Guardians of memories

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We like to say that the friends who participate in this book give him back the memories he is losing," explains Eva Nebot, former collaborator of Maragall's presidency cabinet and current head of communication for his foundation. "When social initiatives expert Bettina Farreras gave us the idea to make the book and we started contacting them —Joan Clos, Carmen Cervera, Narcís Serra, Sílvia Pérez Cruz…—, everyone threw themselves into the project, telling anecdotes full of admiration and affection."

Among them is the day Maragall asked Eduardo Mendoza to form a rock band together; the day Josep Miquel Abad saw him change shoes with an escort on the way to the Seville Expo because he had left home with one loafer of each color; the day he helped Julia Otero by writing letters to celebrities like Michael Douglas or Magic Johnson to convince them to go on her show, taking advantage of their visit to Barcelona in '92; the day he dragged Queco Novell to the Brians II penitentiary because he had insisted on going to sing Christmas carols with him to the prisoners…

"I was there for several of those moments and I can attest that they existed," Nebot laughs. "He was very authentic, the same person in the private sphere as in the public," she assures. "Natural and unpredictable," notes Novell, the journalist who was his impersonator for years. "He did whatever he wanted, but he had people's sympathy. Because he was one of the few politicians you could find on the subway or playing soccer with children in the street. I remember once he saw a woman who couldn't pass with her baby stroller because of a badly parked car, and he waited until the driver arrived to scold him! He didn't do it for populism, that's just how he was."

Revolutionary, sincere, intelligent, free, enthusiastic… The stories of his loved ones paint the profile of a unique and exceptional personality. Isidre Fainé, Queco Novell, and Jordi Évole also agree when recalling that mischievous look that characterized him and that the disease has not managed to take away. "Neither that nor the smile," says Novell. "He has been revolutionary even with Alzheimer's," Évole writes, "and has managed to turn a problem into an opportunity."

He had it clear right away. "When he was diagnosed with the disease, he immediately called a press conference to announce it, being very aware that from that moment on his reality would change and people would look at him differently. But he wanted to keep going out and living his life," Nebot recounts. That same day, Maragall publicly put himself at the service of the cause and, in less than a year, the foundation was already a reality.

"In these 10 years, we have managed to have 24,000 members, be a pioneering research center in Europe and almost in the world, and have about 3,000 people participate in studies such as the Alfa Study (Alzheimer's and families), promoted by "la Caixa" Social Project. The most hopeful advance is that drugs are currently being tested, but not to be applied when symptoms have already appeared —there, medications have failed—, but to try to prevent or delay their onset. According to the entire scientific community, the brain begins to be damaged 10 to 15 years before the appearance of symptoms. It is in this silent phase that we want to act. Can you imagine, for example, being able to delay the onset of Alzheimer's in a person from 70 to 80?"

Diana Garrigosa, Pasqual Maragall's wife, is today the president of the foundation. Cristina Maragall, his eldest daughter, is the spokesperson. In addition to friends and family, the RBA publishing house, with Ricardo Rodrigo at the helm, has dedicated itself to the editing of the book, meticulously written by journalists Juan José Caballero, Carina Farreras, and Suso Pérez. Even Queen Sofía wanted to participate with a photo and a dedication. And there are still the readers, who will contribute, with the purchase of each copy, to research against Alzheimer's, and the people who sign for the cause. Because the example of the admired former president has made us believe in his words from that October 20, 2007: "Nowhere is it written that this disease is invincible."

Text: Ana Portolés

You can read more stories like these in ALMA, the social social network, a digital space dedicated to the social sphere that offers a new perspective on the present and future of society, based on an optimistic and diverse voice, and all the initiatives promoted by "la Caixa" Social Project.