Interview with Gabino Diego, Actor

We took the elevator to the rooftop of the La Latina Theater in Madrid, where he is performing 'Our Women' by Eric Assous. In a small room with a view of the rooftops of Plaza de la Cebada, Gabino Diego plays with a water bottle while trying to sort out the memories of some of his many travel experiences. Many of those trips are related to two of the most celebrated films in Spanish cinema - 'Amanece que no es poco' and 'El viaje a ninguna parte' - but also to youthful adventures that almost changed his destiny. For the actor, traveling is very beneficial. "It clears your mind and refreshes you," Gabino Diego states before revealing his travel adventures.

I believe that after finishing the shooting of 'Amanece que no es poco' he stayed a few more weeks to get to know the Sierra del Segura (Albacete) better.

I couldn't leave there. Thanks to José Luis Cuerda's film, I was lucky to discover Ayna, Letur, Liétor, Molinicos, Socovos... It's a very pleasant area, incredibly peaceful. One summer I spent two and a half months exploring the Sierra, and a couple of years ago they named a street after me in Socovos. It was beautiful.

Did anything similar happen to you with 'El viaje a ninguna parte'?

I loved the walled town of Palazuelos and the villa of Atienza in Guadalajara. The truth is that theater and film have given me the chance to get to know Spain better. I never forget Palazuelos. Spain has beautiful and little-known places.

For example?

Cáceres is a marvel. Or Teruel, where I was recently filming a movie. Spain is impressive. Do you want mountains? You have Huesca, the Valley of Arán, or the Picos de Europa. Do you want a beach? You have all of them, even with a tropical climate in the Canary Islands. Spain is very complete. It has everything. And gastronomically, the same.

Did you travel a lot as a kid?

The first trip I remember was a camping trip with several schools to a town in Cuenca called Uña. I remember it because after so much walking, I was starving. My father was quite the traveler and was in love with Cáceres and the Huesca Pyrenees, especially Benasque. He had a Seat 1500 and would take the whole family - three siblings and my mother - to France, Germany... We lived in London for a few years. Hyde Park and Regent's Park still bring back many memories.

Your first solo trip?

When I finished filming 'Las bicicletas son para el verano' at 16, I went to Ibiza. I also hitchhiked from Villajoyosa to Denia.

Is it true that you don't have a driver's license?

I don't have one, nor am I interested. I always find someone to take me. I'm very forgetful when it comes to driving, although I drive in the movies.

Being born in Madrid gives you some authority to talk about the friendly character of the madrileños. "Everyone who lives in Madrid - he says - is a madrileño. A guy born in Japan, Cuenca, or Santander comes to Madrid and is a madrileño."

Are you from where you were born or from where you live?

One is from where they are born, but I like to feel Swedish when I am in Sweden. I travel quite a bit to Catalonia because my daughter lives in Barcelona, and I have felt like I belong there too. As Gerald Durrell said, cities are the people you know, the people who love you in that city. I can be in the ugliest city in the world and think it's wonderful if I'm happy. And I can be in the most beautiful city in the world and think it's horrible if the people are unpleasant. Zaragoza is a city I really like because the people are charming.

The most incredible trip?

One summer I spent two months in Ibiza sleeping in a hammock in the Es Canar area. I had friends and someone who did my laundry.

You can boast about knowing Spain well.

Sometimes I ask taxi drivers: "Where are you or your family from?" And they say, "From a little town in Zamora." Well, it turns out I've been there or near it. The beauty of theater is that you can travel carrying your work, as if I were reminiscing about ¡Ay Carmela! or El viaje a ninguna parte.

By the way, what did Fernando Fernán Gómez think of all this?

Fernán Gómez used to tell me: "You haven't realized that rich people go without suitcases because someone carries them, and poor people always have their house on their backs." He was very right.

The place you think you'll retire to someday?

I'm not telling you because then everyone will come looking for me.

I read somewhere that at 19 you went to Australia.

I was thinking of leaving the profession and went to Australia. I lived with a Spanish exile, a communist Asturian who had organized demonstrations against Franco there in Australia. I did some tourism, and when my money ran out, they called me to do El viaje a ninguna parte. I was in Sydney, Adelaide, and Alice Springs. I spent several days on a bus, crossed the Australian desert, and also visited Ayers Rock. Thirty years after that trip, I got a call: "I'm calling to tell you that there are people who care about you in Australia."

Being popular has its downsides...

The mobile phone situation is awful. They ask you for a photo but don't even engage in conversation. As women say: they want to take you to bed before talking and having a drink. They take the picture, send it, and you don't matter to them at all. In the end, you find yourself on the Internet with someone you don't know. In Thailand, the hotel staff didn't understand. They wondered: why is this guy taking photos with him?

Any trips left on your wish list?

I want to visit the Nordic countries, Norway, and the fjords. I would also like to travel to Vietnam because I haven't been there.