Rafa Melero Rojo: Everything that happens between 5 and 7 am

"What I can say I am most proud of is knowing that my mother, who instilled in me the pleasure of reading, saw me grow as a writer and was able to read some of my novels." Phlegmatic and sober, Rafa Melero Rojo leans on the bar of the Bar and enjoys a musical thread of 80s pop classics playing in the background, while ordering a coffee, "which for those of my profession is like water."

--- Do you want sugar or saccharin?

--- No, thank you, since I had an incident a few years ago with my heart, I gave it up ---he sighs---, among other things…

Mosso d'Esquadra for almost three decades ---"how time flies!"---, the writer Rafa Melero takes advantage of the first light of dawn, from five to seven, to outline stories that oscillate between crime novel, at times bordering on a glorious hard boiled style, and the intrigue thriller. His extensive professional career in homicide groups, public health crimes, and property crimes makes him a more than solvent voice when it comes to portraying, with surgical veracity, investigative processes and police intricacies.

He debuted twelve years ago in an unusual way, self-publishing his first book, La ira del Fènix, the first adventure of his character Xavi Masip, whose success led to it being translated into Spanish and published by AlRevés. That was the beginning of a career that has led him to publish several novels and win awards such as the Cartagena Negra in 2017. In total, seven works, the last of which, Dragones de papel (Ediciones B), a new adventure of Masip, has achieved notable success, which will possibly be repeated very soon.

"Right now I have a novel in correction and another that I am beginning to outline," he announces, demonstrating an innate ability to write in those two morning hours. To put on paper everything that happens in his head: the plots, the characters, the vision of the world and of life, which is what a writer throws to others in the form of a story. All that, before facing workdays and "family chores with two small children." And he sighs again, though without losing his smile.

Running and writing to exorcise demons

Before getting involved in the long-distance race that is writing fiction, Rafa Melero ran a lot, becoming several times Catalonia champion in the 800 meters and gold in the police and firefighters world championships in Barcelona in 2003. It can be said, in fact, that running saved him from his demons, probably as writing does now.

"At nineteen, I was in the process of overcoming the death of my brother, Javi, due to an unfortunate motorcycle accident. Then, I decided to resume my athletics training and there I met Quim Erta, a coach who got me going. I think that was what I needed at that moment: to focus on something real."

"But the most important thing is that I found a wonderful person who helped me in the worst moment of my life and allowed me to acquire values that, along with the sport I practiced, are surely partly responsible for the person I am today." To that friend and mentor, the author would dedicate one of his most acclaimed works: the harsh, sordid and implacable Todos me llaman Ful.

The pleasure of anonymity

The life of this Barcelona native, vintage '72, has always oscillated between the Catalan capital and Lleida, where he currently resides. "I have lived in Barcelona at various stages of my life and I think it is one of the best cities in the world for its people, for its architecture, its cultural offerings, for the sea." He sips a mouthful of coffee. "I suppose that's why my first novel and my best-known character lives and works in Barcelona. I love walking the streets of this city with Xavi Masip!" he adds.

The writer Rafa Melero looks back, "to the season when I returned to Barcelona, in my first assignment as a homicide sergeant in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. I lived on Rocafort street and every day I took the subway to get around. Accustomed to Lleida, I was amazed by the amount of people crammed in there, each minding their own business. Of course, in a short time I was just one more with my headphones, among the people who daily went into the bowels of the city. I was just one more in the anonymity of a big city and, with that feeling, which may seem vain, I felt like a Barcelonan again."

But there are also aspects that pain him about this Barcelona which, often, elicits love and hate in equal measure, dispelling the scale of grays into categorical whites or blacks. "Not long ago I patrolled the Raval and could see the deterioration it has suffered in a few years. That neglect is a good example of the hypocrisy of some members of the political class, who for years have applied policies that greatly disturb ordinary citizens knowing that they do not affect them." He finishes his coffee with a frown.

--- What remains immune to any form of deterioration is the gastronomic offer of this Bar. I'm telling you in case after coffee you want to eat something, it's already time.

Rafa Melero Rojo cannot suppress a laugh.

--- I'm in! I'll have the menu--- he replies, knowing beforehand that he will have another coffee instead of dessert. Because of the sugar. Oh.