Vargas Llosa: tears and love for Carmen Balcells – Clarín.com

Mario Vargas Llosa cried to evoke, the children of Gabo García Márquez, who were godchildren “Big Mama”, the filled with winks of an old friendship and Joan Manuel Serrat gave him one of his most beautiful songs, Paraules d’Amor (Words of Love). Finally, in the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, ​​Luis Miguel Palomares, son of Carmen Balcells, his daughters and all the team of the agency he founded the most important literary representative who has given the Spanish language thanked the tribute to hundreds of people that filled the venue’s musical landmark of Barcelona.

It was a very special event for a very special woman. Balcells, who died in September after 85 years changed the relationship of the author with the publisher, which in the near time were slave and servant, as proclaimed Vargas Llosa, whom she began writing full time , removing the teacher’s desk in the darkness of England. He, as evoked Eduardo Mendoza and Carme Riera (two of his customer , as called Balcells to their constituents, but they were his close friends), who felt her “like spoiled children” who Carmen contracts or renewals was great. He made his profession of relating to authors and publishers a fun priesthood, though, also said Vargas Llosa, never yielded in negotiations , not even for reasons of friendship.

Balcells had born on August 9, 1930 in a remote village, Santa Fe de Segarra, which she put on the map. He worked until the last day, and broken health. His energy was legendary, and his generosity … with their constituents, because she “had no friends, only interests”, as he liked to say. Le spent his books and many of them alluded to its fluid way to interact with tears. But once met with emotion, Carmen was again bellicose agent and inventiveness that was. Not only he invented created with other publishers and induced large projects colleagues, but also invented ways to make others have fun on. So the son who inherits the agency and somehow his spirit, yesterday ended selected this massive and tribute (international publishers, Spanish publishers, writers of his agency, foreign writers, artists, his legion personal friends everywhere) with a call for all to provide a glass of cahmpagne “and that each seek their croquettes,” which was a familiar invocation of his mother.

The children of Gabo Gonzalo and Rodrigo did, as Vargas Llosa, exciting evocations of Carmen. The Peruvian author turned to his friend, agnostic agnostic , seeking her complicity to whether some glimmer comes from the other side; at the end of this exchange, to a target that is no longer the Nobel could not hold back the tears. And Rodrigo, filmmaker son of García Márquez, Carmen also addressed in first person, as if you were visiting in Barcelona . The son of Gabo (the writer who said that if I put an agency like the look Balcells an author as himself) concluded: “Carmen, after you broke the mold. But it would cast doubt! “

Then came Serrat singing Paraules d’Amor . But it is that all were words of love for Carmen Balcells.