I consider directing the Max Awards ceremony a great responsibility.
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I am incredibly excited and it is a colossal responsibility, but I also see it as a unique opportunity. I have always said that the Max Awards are a meeting point, a unique opportunity for the union of our profession to benefit both the audience and with the reach that the Max Awards have, not only in Spain but around the world. Considering that, yes, I feel responsible and I am also eager to share, create, and pay tribute to every creator in Spain.
Moreover, these awards hold a special place for you as a playwright and director. You have two in your possession…
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Yes, that’s right. The Max Awards have been very present since the beginning of my professional career, and it has always filled me with indescribable happiness. In a way, these awards confirm that the path I have taken is the right one. Of course, this doesn’t mean that if you don’t achieve them, you are not on the path you should be on, but they are an incentive to continue and move forward. A Max Award is a strong signal to believe that you are not entirely on the wrong track.
On top of that, you have been chosen to direct the gala that is being held in your hometown, on your Island, a space that you have claimed through your work for a long time.
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When the organizing committee called me, I felt it as a huge honor. Moreover, the fact that this year the ceremony will take place in Santa Cruz is something that multiplies all the good things by a lot, by a great deal. It’s hard to express all the excitement it brings me. If they had asked me to direct the Max Awards gala anywhere else in Spain that wasn’t Tenerife, of course, I would have taken it on with all the joy in the world. But the fact that it is in Santa Cruz de Tenerife multiplies all the goodness exponentially to levels that are difficult to put into words.
“A Max Award is a signal to think that you are not entirely on the wrong track”
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What is the main challenge? In these types of ceremonies, it is usually about achieving the agility and fluency that make the recognition of the awards compatible with their television entertainment aspect.
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You’re right. We all understand what a gala is, but when it comes to organizing it, it’s quite abstract. I have to give it a narrative that is attractive, entertaining, and, indeed, fluent. That’s the goal: it’s basically about being able to share something with all the people in the venue and with all the viewers watching us on TV, and at the same time being smooth, dynamic, and conveying what we need to convey. We have no restrictions, but the ceremony has to meet that requirement.
What do you think of the Tenerife Auditorium as the venue for this ceremony?
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It is a venue with enormous qualities. In terms of staging – and I’ll use the word ‘condition’ in a positive way – the Auditorium conditions you, it makes you sharpen your skills as a creator to use it to your advantage because it offers ways of seeing the stage that other venues do not possess. We will use all these characteristics in favour of the narrative I mentioned earlier.
Will you be able to add an even more Canary Islands touch to this gala?
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Without a doubt. Rest assured. There will be a strong Canarian presence at the gala, not only because of me and the venue and the Island. I have always believed that in Canarias, creativity oozes like in very few places around the world. This is an opportunity for that to be showcased, and Canarian creators will have a prominent place, of course. Additionally, Ángel Guiméra, a central figure in our Tenerife culture, will be very present. In fact, this month marks 100 years since his passing.
“The Auditorium conditions you, it makes you sharpen your skills as a creator to use it to your advantage”
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One of your productions is also on the shortlist for awards in this edition…
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Yes, “Four wild ones dressed in green ivy,” a play I wrote and directed. And there is also another native of Tenerife, actor Kevin de la Rosa. The gala will be a powerful invitation for us Tinerfeños to take ownership of all the immense Canarian creativity that exists both inside and outside the Islands, which is vast.
The Max ceremony will take place on July 1st. What is the timeline for preparations until then?
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I recently had a technical visit to the Auditorium. I am fully immersed in the work, as there are many factors to coordinate. It’s not just a show for the people who will be with us that night at the Auditorium, but also something that the whole country will see on television. We are very much in tune with this characteristic that sets the Max Awards gala apart from others. I have been designing this for a while now, coordinating with the various and impressive teams.
And all this amidst your already hectic work activity…
