Clàudia Costas has shot in many directions and, contrary to what is usually the case, has hit most targets. "I have spent years exploring different fields and doing various jobs as an actress for television, theater, and cinema; coach for actors, English teacher, and drama teacher. I have also set up two businesses, studied writing, screenwriting, and two master's degrees in MBA and Digital Marketing," explains the actress who, now, debuts as a literary author with the novel El primer cop de moltes coses (La Campana), "something I can now add to the list of eclectic things I've been doing in my life!", she laughs.
The book tells the story of Maya, an (almost) thirty-something antisocial woman, a neat freak and routine-obsessed, who lives with a turtle and whose big moment of the week is going to the cinema on Fridays. "That is, until one day she starts acquiring the same powers as the protagonists of the movies she watches, and this leads her to save lives, meet people, and end up falling in love with her new neighbor. To live leaving her fears behind and, with that, experiencing the first time of many things," explains Clàudia, leaning on the bar, surrounded by morning silence and with a steaming, freshly served infusion in front of her.
---Do you want to have something for breakfast with the infusion? We have good food, sweet and savory.
---Generally, I would tell you savory, but lately I've been craving sweets, I think because I can't have them. No gluten, no dairy; things get complicated. And the prohibition calls me, of course. And if it has chocolate, I'm lost--- she laughs again.
--So?
---Maybe I'll wait until lunchtime and order a menu. And if I can share it with someone and try more dishes, even better!
With the future wide open
It seems that Maya's adventures are, in some way, very much related to her author's life trajectory. "I believe that the key moments in my life, the turning points, have been those in which I have left things behind. Becoming independent, separating, changing jobs. Those situations in which you feel totally lost, for better or for worse, and with the future wide open."
Moments of learning to fly in different directions, setting new coordinates and walking unprecedented paths. Some of these have led her onto theater stages under the direction of Sergi Belbel, with Poder- Potere- Power; Cristina Clemente, with El test, or Antonio Calvo, with La millor nit de la teva vida. Other paths have led her to the big screen, with her inclusion in the cast of La posesión de Emma Evans, or to the small screen, with a role in the famous TV3 series La riera.
The point is not to have stood still. Never or almost never. "I have traveled, alone and accompanied, across the five continents. On foot, by boat, by car. And I have thought a lot, too. I try to live things in the moment and keep going. I think I like to learn and doubt everything, and that broadens my perception of the world."
A world in which, needless to say, there are millions of things for which there is a first time. That, perhaps, is what life is about. At least, for this Barcelona native, vintage 1989.
Simply visiting
"Barcelona seems to me a beautiful city, protected between the mountain and the sea. I love its gastronomic offer, its charming streets and buildings, the thousands of lives hidden behind each window, being able to walk through it without fear," explains the local who is finishing her infusion.
---But you don't live here anymore, do you?
The actress and writer shrugs. "Barcelona, right now, is a place I like to visit from time to time, but not to live in. I enjoy going down to eat with a friend or do some activity or simply stroll. But to live I have chosen a quieter place, without that dirty cloud above. This city overwhelms me. Too much of everything. Noise, stimuli, people."
---You're still young! Doesn't the city's nightlife also attract you?
Clàudia Costas Güell lets out a colorful laugh at the question.
---I'm an early riser! ---she replies--- At night I can't see three in a donkey!
And she continues laughing, finishing her drink while, probably, she prepares to take a step in some vital direction that will surprise everyone.