It was in the La Paloma room. The Restoration Guild of Barcelona paid tribute yesterday in the sixth edition of its particular feast of Santa Eulàlia, co-patron of the city, to the incombustible Lola Herrera. The actress thus succeeds Manuela Carmena (2018), Lluís Sans (2019), José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (2020), Julieta Serrano (2022) and Boris Izaguirre (2023), protagonists of the previous editions. The party was attended by figures from Barcelona’s social, cultural and gastronomic life such as Isabel Coixet, José Corbacho, Octavi Pujades, Ruth Lorenzo, Enrique del Pozo, los Vivancos, Father Apeles, Mag Lari, Queco Novell, Carme Ruscalleda, Ada Parellada and Ada Colau, with whom Jorge Javier Vázquez -presenter of the tribute-, melted into a warm embrace just to see her. In the front row and next to them, the mayor Jaume Collboni, the Minister of Business and Employment, Roger Torrent, and Salva Vendrell, president of the Guild.

On stage, Jorge praised the immense figure of Lola Herrera: “A month ago I was at my mother’s house, in Badalona, ??and I told her that today I would be at La Paloma giving a tribute to Lola Herrera. His response was ‘Ah, but is La Paloma still on?’ (Laughs). She assumed that Lola Herrera was still there. As usual. And since I can remember, Lola Herrera has always been present: in Barcelona, ??the Sant Antoni Market, the Sagrada Familia and, in the theater, Lola Herrera.” He saw her for the first time in the 90s performing Five Hours with Mario at the Goya Theater and asked her for an autograph that she still treasures. Yesterday he was grateful to be able to pay tribute to her thirty years after her.

He also recommended watching his latest work on television, embodying the year 2023 in a TV news experiment: “A year that I don’t have much appreciation for: I lost my job, I had to present Pedro Sánchez’s book and I ended up being best man at the wedding.” of Isabel Pantoja’s daughter”, causing laughter among all those present.

You return to the front of Survivors. Have you ever considered competing?

No no. I think it would cause me a lot of anxiety to be thinking about what I’m going to find there because one thing is what you think it is and then the harsh reality. It’s always much worse than you imagine.

What scares you the most? What would you find or what would people think of you?

No, no, not that, that doesn’t matter to me, but for example I don’t control my hunger. I don’t like being hungry. And then, we always forget what it means to wake up at 5 in the morning and not in a bed, but lying on the sand, not sleeping… I’m already my age, I’m thinking about traveling with my pillow, the mosquitoes… .

If after Sálvame there were another format of neorealism on a set, what character would you want to be on your team on the set, in the afternoon, with you?

The first one that comes to mind is Antonia Dell’Atte, because it is contradictory. Then she gets angry. Pissed off marital status? (laughs).

What have you done these months of disconnection after the end of Chinese Tales?

What I have enjoyed the most is looking at trips and plane tickets without thinking that I had to be on a set on a Friday or Tuesday. I loved that freedom. Well, and in November I spent almost a month in Brazil. I loved Rio.

Regarding Zorra, the song selected to represent Spain in Eurovision, how do you position yourself?

What I always like is for debates to be generated. I think the debate enriches and you learn. There are people from whom you learn absolutely nothing and it would be better if they were silent, but I have heard reasoning from both sides that I have found enriching.

Do you like it?

I’m not a big Eurovision fan either, huh. I was a bit of a fan when I was little, especially of Betty Misiego, who almost won with her song. In ’85 it was Paloma San Basilio, with the party over… The current one doesn’t really engage me, but it is a great show and what Nebulossa sees in them is that I see little desire to go. Maybe I make a mistake, but I said it on my blog, in Readings, that I saw them with little energy to face what is coming at them, which is very hard: in Eurovision the level is very high, the shows are tremendous and the people sing like god.

Baldomero Toscano, former production director at Mediaset, has said about you that you are brilliant, very hard-working, witty, smart, but you deified yourself. Do you think it could have happened?

Look, there is one thing that Paolo Vasile did, one of the many things that Paolo Vasile did very well was to prevent us presenters from having power. Vasile was the CEO of Mediaset and he ran the company with an iron fist. When we talk about these types of situations, it is due to a lot of ignorance about what the incredible figure of Paolo Vasile meant, who with great skill kept everyone in their place. While Pablo Vasile was there, Mercedes Milà left, I think Risto Mejide also left. When you are a CEO you sometimes make decisions that go against your emotions and your feelings. I find the deification thing very funny. What’s more, I challenge that in all these 20 years of my career, some editor, some colleague on the technical team, someone who has worked alongside me, comes out to say publicly that he has had a problem with me. In all these years of my career, absolutely no one has left, I have never had any problems. And it’s 20 years of career working at a very high level. I have always worked at Mediaset with wonderful teams and I have never had a problem with anyone.

Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? How is your heart?

Only. Alone, but.

Finally, what is your opinion on the matter that has led Antonio Tejado to prison?

I read a very good tweet about it and it is that Antonio Tejado is going to spend a season in the shadow of the pine trees.