“When children are young, we spend a lot of time scolding them and little chatting calmly and transmitting deeper messages. That is why I wanted to leave Dylan and Alma an emotional testament in the form of a bookâ€, explains Raquel Perera (Madrid, 1975). The author herself studied Psychology “not to dedicate myself to it but because she has always interested me in gutting human behavior.” She worked in communication and marketing, first in Formula 1 and then for artists like Marlango and Alejandro Sanz. With the latter, the professional relationship also became sentimental and they were together for 13 years. In 2018 they separated and a year later they signed the divorce. Now Raquel publishes this “emotional testament” for her children, which is entitled So that you don’t forget –How to face life with values ​​and self-esteem– (Espasa).
“Since I was very little I write reflections and poetry, I even collaborated on the lyrics of Alejandro’s song Sin que se nota. When my children were born I intensified writing by noting their achievements, what they said or describing their reactions to my teachings. And Raquel Perera adds in an interview with this newspaper: “When my children ask me what to do when faced with a problem they have had at school, I always answer them ‘Life is not perfect, it does not have instructions, but it does have tools or resources, What am I going to try to give you? That is the basis of the book, which went on sale on May 31.
All of the advice that Raquel shares stems from her personal experiences with her children and her ex-husband. And now that the alarms have gone off about the mental health of Alejandro Sanz after confessing that he is not emotionally well, the opinion of his ex-wife and mother of his two young children takes on great importance: “I did not know that I was going through this bad personal moment and we have a very good relationship and we talk almost daily for the children â€, he begins by saying.
“My perception is that he is a person who has wanted to express his state of mind, of sadness and tiredness and at a time when mental health is so visible, Alejandro has wanted to tell others who are like him ‘I want you to know that I don’t you’re alone, you’re just like me’. But I am left with the message that he is working to be well and I have no doubt, because I have seen him improve himself â€. He applauds that the singer has made his situation visible through the networks, because he “feels that he has a responsibility for the good because of the impact that all his actions have. Besides, writing the feelings is liberating.â€
Alejandro Sanz has just broken up with his partner, the Cuban artist Rachel Valdés. Raquel Perera refuses to talk about whether the emotional crisis has to do with the breakup and affirms that the singer has had a very intense year of work that may have taken its toll “but it will be temporary,” she assures.
He acknowledges that the life of an internationally famous artist like Sanz is complicated, but they achieved a balance: “My children’s education has always worried me, but I had no reason because at home we were a normal family, although it is true that because of the profession They have experienced unique situations from their father, which we have not wanted to deny them either, but I have always told them to use all of this generouslyâ€.
Raquel comments that sometimes it has been the people around them who have given the children more gifts or privileges than their own parents. And she assures that neither Dylan (11) nor Alma (8) have a mobile: “When Dylan tells me that he is the only one in the class without a mobile, I answer that you have many more things that your classmates do not have.” When they lived in Miami, Raquel created a multicultural school there for children from 0 to 5 years old, coinciding that her children were that age, and that it closed when they began compulsory education and moved to Madrid.
In the book, he explains to his children his relationship with their father “when I met dad I allowed, this time, the butterflies in my stomach to travel freely throughout my body (…). I jumped without the net of fear of commitment” . And also about the separation: “Maybe I took the hardest part, but it was sad for both of us.” He even confesses that “this process brought me down to hell. I almost went crazy.” But that over time the love relationship “does not end, it transforms. “We were friends and that love that friendship exudes is the one that will last.”
