Elia Barceló (Elda, 1957) returns home in Santa Rita (Barcelona), where her first and successful film was shot in “Amores que matan”. Barceló is a regular at Black Week: in 2014 he won the Celsius Award for best science fiction, fantasy or horror novel for “Hijos del clan rojo” and was a finalist for “Hammett” for “La noche de plata”.
What awaits us this time in Santa Rita?
This time we will find many of the already known characters, new ones and gradually some secrets of the past are revealed, while the police continue to solve the crime of the present. In Santa Rita, behind a wall, some very valuable paintings have surfaced with the skeleton of a newborn baby. The fence tasked with caring for them is assassinated shortly after their arrival, and suddenly, in mid-August, the police have a lot of work to do.
For example, how does a Mediterranean film noir differ from a Norwegian film noir?
Almost all of them! In addition to crimes, there’s light, joy, good food, great vegetation… and the cops have family and friends, they’re not obsessed with their cause, and they’re not alcoholics or depressed. They are normal people who do their job well.
Does the past always return to the crime scene?
The past never leaves the crime scene. It is engraved on the ground and the walls, the trees and of course the memory of the people and the narratives that are passed on to the next generations after them. We are what we are because we are what we are, for both good and bad. The past is an essential ingredient in all crimes.
Is writing more relaxing than going to the spa?
Writing is sometimes comforting, sometimes it keeps you up all night, whirlwinds through the intricacies of the plot, or when trying to get a character out of a situation you’ve gotten yourself into, can’t suddenly find a way out. What needs to be very good is writing in a spa, taking the best of both things.
How do we find Galindo and Robles this time?
Great. Galindo has been in Santa Rita for a few months and is starting to develop in a very positive direction. Robles remains a tower of power and plays a pivotal role in “Amores que matan”.
His passion for art is very present…
Yes, I love painting, art in general, and I enjoy visiting museums immensely. In this novel, my passion for art is combined with my love for literature, and I am able to create a story in which some of the great painters of the 20th century – Werefkin, Jawlensky and Kandinsky – lived, though not one of the best known to the public. a relevant role. I really enjoyed writing scenes from the past in 1930, when Mariane von Werefkin appeared alive and exuberant. where the painters featured in the novel kept a few of their paintings. It will be at half past seven on April 12. Free entry.
Fragrances, flavors, colors… A sensory novel?
Yes definitely. Ever since I started thinking about him in the summer, right after I got out of prison, it has been clear to me at Santa Rita that we humans will consciously use all the senses we have to perceive and enjoy the world. No junk food, no careless and sad environments. In these novels, spring is smelled, summer is savored, birds chirped, seagulls quack. They eat good, simple and healthy things. In addition to crime novels, they are a celebration of Mediterranean nature and the beautiful things that exist.
Links to Agatha Christie were sought in “Death in Santa Rita,” but it violated the rules of the genre. Are you still on the same track?
Certainly! “Death in Santa Rita” was a voluntary nod to Agatha Christie’s novels, but in this change of honor and I play with the string “Colombo” and even a little “Dexter”, but without blood. It’s also a gift for readers who love crime novels, a celebration of our different traditions, and a way to encourage those who don’t know them to read or watch.