Marc Giró: "I am prepared to eat cardboard"

--- I see that for a snack you also dress up. I had hoped you would come in a tracksuit.

--- No, not in a tracksuit.

--- You probably don't even own a tracksuit.

--- I don't, no. And imagine, I'm a child of the 80s and kids from that era were dressed in cute tracksuits. Although I was more into flannel pants and Scottish plaid. But not tracksuits.

--- When I called you for the interview, I thought you would say no. Because I have the feeling that lately everyone is looking for you. Do you experience it that way?

--- No. You know our work goes in waves. I'm almost 50 years old. And there are ups and downs and now it's possible that I'm at the top. But in terms of work, I still think as I always have, I'm not worried about what impact it might have.

--- What do you mean?

--- Well, that I'm on top now, I have more work and, therefore, I have more visibility. I'm on Rac1 every day and with Late Xou on TV once a week. A program, by the way, that has worked very well in terms of impact. But my way of thinking, call it business or organizational, remains the same as always.

--- Seize the moment.

--- Yes, but look, I seize the moment to invest in the future. You don't tell an emergency doctor or a cardiologist: "listen, you're doing too many operations!"

--- I said that because it seems like Catalonia has only recently discovered you, when, in contrast, you've been dedicated to this work for many years.

--- Because I've lived in Madrid for many years. Anyway, I'm not so aware of that repercussion you mention. It's like when Candela Peña told me that sometimes she interprets something and the director tells her: "I really like how you did this, do it again" and she replies: "I don't know what I did" and she tells me it's because sometimes she's there, but it's as if she hadn't gone. Well, the same thing happens to me. The way I work has always been ecstasy.

--- I'm not sure I understand.

--- Well, that I don't know what all this is exactly about.

--- Well, it's about you seemingly doing all at once now what you couldn't do before.

--- It's just that I believe what I'm doing now I couldn't have done 10 years ago. Because now I have more sense, more years, I do things without fear. Now I am much freer than 10 years ago. But I'm not surprised by what's happening to me because I've been on a path where I've understood that, in the business of journalistic entertainment, this that has happened to me can occur. But I haven't been ambitious either. I know the trade from many points of view, like you, and this is fundamental.

--- In what sense do you say that?

--- In the sense that when I do radio, I am doing radio. When I do TV, I am doing TV. Because there are people who do TV or radio and deep down they are not doing that. They are looking for repercussions, visibility, or they want to be famous or get rich. Which I think is very good and legitimate. I, on the other hand, am not for industrial profit. I am an employee, I have an employee mentality. My star is myself.

--- What made you return to Barcelona?

--- As you know, I am married to Santi Villas. And when I had work in Barcelona, he had it in Madrid and vice versa. That's why we have always had two apartments open. I remember my father always saying: "but why don't you save money?". First, because people believe that TV and radio salaries are like those of the 80s and 90s. And no. Look, I don't know if there are people who earn like in the 90s, which I'm sure there are, but it hasn't happened to us and I don't think it ever will. And that's why we had two houses open, because we had to go where the work was. And... What had you asked me?

--- I had asked you, what makes you return to Barcelona?

--- Well, I was fired from Marie Claire, which was something we had been seeing would happen for a while. The staff was restructured until out of 30, we ended up being 5. It was like a Big Brother. And it was the deal of my life because I was compensated after almost 20 years. Think that I had never saved a penny and the compensation from Marie Claire I still have saved. And I had to make a living. All my life, I have always been looking for work, picking up phones and asking to do collaborations.

--- What was your first job?

--- I was a babysitter. It was in '92, when I was an Olympic volunteer and I was 17 years old. I was at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona, because I've always ridden horses, and I heard that a couple of volunteers were looking for a babysitter and I told them: "I can do this." And I remember they told me: "But you're a boy." I was very surprised because I had had boys as babysitters. And that's when I realized that I was a boy too.

--- Was it there?

--- Yes, because there's a type of male who is convinced and thinks about it all the time. But I don't think I'm Catalan all day, or that I'm queer all day, or that I'm male all day, or that I'm gorgeous all day. I don't have that constant awareness of being. But I see that there are people who do.

--- And how was it to be a babysitter?

--- My whole career ---Art History--- I babysat. And look, it was fabulous because I found a business opportunity. They discovered that it was more practical to hire me than a girl because they didn't have to walk me home afterwards, and they did with girl babysitters, because of that fear that is still present today of them being raped or robbed. And they gave me money for a taxi so I could go home alone, since I had less chance of being raped, which is indeed the case.

--- What do you do when you have nothing to do?

--- I really like to work. And now that we are in a bar, which is like a stage, I tell you that, if everything failed me and I couldn't dedicate myself to my own thing, I would be a waiter. I would be a good waiter or a good hotel receptionist. Because they are rituals, civilized environments, and I function well in civilized environments. I have ADHD and I couldn't be in a laboratory watching a cell transform into something. But I handle ritualistic spaces well.

--- But I had asked you what you do when you have nothing to do. How do you relax?

--- I don't relax. Relaxation seems like a privilege to me.

--- But let's see, on the day you have nothing to do, what do you like to do?

--- Well, when I have nothing to do, I do nothing! I am very organized. And even if they tell me to do something, I am capable of not doing it.

--- What do people not imagine about you?

--- My job is for people to imagine whatever they want about me.

--- And that's it?

--- Let's see, many times people, because they see you on television, think that I am always like when I appear on Està Passant on TV3.

--- And no?

--- No, because they would have to admit me to a hospital. Because that rhythm, cardiovascularly speaking, would be impossible to maintain.

--- Anything else people don't imagine about you?

--- This interview is very deep, isn't it? Well, look, I'm a person who is not in a hurry. The Vostè Primer team tells me this a lot. I am a very slow person. I believe things should be taken very calmly. The truth is, I manage my time very well. I am very organized. I would also tell you that people imagine me less hairy than I actually am. Let's see if this one convinces you more.

--- You don't wax?

--- No. Once I waxed my butt and I thought it had been a terrible idea that I don't recommend to anyone.

--- What music do you like to listen to?

--- I don't listen to music. This is something incredible that surprises people a lot.

--- I would never have said that.

--- I don't have Spotify, nor have I ever recorded a cassette, nor have I bought a record, nor am I a staunch fan of any type of music. It doesn't interest me at all, having as I do (he pauses and taps on the table) an extraordinary musical talent! It's the most underutilized talent I have.

--- Why do you have great musical talent?

--- Because besides having it and having an ear and being in tune, some Japanese people came to my school and after testing all the students, they selected me and another person. They wanted to take us to Japan to give us music lessons because we were two people with a privileged ear. And I said that, to Japan, to learn to play the violin, I wouldn't go even if I was crazy!

--- Therefore, you won't have any song that evokes anything for you.

--- Music, if you go to a concert, or a funeral, or a coronation, if you have to sing a psalm, if you have to dance, it has a fantastic reason for being. Now, saying: "I'm going to sit down and listen to music," well, that has never happened to me in my life. I've danced a lot of sevillanas. Music moves me by default. But I don't listen to music. In all this there is a very psychiatric part that if you want I'll tell you about it.

--- Please.

--- This that I am going to tell you now is detected very quickly by psychologists, which is when I let them. It's when they tell me: "let yourself go", "you must let go". And that will also surprise, because it seems that I am a very loose person. And I tell them: "look, listen, me letting go, I can't let go". Because that letting go thing I already know. If I let myself go, I won't come back. Therefore, it is necessary that I do not let go. "And you are fired as a psychiatrist for not having gotten it right".

--- Therefore, I understand that you live with the handbrake on constantly.

--- Permanently! And I would appreciate it if all of you also contained yourselves. Because there are people who are very silly. Containment, renunciation, action... have to do with freedom. And that thing about wanting to fix everything has nothing to do with freedom. I go back to the music thing from before. I could not dedicate myself to music in any way because I would be crazy. And that's why I have also quit alcohol, as you will know perfectly well, and I don't do drugs with absolutely anything, because I would be totally crazy now. Because I am wild. I am designed for love.

--- For loving or for being loved?

--- For love, in all its facets. And this is a total danger. I should be subsidized because if I let go all my sex-erotic festive capacity, I couldn't do anything else, I couldn't be here with you now because I would be lying in a harem. I could make a lot of people happy, a lot of Catalan men and women, but then I should be subsidized because if not, what do I live on? I'll tell you more. I have been very lucky to be born in a working family, those who have to get up to work, all of them! Because if I had been born in a different family, I would be lying on the sofa, drooling and doing nothing. Because I would have let go.

--- Do you listen to your programs? Do you watch yourself on TV?

--- Not anymore. At first yes because when you are younger you are afraid of making a fool of yourself. Sometimes I see that they post things on social media and I say: "hey, did I do this?". Because of what I was telling you before about Candela Peña, that sometimes I am there, but I haven't come.

--- Now you're not afraid of making a fool of yourself anymore?

--- Not at all. I work with ridicule. The limits of humor don't matter to me, but look, I want to know where the limits of ridicule are. If ridicule is there, then let's go a little further.

--- Are you a hypochondriac?

--- No, but I go to the doctor if necessary. At 35, my knees hurt and I could barely walk. I let it go and that pain never came back. Now I have another one and I think, this will be the one for my 50s. And there will be one that will end up killing me.

--- How are you going to celebrate your 50th birthday?

--- I don't celebrate birthdays at all. It's completely indifferent to me.

--- And does having more and more candles on the cake distress you?

--- No. I believe there is a feeling of the passage of time and of old age, of how your environment changes, of how your parents, your husband, your horse, your nephews who grow up, your children who leave home... and all this brings you closer to death. I think a lot about death.

--- In what way do you think about death?

--- Well, I think about what it will be like. Mine and that of my surroundings. Talking about death is the big elephant in the room. And I would like to approach it with a certain responsibility. That's why I stopped drinking. That's why I try to vote for options that defend a city with fewer cars or, for example, I try to cross looking so I don't get run over and what's more important, I try not to run over anyone myself. Since I'm interested in a responsible death, I also don't want to be responsible for any death. (laughs)

--- Is there any trip that has changed your life?

--- No. I'm not into traveling at all. Like my father, I believe leisure is horrible. I've traveled a lot for work and it's very good and one should travel a lot. But I'm almost 50 years old and I think now those who haven't traveled should travel.

--- Do you have any politician's phone number?

--- No. I don't think so... oh yes! But I never answer him.

--- Do politicians send you messages?

--- Yes, probably. But I never answer them. I never answer the phone in general.

--- You don't travel, you don't listen to music, you don't answer the phone...

--- And I have sex less and less. So, I'm perfect. I've gotten rid of very annoying people.

--- What do you like to spend money on?

--- On everything. I'm not stingy at all. And next month I want to do an exercise: buy only essential food. Because I think capitalism and consumerism have overtaken me. I am a consumer animal and spending makes me very happy.

--- Because you must have been able to spend them...

--- I remember not having a penny and spending. I like to spend and buy good things, because they last longer. And I believe that everyone should have the right to access good design. Therefore, we must vote for options that favor the creation of wealth for all and distributed.

--- Do you see it as feasible politically?

--- I don't know if it will be feasible or not, but it's the only solution.

--- If you get lost, where do I look for you?

--- You call me, you have my phone number. I don't answer for politicians, but I do for you.

--- I thought you would tell me in Formentera.

--- In Formentera... let's see how long that can be afforded! Because I've always gone, but sharing a house, and you too. Do you want me to confess something to you?

--- Please.

--- That I really like Formentera. But I've never liked the beach. Not even as a child. And everyone in my family has been very seafaring, but I don't like the beach. I mean, let's review: I don't like music, I don't like the beach, I don't have sex, I don't blow out candles, I don't wax, and I don't answer the phone to anyone... and Formentera for the people of Formentera. And us at home with the superilles, nice and cool.

--- Do you fear this sweet moment will end?

--- Look, I'm ready to eat cardboard.

--- When the caviar runs out?

--- This is like that book by Carmen Posadas, isn't it? Today caviar, tomorrow sardines. Well, that's it. If caviar, caviar, and if sardines, sardines, and if cardboard, cardboard. And knowing this gives you autonomy and freedom of action, which is what showmen and journalists need.

--- What part of the responsibility for Marc Giró's success does Santi Villas have?

--- Santi Villas is the gentleman who possibly, and not because he is my husband, knows more about television than anyone I know. And many people have directed me. The success of Late Xou is his, very clearly. Because he makes classic TV.

--- Should we return to the classics on television? Are we overusing the dictatorship of modernity too much?

--- The communication channels we have now are all extraordinarily valid. It depends on the emotional management you perform. Classic or conventional television continues to work because it is haute couture. And I, who have worked many years in fashion, will tell you that, to sell a lipstick on social media, Chanel first has to do haute couture. Classic television is haute couture. And it costs money.

--- Is Late Xou haute couture?

--- Look, you may like the program we are doing more or less, you may like me more or less, but undoubtedly what I do on RTVE Catalunya is a very good television program and I would dare to say, look what balls I have, that it is possibly the best television program currently being made.

--- How do you like to drink your ColaCao?

--- Always with many lumps, making a paste and with whole milk. And I like to make bubbles until it comes out of the glass.