Mariona Castillo recommends a graphic novel that deeply shook her

BarcelonaBetween the work on stage and her vocation as a teacher, actress Mariona Castillo doesn't stop. This summer she wants to rest for a few days before starting rehearsals for the musical L'alegria que passa, Dagoll Dagom's latest musical, which will be performed in Shanghai in September. And in February next year, she will return with another revival, the musical Germans de sang. When recommending a book, Castillo's heart is divided between Marta Orriols' novel Aprendre a parlar amb les plantes(Edicions del Periscopi) and the graphic novel El cel al cap, by Antonio Altarriba, Sergio García and Lola Moral (Norma Editorial), which was one of the 10 best comics of 2023 by ARA.

"Aprendre a parlar amb les plantes was given to me by Àngels Gonyalons when I turned 43, and I felt very identified with the protagonist, a girl from Barcelona of that age who is overcoming a very hard grief," says Castillo. "It hooked me so much that I couldn't stop," she explains. Finally, she leans towards El cel al cap, because she wants to recommend a book that "generates awareness" about a social issue. "It deeply affected me, I have nightmares about this novel," she emphasizes.

The protagonist of El cel al cap is Nivek, a Congolese boy who, after growing up exploited in a coltan mine, embarks on a terrible journey in search of a better life in Europe. "I was already aware of the harshness of immigration, but El cel al cap opened my mind in a very clear and graphic way," explains the actress. "Everyone should read it to gain this awareness, especially in these times of so much racism – she adds–. The story is full of very cruel incidents, and it deeply touched me that this is just one example among many. That is, it is not the isolated example of a hero, but the reality of most people who arrived in our country".