politics.
But they have always mixed.
It may be, but I don't belong to that.
What matters to me is culture, entertainment and writing.
I dedicate myself to that.
I don't stop to think if what I say or write is more left or right.
I do not care.
I'm not the least bit interested in politics.
They tell me: "Politics is a great invention, the Greeks invented it."
Yeah, well, but it's been turning into shit that you can't see.
Man also invented fire with good intentions and then there are people who burn houses.
It's not my world and if, suddenly, people think I'm from the right, well, fine, I don't care, I don't pay attention to anything that is. Do you really think it's possible to
stay on the sidelines in this highly polarized climate?
Yes I believe it.
It has to do with focusing on your work and being consistent.
It has no more secret.
Lately there is a lot of noise.
Too much.
You position yourself on one side and either everything is perfect or everything is imperfect.
Not true, not so!
If it were that simple everything would be fine, it's a fucking drawer.
In politics they want to convince us that one side is good and the other is bad and that is a lie.
If that were the case, the good guys would always win.
We are not assholes.
The daily news, the book, commercials on TV... You live a great moment in a career of ups and downs.
The truth is, no.
No?
That's the most fun.
There are people who consider that if you're not on TV you're already bad and they think that: "Holly, what a race of ups and downs."
I have never had that feeling, probably because I have always been the one who has decided when to leave projects.
If I had ever been fired from a job in which I wanted to continue, yes, we could talk about ups and downs, but I have gotten off projects when I considered that there was nothing to do with it and I have only gotten on when something has arrived that I really liked it.
But in Spain too many people believe that if you're not on TV you're already poor.
I accept the prejudice.
If that's the case, smell for you: there aren't many greater privileges than being able to always choose when and where to work.
(Laughter) Let's see, I'm not going to fool you, it's very good.
It has to do with whether you are very organized and you know what you really want.
It is not easy because in the end you face many demons, your insecurities and the vertigo of what will happen, but I do not think it is a privilege, it is simply that I am not very afraid of vertigo.
A question as obvious as it is necessary, how are you?
Very good.
Very focused and very calm.
On the subject coconut, since the outbreak happened, I am a decoder of emotions.
We are very used to coming home screwed up, bounced or waking up sad, and going miles without trying to figure out what happened.
I am no longer like that.
The moment I notice that there is something strange that makes me feel a little bad or down, I don't stop until I figure out what the hell is going on.
I no longer end a single day saying: "Well, I'm down and I don't know why."
Not even a single one.
For me it is a priority to discover the reason for things so that they do not repeat themselves, because sometimes they are easy to avoid.
Maybe you feel bad, solely and exclusively, because you have had to meet with someone who you think is an asshole.
It's normal that today I'm screwed when I get home,
I hope I don't send you home like this today.
(Laughter) No, no, what's up?
The good thing is that, when you detect that, the next time you try not to meet that person and, if you have no other choice, you are ready: "Okay, let's remember that times with this guy bring me down, let's try to keep it short and go ready".
I have become millimetric with emotions.
In other words, you're not worried about the voices coming back.
No, zero concern.
If they come back, besides, I have something new to write, so not too bad.
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