We had met at 12 noon, but in the morning, Ana Belén, her representative, notified me that Esther had an unforeseen event. Finally, we spoke at four in the afternoon. The first thing she does is apologize: the eventuality was, precisely, because of Petra, her mixed-breed poodle, who suddenly started limping and they had to run to the vet.
Esther Acebo left a regular job as a reporter on a television channel, Non Stop People, for her dream of being an actress. Soon she had made a place for herself on the sofa in our homes, first as the faithful secretary of the director of the National Mint and Stamp Factory; later, she was already clad in the distinctive red jumpsuit of the gang of robbers from Money Heist, like Stockholm. When we do this interview, Esther is in the middle of a performance of the play A Question of Forms, a black comedy by the multi-award-winning American filmmaker, screenwriter and playwright Neil LaBute, at the Teatro Infanta Isabel in Madrid.
Romina: How is Petra?
Esther: At first we thought it was a nail and we cut it off, but no, he was still limping. She is a little hard to accept, but I think the only thing that happens to her is that she is already older, she is nine years old, and we are going to start with arthritis and osteoarthritis. It’s that and a little overweight. Let’s see if the swelling goes down a little with the anti-inflammatories.
Romina: How did Petra come into your life?
Esther: I had been living with Django for a while, and I was starting to think about how cool it would be if he had a company, especially so that he wouldn’t be left alone at home when I went to work. I was looking for a protector, but they asked me for too many certainties: what my job was, my salary, where I spent my vacations or my rental contract. And I didn’t have a clear answer, especially since my professional activity is a little outside the standard. But then, through our veterinarian, I found a litter of poodles. There were two left, male and female, and since I already had a male, I decided to take her. I called her “Petra” after a play she had just finished.
Romina: Was Django your first dog?
Esther: That’s right. As a child, every year she said that she wanted a dog for Reyes. But my parents were not very fond of bugs and I had to wait until I became independent. One day I received a message saying that two water dogs had appeared near Toledo and that’s where I went. He was super small when I adopted him, he was barely a month old and he required special care, like a puppy. It’s been 10 years since that.
Romina: I have counted up to three dogs on your sofa, in a photo that you uploaded to Instagram.
Esther: You counted well. I think that if we continue adding, at this rate, we will have to declare ourselves a zoological nucleus (laughs). But I think that if we keep our heads in the right place, for now we are not going to increase the family (laughs). Dogs are a very powerful exercise in responsibility, they are work. If I lost my mind, I would adopt all the dogs in the world, because they are a joy, although they also require a lot of effort and commitment to be well cared for. That must be very clear.
Romina: Who is the third dog?
Esther: It’s Brisa, the youngest, she’s five years old. She already belonged to my partner, but she had stayed in Brazil, where she was born. We were a little afraid of her taking such a long trip, but there came a time when we wanted her to join the family. And we brought it from her. Those of us who have dogs are very sensitive to the way they make them travel on planes, as if they were suitcases. And look at the news a few days ago about that little dog that died on the plane.
Romina: I haven’t been able to see the images… (A golden retriever died of hunger and thirst after eight hours in a cage because the Brazilian airline GOL put him on another flight, by mistake).
Esther: Don’t watch them because it breaks your heart.
Romina: Tell me about the coexistence between your dogs. Do they behave or is it complicated?
Esther: Something very magical happened between Brisa and Django. They are both nervous, electric, and from the first moment they met, it was created like a brotherhood, a wonderful love and hilarious to watch. They tease each other, they play all the time and when we go to the mountains they get very rowdy together. We go on three outings a day, because in addition to peeing and pooping, they need to run, sniff, interact with other dogs and burn off energy. When we return home they are so tired that they turn into three cushions. Of course, they stop being cushions when the delivery man calls the phone and then they become a powerful pack (laughs).
Romina: And how is the balance between three dogs and your two-year-old daughter?
Esther: Mmm… Sometimes, let’s call it… “exciting” (laughs). Because if one of the four is asleep and another one who is awake barks, well, suddenly, chaos ensues. But I also tell you that we wouldn’t change that chaos for anything, just yesterday we were talking about it with a friend who also has dogs.
Romina: Was there jealousy with the arrival of the baby?
Esther: Django is very intense and also, with age, he is becoming grumpier and I wasn’t sure if he would accept the little girl. But the surprise has been very positive. Everyone gets along very well with her and respects her a lot. Sometimes, it is true that they fear her, because she is another small earthquake and when she runs past her and screaming you see the three dogs dead from fright. But they are very fond of him, they even give him kisses on the head.
Romina: It’s amazing how animals know when there is a human cub and respect it.
Esther: Imagine that during my pregnancy they followed me everywhere, even if I went to the bathroom to pee; I think they smelled something. When the baby was born they were away from home for a week. We had informed ourselves with a trainer friend and his girl, who is a canine psychologist, and we read a lot about the encounter between dogs and newborns. In practice, everything has happened in a very natural way. At first, obviously, we were very careful, because we had to set the limits, both for the dogs and for the baby. Human “puppies” must also be taught to live with animals. They don’t control whether they hit or pull the hair and there can’t be a bad response from the dogs, then you have a big problem. Every day we all continue learning to relate to each other in this small family-tribe that we have created.
Romina: What part of that family-tribe do your dogs occupy? There are people who consider them as sons, brothers…
Esther: At first, having unilaterally adopted Django, I think I had him as a son. Now, as the years go by, I feel him more and more like my companion. It is true that I am his caregiver, because dogs are vulnerable, but I would not call them children; All three are my faithful and absolute companions.
Romina: Do you let them sleep with you in bed?
Esther: No, no. We don’t let them get into bed. We have also been co-sleeping for quite some time and it didn’t seem 100% safe to us. that they went up. Another thing is when we are on the couch at nap time and everyone falls asleep there. They already know that they have free access throughout the house, except in the forbidden room.
Romina: How do you organize yourself with food?
Esther: We are quite organized, we always give them their feed with a kind of soft meat on top so that the balls have a little joy. But it must be said that since our little one started complementary feeding they are the big beneficiaries, because they devour everything that is close to falling to the ground (laughs).
Romina: How is your social life with three dogs?
Esther: We have been avoiding going downtown for a while, not only because of the restrictions on dogs, but because we live a little away, near a countryside area. When we go out, we are already used to having to take them out again every so often because they have their needs. And if we travel, we prefer that they stay in a trusted center or with neighbors; We know that they will be calmer than with the stress of a trip. Although it is fantastic that we are gradually opening our consciences regarding those who are our roommates (and in life) and we are letting them enter the places. It’s not so much that they are dogs, but the education you have given them.
Romina: Do you ever remember them breaking any limits you might have set for them? If Django is so moved…
Esther: Yes. I always say that it lives up to the name of the movie Django Unchained, Tarantino’s crazy western, because of all that energy it has inside (laughs). One day we were walking through the park with some friends who also have small children, three and four years old. The little ones were shot towards some stairs and then the dog started running after them like a real madman. I thought he was going to push them down the stairs, but something very nice happened and Django stood in front of them, put his nose on their chest and stopped them just in time. I found him exciting, because, damn, what he did was shepherd without anyone having taught him! We humans override dogs’ instincts and that is precisely what makes them special, unique, dogs, which is what they are, without this having any pejorative aspect, far from it. Quite the opposite!
Romina: Tell me about your professional projects (as far as we can talk).
Esther: On May 5 we finished performing “A Question of Forms”, a very beautiful adventure that I think does not end here (and I can read up to here). Meanwhile, I’m going to be enjoying all this tribe I have at home.
Romina: Your house, known on Instagram as Villarrizos (Esther, with her distinctive curly mid-length hair with bangs, which she usually gathers gracefully in a bun or ponytail, I think is the envy of all of us who wear curls on our heads).
Esther: That’s what we call her. Villarrizos, Django and I pulled it off, because we both have curls.
Romina: They say that dogs look like their masters. Although I don’t like the word “master” or “owner” too much.
Esther: It is true that a certain symbiosis is generated and in the end we are all a little alike.
And I agree with you. Precisely, I called the vet before and I didn’t want to say that she was Petra’s owner, because she has a very strange connotation, and I said: “I’m Esther, Petra’s partner” (laughs).
