Rosa Boladeras: "With the years I have learned to accept love when they offer it to me"

BarcelonaRosa Boladeras (Terrassa, 1972) is an actress driven by passions. Enthusiasm led her at a young age to make the stage her calling, and since then, she has built a very long career made up of shows and television projects that have made her one of the most outstanding performers in our country. After being away from theater for seven years to dedicate herself to municipal politics, at the Terrassa City Council, Boladeras is now experiencing one of the most recognized moments of her professional career thanks to the Margarida Xirgu award, which received on Monday at the Teatre Romea for their work in the show I have a forest in my brain, by Guadalupe Sáez and directed by Alícia Gorina at Sala Beckett.

How do you feel after receiving the award?

— I feel fortunate, grateful and excited by everything that has happened. I don't like feeling part of a more or less privileged circle in the world. It doesn't suit me. But over the years I have learned to accept love when it is offered to me and to enjoy those who believe I deserve it. Personally, the award is a huge hug, a ball of love that has been sent to me. I return it and spread it to all the Xirgus and all the women in our profession. It is an award that unites us women. My heart is full. 

It's the moment of greatest professional recognition of your career. Will it mark a before and after for you?

— All of us who dedicate ourselves to this profession know that recognition is working every day, staying where you want to be and dedicating yourself to what you like. But I like the award because it gives visibility to Sala Beckett, a project that has resisted the years and has managed to take care of itself thanks to people who have worked very hard. It would be very interesting to investigate how to replicate it. I also like it because it makes Alícia Gorina, one of the great stage directors, of whom there are very few, visible. And it is also important for Guadalupe Sáez, a wonderful playwright. It is a collective award.

The path to get here begins with a performance ofEls Pastorets in Terrassa that awakens your calling and with a debut with Lurdes Barba in the show Final d'estiu amb tempesta (1991) when you were only nineteen years old. How do you remember those beginnings?

— It was an absolute dream, a providence. I was in my first year at the Institut del Teatre and Francesc Lucchetti asked me: "How old are you? Do you know anything about theatre?" Since I've always been small, he thought I was younger. He gave me a phone number and asked me to audition with Lurdes Barba. I remember being with coins, making a call standing up. I went there, I did a reading and they gave me the part. It was a small character, but in the play my father was [Jordi] Banacolocha and my mother, [Carme] Fortuny. Some teachers. 

From then on, you started stringing together projects with top-tier directors: Mario Gas, Àlex Rigola…

— Mario Gas was directing the Autumn Festival and he saw me at the show. He told me: "You have to come to my office, I want to offer you something". I was suspicious. I came from Terrassa, I had practically never been to the theatre. I went to see him and he put on the table The Time and the Conways. Montserrat Carulla, Vicky Peña, Rosa Renom, Boris Ruiz, Pere Ponce, Mònica López were there… And the only one I knew was Àlex Casanovas because he was doing Love at first sight. I used to tell my friends: "I'm going to do a play with the guy from TV". And they would say: "But girl! It's Mario Gas!". They knew everyone else. 

Then came Golfus de Roma, also with Mario Gas. What did this show mean to you?

— We did singing tests and most of the Conways were there. We went to Merida, it was quite an experience. Thanks to them I learned the trade, and they were also great teachers of life. I grew up with them, we spent four consecutive years traveling all over Spain. It was a great adventure. During all this time there were people who died and there were also births.

One of these births was that of your daughter, the also actress Sara Diego.

— I was 23 years old. Doing Golfus de Roma I met Gabino [Diego] and I fell in love. I have always been very driven by passion. I was doing this show and they called me to do The Diary of Anne Frank in Barcelona. I said no because I was in love. I have never put professional interest above vital interest. I had just started and was doing the chorus for the play, maybe I should have returned and taken it. But I was happy discovering the world. 

How was the return to Barcelona?

— It was difficult: returning to my parents' home, without a job, breaking up… I always took Sara everywhere with me. I began to recover little by little. At first I couldn't find a job, but then I realized that you can always start over. And if it's not exactly what you had imagined, it's okay. The important thing is that you are at peace. I've always moved forward with the premise of being in a place because I want to be there, because I'm happy there.

Years later another important show arrived, La Rambla de les Floristes (2019) by Santiago Rusiñol at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya.

— Sometimes directors have actors or actresses in mind who they consider can perform a role when they imagine a project. I haven't been one of them. Suddenly, I was very grateful that Jordi Prat i Coll bet on me at the Teatre Nacional. At first, I was very scared, Rosa Maria Sardà was very present to me. I had worked with her, we had a great friendship and she was one of my great teachers. Also, I had just won the elections. I had to climb two Everests at once. I got a little scared, I was about to say no, but we already know that fear brings nothing good, so I finally said yes. Especially because in Jordi's hands, I am happy.

Why do you place so much importance on the directors you work with?

— Because I want to be in projects that interest me but in which I also feel comfortable and fortunate. This last season has been a great gift from the universe, with Bàrbara Mestanza and Alícia Gorina. I had always admired Bàrbara. She called me and told me she was writing. Without even reading the text, I said yes. Many times I have made decisions for the project colleagues, directly. In this job it is very important to have good colleagues, because they can mistreat you and can really touch your self-esteem. Our profession is one of service, and that is what makes us happy. If when you enter a project you detect that the energy is not going towards creating, towards transforming into something that serves others, leave. And if you can't leave, stay and learn. 

What do you take away from your time in politics?

— The experience with politics has been wonderful, I have learned a lot. I recommend it to everyone, but I will also tell you that it is very hard. I wanted to return to my profession, and for that reason, without having any theater background, I asked for part-time dedication. Then some things came to me, but they generated a certain rejection, and I had to gather my courage and say no. Until Barbara called me.

Besides Sara Diego, you have two more children: Carlota Vila, who is taking her first steps as a professional actress in the series Com si fos ahir on TV3, and Tim Vila, who wants to be a musician. Are you satisfied to see that they all want to dedicate themselves to art?

— It's just that vocation is born so deep within you that, even if I don't want them to dedicate themselves to it, even if I believe they will suffer, in the end we have the most wonderful profession in the world. You always work collectively, you learn a lot, you meet diverse people, and you create an act of generosity towards life. The only thing I tell them is to be where they want to be, to search, to move, and that, sooner or later, they will find a place that their heart will dictate to them and they will be at peace there.