Claps

I play it in the car, while doing manual labor, or on nights when I have trouble sleeping. More than a voice, it's a tone that accompanies me through these years in a country so in need of shelter and refuge, of spaces where, because there are so few, intelligence can find a home. Success comes when the host—an editor, a theater director, a program producer—has the authority to raise the level of those who take refuge in him. On Toni Clapés's program, the interviewees, contributors, and impersonators become more brilliant. It's instructive to hear the same voices that participate in the program on other shows.RAC1 versionto see how a contributor's performance rises in one place and falls in others. I'm not interested in current films or celebrity gossip, but inRAC1 versionIt's different. And vice versa, I'm interested in literature and politics, but I find many programs dedicated to them unbearable; they pretend to talk about literature or politics but in reality they talk about current films and celebrity gossip.

Presenters are paid all the money in the world, and traditional media outlets are given every opportunity to degrade and subjugate us. How often do we feel insulted by these media outlets, especially the public ones?RAC1 versionIt stems from a level of common sense and above-average intelligence. It's hard to find that degree of freedom—in other words, political incorrectness—and the subtle undertones delivered with such elegance and depth in traditional media. A humor born of disillusionment, which at its best reaches a surrealism characteristic of Catalans, is a great asset. Woody Allen's Jewish formula works well here: comedy is tragedy plus time.

As is often the case, the key to a return to success lies in the complete absence of vanity in the person in charge. This seriousness stands in stark contrast to the pervasive frivolity in the media and politics, where flattery, along with money—which is essentially the same thing—is the most effective way to manage public figures, until they become uncritical and acquire that characteristic inflated and grotesque air. All the space left by vanity is filled with intelligence and good company.

Many of us are grateful. A program like this would hardly air in another country, nor would it exist without such unwavering self-discipline. Thanks to this rigor, the treatment of language is an exceptional example of respect and reasonable flexibility. We are grateful for the award we received for many years to come. I think it deserves many more, and specifically Catalan awards.