Andrés Fajngold: "If you want to hate me, you can hate me for being Argentine, red-haired, Jewish and left-handed"

BarcelonaAllà on molts còmics despleguen la loquacitat i el riure per contagi, Andrés Fajngold fa una proposta no apta per a tots els paladars, on les situacions incòmodes i els silencis contenen la clau del seu humor. Col·laborador de programes com "Zona Franca, la sèrie "Departament Amades" o l'Està passant, estrena el 23 de febrer un especial de comèdia al 3Cat i se'l pot veure també a "El consultori de Berto".

“I was born in Argentina and that's one of the reasons I'm not Irish.” This is how you've opened many of your shows. Your origins are, in fact, quite complex.Yes, I have roots in Russia and Poland, and a bit of Austria too. My grandfather fled from Poland and his wife and daughter, who was six years old, were murdered in a concentration camp. His mother too. But they were many brothers and sisters and, in general, they managed to escape.To what extent has this dramatic point in your family's history influenced your view of life, your comedy?It has influenced it, of course. My whole family suffered persecution. But, well, that's not exclusive to my family, because in the history of Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, and of humanity... there have been wars everywhere.So, when people say "You can't make jokes about the Holocaust"...You can and you do make jokes about the Holocaust! I imagine if I had to experience being in a concentration camp or the Warsaw Ghetto firsthand, I would obviously have suffered, but I also imagine laughing at the absurdity of it all. My father always told me that even within the Warsaw Ghetto, there were Jews who got rich, who did business. But I prefer to think that there were even Jews who laughed a lot, even within any concentration camp. That they found comedy, reasons to laugh.And is it okay to do so?It's okay to do so, yes. And about everything we're suffering now in the world, it's also okay to do so. I don't know if today, but at the right time.So, do you believe in the maxim that comedy is tragedy plus time?Yes. The thing is, the time that needs to pass is relative for everyone. Who decides how much time? And here, of course, we get into the limits of humor...What are yours?I'm aware that there's a context, that there are sensitivities. For example, if you go to an association of relatives of people who have committed suicide, you have to know where you're going and that, if you have a list of suicide jokes, it might not be the best material to bring... or maybe it is, you don't know.Have you ever found yourself having to swallow hard and say, 'gulp, danger, mines'?One day the Israelite Community of Barcelona, which is the oldest in Barcelona, invited me to perform for 20 minutes. And I thought it might be a good idea to talk a bit about ourselves with freedom, because for me, as a Jew, what makes me most proud of my Jewish identity is humor. The rest is difficult, but humor makes me proud. And I made jokes saying that we didn't have a gay Jewish community in Barcelona to circumcise gay babies, not gay couples, but babies who are eight days old but you already sense that... Ugh, it was extremely difficult. When I was ten minutes in, from the back, they made a gesture to me saying, 'Cut it, cut it, let's leave it here!'Nowadays, it can't be easy to present yourself as Jewish.I feel pride in the tradition of humor. And also pride in the art of Jewish culture in general, setting aside everything that surrounds the issue today and what might come to mind when I say Jewish. I'm talking about tradition, about art, about transforming so many tragedies or the tragedy of existence itself. Because no one has to kill you. You can make art and humor out of the anguish of existence. That humor is made, with all of this, that's the part that makes me proud.Overall, you make more humor out of the absurd than the political. And you like to create moments of discomfort. Where does your style come from?I have references of comedy from all my life and current ones, but I don't know if my style comes from there. I started doing comedy here and it will be 21 years ago this year. I remember one day, at an open mic, there were very few people and I was talking about a story with a mattress and the few people there were laughing, but at moments I didn't expect. And I felt that it also amused me to focus on that.You don't laugh much on stage, but what makes you laugh?The absurdity of life in general makes me laugh, of the things we do in daily life. I try to laugh at myself, at my contradictions, at being quite foolish, at how I can be thinking this. Laughing at myself doesn't mean I can laugh at everyone, but it's a good starting point. I think that within the comedy community, it's accepted that if you take yourself too seriously and no one can laugh at you, then it's difficult to laugh at something else.A question you must be asked often: are you like this or are you playing a character?I've been asked many times if I'm like this or if I'm playing a character. And the answer is that I'm pretty much like this... and I also enjoy playing with it.

What did you do before dedicating yourself to comedy?I have a degree in advertising. I studied in Argentina and worked as a copywriter, but in the promotions department. I wanted to be creative, but my job was to write texts for a "scratch and win". It was frustrating. Two days after passing my last exam in college, I came to Barcelona.Following love, as the legend goes.Yes, I came because I had a Catalan girlfriend I met traveling in Brazil. I thought it was a relationship that could work.And how long did it last?A week.But instead of returning with your tail between your legs, you chose to stay.I had a return ticket that was valid for a year, so I decided to try living in Barcelona for a year. When the year passed, it was very significant. That day I thought: 'I'm burning a bridge back and an airplane ticket.' Besides, I was an illegal immigrant, because I had arrived here on a three-month tourist visa: at that time I didn't have the Polish citizenship I have now.So, Polish and Argentine passports, roots in Russia, and living in Barcelona with your wife, who is Mexican with Syrian roots. If I ask you where you feel you belong, what do you answer?Anything but a citizen of the world, which sounds awful! I'd say I'm Argentine slash Catalan. Argentine and a bit Catalan. But it also happens that I went to Argentina and tried to do something with comedy and it was strange. I'd say: 'I'm from here, but I'm not anymore.' Perhaps it's that I don't belong anywhere.And is that liberating or unsettling?Many times it generates a bit of anxiety in me. In the end, we're a bit like sheep. We need the flock to tell us 'You're one of us.' To feel the warmth and know that someone thinks like you. And, of course, many times I find myself not identifying, not feeling identified with either one or the other.Perhaps comedy is a way to find that connection with others.Yes, it's an act against existential loneliness. It's not the only objective, but there is a component that is indeed that.If my numbers are correct and you persist, by 2031 you'll have been here longer than there. Do you ever think about returning?You can never say never, but I'm very happy living my life here. I suffocate in Buenos Aires. Too big for me.But life here, without papers, must not have been easy. What did you work as?I did everything. I remember making hot dogs at the Sants Station garages, at a tattoo convention. I started by serving beers, but the grill manager couldn't come one day and they told me: 'You're Argentine, you must know how to use the grill.' I was promoted quickly.From beers to hot dogs: that's the Catalan dream! I suppose many things happened before you got to "Està passant".Then I worked at an agency that worked for TMB: they called me to inform people at the Gorg station, where the line was cut because we were doing construction, and I had to be there from when it opened, at 5 in the morning, informing people.I'll admit that if I think now of Andrés Fajngold on television making public service announcements, it seems like a comedic situation from the outset.Yes, it was strange, it was strange. It was a bit comical.

Do you think doing these kinds of jobs helps a comedian by providing material?Yes, yes, totally.Can you make a living from comedy?You can make a living from comedy in Catalan, yes. But it's not easy. Well, what is easy? Making a living from what is easy? Well, from your parents, of course. I myself, until last year, still had a job three days a week, as a distributor of cosmetic products for a company that has stores in Barcelona. Now, yes, I live off shows and television collaborations. In November, for example, I recorded a one-hour special for 3Cat that will premiere on February 23rd... It wasn't an easy decision to say yes, but.Why?I am very proud to work in Catalan and feel integrated. That is indeed the Catalan dream. But from there to doing a whole hour, I had doubts about how it would turn out...In any case, you confirm the good moment of comedy in Catalan.Yes, but it's also true that, at least I, can't say I'm getting rich, at all. In the economic sense, at least. But in terms of self-fulfillment, yes, I feel very happy. If I didn't need money to live, this feeling would be enough.Now there's a whole scene in Catalonia, but when you started, that wasn't the case.Back then, there were only two open mics every week in Spanish in Barcelona: the Comedy Club on Thursdays and one that was held at Bar Mediterrani. Now, on the other hand, there's a circuit in Catalan, in Spanish, and even in English, which has grown a lot. In fact, for a while, I did more in English than in Spanish. But then, around 2018, the Catalan scene began, with even more strength.I suppose you noticed the big change when you appeared on the beloved "Zona FrancaI had been sent a message from a comedy specials program by Andreu Buenafuente, which talked about classic comedians and invited current ones who had something to do with them. I was asked to do a five-minute monologue in the episode about Eugenio. I didn't know who he was, but later I saw that yes, I could identify with him. Of course, it seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime. But, in the end, they canceled all that part about younger comedians. It was extremely difficult, and I felt I would never achieve anything here in the media, because I understand that my profile is difficult. I'm not for everyone, and I still think that. But then Adrià Serra, who was the director of "Zona Franca", called me and asked if I was interested in doing a test for this program. And I jumped at it, and they told me yes.And was it the instant change one expects when appearing on television?That was on a Monday. I woke up the next day and had a lot of activity on social media. Back then it was still Twitter and it was a cesspool of hate, but it wasn't the cesspool of hate it is today. Many new people were following me, mentions... I was like: 'Wow, wow.' Everyone was super happy, so they asked me to do a second segment that very Wednesday. Well, the next day there were already many comments saying 'Ugh, I don't know if we need this so often, huh?' and there were even polls about me. In addition, I suffered the dynamics for and against that "La sotana" generated, because it was Joel's program and Manel Vidal was on it. I came to do my own thing, and suddenly I discovered currents for and against that were new to me.The fascinating world of "hatersIf you want to hate me, you can hate me for being Argentine, red-haired, Jewish, and left-wing. And there are probably more reasons. And the style of comedy I do, you might also dislike me for that reason, but well, that's not in my hands.“I'm not for everyone,” you say.People who criticize me and don't like me... I think they're right. If it doesn't amuse them, they don't connect... I think: 'They're right.' And when someone says they like me a lot, and they laugh, and it amuses them, I also think: 'Well, they're right too.' It might seem politically correct what I'm telling you, but I think anyone who has a feeling about whether they like something or not, is right. You are right. You don't have all the right. I am convinced of that.But what would you say to someone who doesn't get you, so they understand where the humor can be found?If I have to explain where the humor is, the humor disappears. I'm not very optimistic in the sense of believing that I can convince people who don't find humor in what I do. I don't think I can turn them into fans, because they have a different sense of humor. And perhaps they don't have any sense of humor at all.Do you watch yourself to polish things?Sometimes I have to watch myself out of obligation, but if I can, I avoid it. I don't like watching myself.I've heard you say that you've done a lot of therapy. May I ask what you were looking for?In myself, right? To be better, to overcome difficult moments. I tried several therapists, but I had trouble finding a "match". Finally, I did Lacanian therapy: you lie on a sofa and he is behind you. And I remember I would say to him: 'But what am I doing?' And he would be silent for a few seconds and then exclaim: 'And how should I know!'Do you realize you were tasting your own medicine?Well, I didn't invent silences!Your humor can be linked to the aphorisms of the also Argentine Roberto Fontanarrosa. Like when he said: 'I wanted to know myself. When I found myself, I had changed a lot.' Have you changed much?Yes, some things have changed, although at the same time I'm the same. For example, I've always been a worrier, and very obedient. And aware of my limitations. My mother always reminds me that when I was little, she gave me a bag of sweets the day I was going away for two weeks on a camp. And she told me to ration them. I gave her the bag back, because I didn't see myself capable of doing it correctly.