Jéssica Albiach was born in Valencia, she is 44 years old. She has a degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Political Marketing. She worked as a journalist. She has been a member of Parliament since 2015. She lives as a couple and has no children.
And where is that accent from?
My grandfather was from Alcoi and my grandmother from El Pinós. I only spoke Catalan at home because little is spoken in Valencia city.
Was politics talked about at home?
I have grown up in a very extended family. My mother had me very young and separated very young and I grew up with my aunt, my grandparents, my great-grandmother. I think I came to politics with class consciousness but without a theoretical framework. When I arrived at Podemos, many people had been active before, which was not my case. I have been training.
Where I study?
In the Trinitarians and then in Pius XII. I didn’t want to take communion, I was a strange element there, but my mother wanted me to go to a religious school so that someone could explain to me this aspect that she didn’t know and that I could then decide.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I have had different times, I wanted to travel a lot and be a diplomat, then a hairdresser, a farmer, a ceramist, a painter… I never thought of being in politics for the world.
What posters did you have in your room at home?
I was very into Nirvana, the grunge era caught me.
What was your first job?
From a very young age I helped my mother in the store and in my grandfather’s framing workshop. I gave private classes and was a camp monitor.
He did journalism and photography.
Yes. I worked in newspapers and I had fellow photographers by my side, I liked what they did, I went out with them if I could, and I studied photography.
What do you like to photograph?
I liked portraits and also going to the Albufera. When the sun goes down, beautiful photos come out in the rice fields. Someday I’ll get back to it.
What do you have for breakfast?
Many things. I always have fruit, depending on what the farmer brings, a piece of dark chocolate, a couple of gluten-free toasts, whichever suits me best, and I put sesame cream with banana, or ham, or a tortilla, and nuts. And green tea.
Do you like to cook?
I like to eat well. But I don’t usually have much time at the times I finish and I usually cook on Sundays for the week.
Does the paella turn out well?
More than paella I like other rice dishes, with vegetables or baked. But I try to combine carbohydrates and protein and make it balanced, my energy depends on that.
In Valencia they had to eat rice as a family.
We would go to the hut that my grandparents had and we would make the vermouth while my grandmother made the paella next door, then my aunt took over and now my cousin is the paella maker.
And then they ate oranges?
Yes, we had my grandfather’s orange trees next door.
Have you ever been on a diet?
Diet to lose weight no. But I have had anemia, lack of vitamins and I have gone to the nutritionist more than once to give me guidelines for my specific needs.
Do you exercise, yoga?
I’m signed up for the gym, I haven’t been in a while. I’ve done yoga, not now. In the morning, when I get up, I do try to breathe and stretch. At certain times I have abandoned it and suddenly I feel nervous, I rest worse or I have less energy and I tell myself that’s why.
Single, married, separated…?
I live with my partner.
Are you dedicated to politics?
He is a teacher. He studied science and then studied music and we have the piano at home, and that is a part that interests me but about which I know little, that is, I learn from that as well.
How does he handle his political dedication being so absorbing?
I like his mentality, which is very open and being so non-sectarian often makes me think and rethink things. In this sense, he not only respects that I dedicate myself to politics, but he enjoys it and offers me all his support.
The last gift for him?
I have to say it?
If you can say.
A Texan jumpsuit, he was excited.
And he to you?
We moved in together not long ago, it was the keys.
Have you done crazy things for love?
I think so. But I have reached a point that, with all due respect to previous couples, I feel that this now is much more authentic, solid and calm. Like it doesn’t need crazy things. It is something very, very deep, very, very intense. It is a matter of the person but it is also your personal evolution and it is something of great certainty and great clarity. In fact, it is the first time I live as a couple.
A trip that has marked you?
Costa Rica. Twenty years ago, I went with a friend and her son, it was the first long trip without family. I liked it a lot, with great internal contrasts and cultural differences and nature is a fantasy.
Did you go to Tortuguero?
Also, see the turtles. But once there it tastes bad, no matter how much it is controlled it is still a stress for the animals. I wouldn’t do it now.
What hobbies do you have?
Right now few, but I like to draw. And take nature walks. When I can I go to the theater, but not now. I miss time, for myself or for my friends and family.
What read?
I try to read things that don’t have too much to do with politics, now Guillem, by Núria Cadenes.
What music you like?
Very different music. I like René de Calle 13, Silvia Pérez Cruz, Ginestar. Between two waters by Paco de Lucía. Carol G, Zoo.
Movies that you liked.
2046, by Wong Kar-Wai. But it is increasingly difficult for us to concentrate, to endure the entire movie without looking at our phones; then the rhythm, we need them to go faster.
T.V. series?
Quite a few. There are wonders. The latest, Inside Number Nine.
It is very original, unexpected.
It can take you to emotional extremes, from fear to laughter, to restlessness, to tenderness. Also Believe Me and Big Little Lies.
What do you like most about yourself?
I consider myself a good person. It is something that is undervalued, but it seems basic to me and it is something that I increasingly value in others.
He has bad temper?
I don’t know, I try not to be too extreme. I’m not so much one for getting angry as I am for getting sad.
A motto or phrase that inspires you?
Lately I think nothing ever happens. Do what you can and that’s it, trust, you can’t control everything. In the end, very serious things very rarely happen.
