Xavier Solà: "'The Night of the Ignorant' has taught me that the people are sovereign."

BarcelonaShe is one of the unmistakable voices of Catalunya Ràdio almost since its founding. After having made her mark presenting for twenty years The supplement and fifteen years The Night of the IgnorantXavier Solà returns to the airwaves after a health scare to gently break the mold of Catalunya Música with a program that combines classical music and listener participation. He reveals this in a relaxed and thoughtful conversation.

"I hope I can decide when I put an end to this chapter." You said this in May, and a few weeks later, it was indeed known that you were leaving. The Night of the Ignorant After fifteen years. What happened?

— It was time. I wanted a change, and management understood. I was looking forward to having dinner at home! Besides, I still had a chance to present a new project.

What project are we talking about?

— From the program, Listen to how it soundsClassics edition. The idea is to revive, for Catalunya Música, a program I hosted for fifteen years during the summer. It will be an hour and a half long, from eight to nine-thirty in the evening, starting in February, and will consist of a journey around the world, with the unique element of listener participation. It will always begin and end in Catalonia, passing through the places where the various musicians who make great music are from.

How will listeners participate?

— We'll ask: Where are you listening to the radio right now? And why are you listening to the radio? And how important is music to you? In the first episode, for example, we'll leave Barcelona, ​​with Albert Guinovart and the music of Nice of powerThat one goes, goes, goes-go-go... And we'll go towards Figueres, to listen to the I cry for you Pep Ventura's performance with the Empordà Chamber Orchestra. Then we jump to the Loire Valley to experience the top-notch jazz of the Jacques Loussier Trio. And so on, until we close the circle with a Catalan farewell.

Your return is doubly happy: it means you've overcome the health ordeal you were suffering from, prostate cancer. Can we talk about it?

— Absolutely! I want to share two key points. First, get checked out. And second, exercise. I've just realized I need to strengthen my pelvic floor because I have incontinence. The exercises they have me do... I wish I had done them sooner. And I emphasize the importance of getting checked out because, if you catch it early, as I did, you can work on it calmly. Otherwise, I would have had to leave the show before the season ended. But I was able to work something out with the doctor, and we adjusted the schedule.

The tone is jovial, as you usually are on the radio, but the moment of the diagnosis must have been a shock.

— A carcinoma. The word sounds awful: car-ci-no-ma. And you ask yourself, listen, what have I done to deserve this? But it happens to you, and like you, to so many others. Fortunately, there's an amazing healthcare system that makes it easy to not panic from the start and lets you know that there's a positive outcome. There will be some side effects along the way, but you'll overcome them and then share your story with others who might encounter them: listen, you're in good hands. And yes, from there, this, then that... but, listen, we're lucky because a few years ago you would have died.

You have spoken openly about these side effects.

— Women do have this sisterhood and talk about breast cancer and support each other, but we men tiptoe around it. The doctor has confirmed to me that there is a significant taboo surrounding it. If, through my experience, I can help spread awareness, I'm all for it.

So you wanted to break the taboo?

— Yes, let's be honest, let's not keep it to ourselves! Listen: there's incontinence. Maybe you'll have less or less, depending on how things go, but you've had a part removed, and if you remove a part from any organism, that organism feels it and shuts off the flow. And that, listen, it leaks. And when you laugh, you pee, and when you walk and exert yourself, you do too. But we'll work on it. We'll do pelvic floor exercises, electrical stimulation, some exercises... with this you'll gradually adjust, but you'll always have some leakage. In the first few weeks, I was leaking over two liters. Two liters! And now I'm on track to leaking a can of beer.

I'm glad I ordered a Coke to go with the conversation!

— (Laughs). My record is 340 milliliters. It's been four months since the operation: I go to physical therapy, they put electrodes on me, I've learned that there are diapers in three different sizes... but well, you also learn to see how people have the capacity to adapt to whatever comes their way. And to tell yourself: listen, go ahead, life is full and rich.

There are also consequences in sexual life.

— It's another area where there's nothing you can do. Listen to me, you're not going to tremble, plain and simple. But luckily, there is help available, although things won't be the same as before. Fortunately, we have a great capacity to adapt to reality, to get used to it.

You turned 65 this year, but I see there are no plans for you to retire.

— I still have a couple of years of contributions to make, because I started paying into the system late, as they say. That's why I submitted a project with the idea of ending my professional career with music.

And the next day?

— I don't know about the next day. I haven't made it that far yet. But I do have a plan to walk the entire Camino de Santiago.

Forty years with the Corporation. Loyalty, lack of offers, were you already comfortable...?

— Look, that's how it's gone. Sometimes, we don't choose things. Yes, there have been times when I've been a little at risk, but it all worked out and I found my place. I've felt very comfortable, loved by the listeners and also by the station.

These four decades have a brief break of a few months, in 2009, when you left the station.

— Yes, I stood there, frozen. It was after the program. Coconut juice And the new management, embodied by Ramon Mateu, decided to do away with Solà. I was sidelined for a few months. In formaldehyde, if you will.

They offered you the program from 3 to 6 in the morning, otherwise it was a mistake.

— Exactly. But I felt it wasn't appropriate and I withdrew. But it soon began to clear up, at the request of the...

What did you do during those months?

— So I thought, relaxed... and trusted. It seemed to me that I couldn't do much more and that it was better to do what I was doing. don't shake itAnd that's it, in January I joined the program The secret of Silvia Cóppulo, already with a view to assuming The Night of the Ignorant the following season.

What has this program given you?

— The Night of the Ignorant It has taught me that the people are sovereign. They truly are! They have such unique, characteristic ways of speaking... Listening to people is a constant learning experience. Always. You learn from the most unexpected people. This is the most important thing. Sometimes, in our daily lives, we run the risk of becoming detached from reality. And reality is the reality of the people.

Do you mean journalists?

— The journalists and the people who are active in the daily grind, in the daily rhythm. The professors, we could say, metaphorically. And the program shows you who these people are. We have an admirable people, with tremendous values, and the program has been a very direct approach to the soul of that country. It's a treasure. The Night of the IgnorantIt's radio as electricity.

There have also been some impressive confessions. How do you manage the distance?

— It's difficult. Don't lose your composure, just to maintain appearances, right? And at the same time, the difficult thing is not to be affected by the loneliness that person is showing you, by their need. In the end, you find a balance between their need to communicate and your need to listen to them.

The program was launched in the 80s by Carles Cuní, with a harsher, endearingly dry tone. How did you do it?

— By being myself, and this applies to every program: if I'm not myself, I'll hardly communicate. It's as simple as treating others the way you'd like to be treated. That's all there is to it. Be yourself, because there's no one else like you in the world.

Your other big program is The supplement: twenty years, doing it, with the thrilling participation ofThe listeners' plot, on the hunt for the cream-colored dog.

— Yes, but, interestingly, with both programs, my listeners tell me the same thing: your program relaxes me! And you know what? The supplement It was electric...

You've been working in radio your whole life. Do you consider it a fulfilling professional life?

— A lot, a lot, a lot! Perhaps Puyal's "I can die now!" hasn't arrived yet, but I feel very fortunate, because radio has given me everything. I'm spouting a cliché now, but from the very beginning, it's been what has given meaning to my life.

Did you try TV, with Honeymoon tripBut it didn't quite work out.

— It was fleeting and a completely unsuccessful experience. I also collaborated with Cuní, but all my experience is really in radio. I'm not from television: my experience there has been quite negative, and I've only dabbled in it without ever feeling the connection and rapport I've had with radio.

You've mostly done it in the early hours or on weekends, which are somewhat on the fringes of the mainstream. Have you ever hesitated to enter the weekday grind?

— No, no: I'm always focused on the here and now. Anyone who loves what they do doesn't think about Mondays or worrying about schedules. Live it as a joy, like a garden you have; you must tend it. You have a responsibility for that land, and you must think about how we can make it yield the best results, not only for the benefit of the listeners but also for your own. Make each program as unique as possible and keep adding seasons. I remember going through a crisis when I'd been doing the supplement for ten years, but the head of programming, Jordi Català, helped me see it differently, and look, I did another ten. It's all ups and downs, that's part of the journey. Don't go around thinking about where you could be, because it doesn't depend on us.

Well, some people are greedy. Some people are conspirators.

— Yes, always! But that's not my case.

Your catchy accent, that drawl and playful quality... despite having little screen time, are you recognized by your voice?

— It might sound a bit awkward on my part, but yes, very often! More than once, people get up from the next table and come over to say hello. It's one of the great strengths of radio: the voice takes center stage in many ways. And yes, it's a distinctive voice. There are many people who don't like it, because it's always a matter of personal taste. You either like my voice or you don't, but it certainly doesn't go unnoticed.

Where does the mythical "Vote for it!" come from?The Supplement?

— From San Félix de Guíxols. Vote for it, right here! It was one of those expressions you'd find if you came across one: Vote for it!

We were talking about a full career, but at the beginning they offered you a couple of programs and you ended up putting an ocean between you and them.

— Yes, I felt overwhelmed. Radio was a real struggle for me. I came to it through music: my inner voice is DJing. I wanted to be a DJ at home, but my father didn't like that idea at all. And radio was a way to share songs. I was at Ràdio Associació, making music, and that's where Josep Cuní saw that I could do more. He told me: think of an afternoon program. And I created Flash Glass, which worked really well. I'd go out on the street and ask people silly questions.

You and the people!

— Exactly, the people! I wasn't interested in interviewing anyone. I liked people. And then summer ended and they offered me the night shift, from 12 to 2, to do a show called Javier, night shiftBut that program was too much for me. The anxiety was so great, and I suffered so much trying to fill the two hours each day, that I told José I wanted to quit and go to the United States. And I went to Chicago, New York, and California, where I had my go-to people in music radio.

A formative journey, then.

— Yes, but without any kind of plan. I went with a hand in each pocket. And I went there on a whim... until I had a problem and Josep called me and offered me his summer program. And I came back. So, also completely unexpectedly, radio brought me back. Ep, in the United States I tried to do radio, I went to Radio Ambiente, a Hispanic station, but it didn't work out.

Let me tell you, it feels really strange to imagine you performing cumbias in Spanish!

— Well, I did my military service in Almería, working in radio at SER. And then they offered me a post in Girona, because it was close to home.

The Corporation is going through a period of brand shake-up, and some long-standing professionals have spoken out against it. How are you experiencing this?

— I'd just say one thing: it's taken a lot of work to build these records. Many hours, a lot of effort, a lot of passion. And to think that all of this could be lost overnight... it's heartbreaking. If you care about what you do, you know how hard it is to build a record. I remember Ramon Mateu, when we picked things up again, and he gave me the stripe, he told me he'd like me to do it. The Night of the IgnorantAnd I said to him, "Damn, couldn't I do my own show and give it a name?" And he said, "If you owned Coca-Cola, would you change the brand?" Now we're dealing with this a bit. I understand they have their reasons, but it's been a long road. And we love these brands dearly.

Just a few meters from Catalunya Ràdio, on the other side of the Diagonal, is RAC1, which has surpassed one million listeners in three EGM surveys. Should the Corporation's stations compete or focus on public service?

— First, congratulations to them, and then congratulations to the radio station in general, because it's a real achievement. If we look at the power that Catalan-language radio is having, in terms of numbers, it's spectacular. And then, I would say apply the principle I mentioned earlier: we take care of what we have, to do the best we can. Let's always ask ourselves: Is this the best we can do? Should we change it?

And do you think Catalunya Ràdio is making the best radio it can?

— I now want to believe so, because I trust those in charge. I want to believe they care for each area with the same care I take of mine. And I wouldn't dare say anything, because I don't have that overall perspective, beyond supporting what's being done.

How do you maintain a question and answer program in real time using Google Chat and GPT?

— Oh, that's what amazed me! It's the desire to learn and the sense of connection: listening, feeling the spark. Knowing that you can dial 201-74-74 and they'll answer right away: "Good evening, Catalunya Ràdio, what can I do for you?" And then going on air and the next day going to buy bread and having someone say, "Alex, I heard you last night!" It's electric. And even though you can figure it out with a quick Google search, it won't give you this whole universe of warmth, and the proof is that it's still going strong.

Do questions or stories ever run out?

— No, no, no! It was one of my fears, when I arrived somewhat reluctantly because I agreed to keep The Night of the IgnorantWhen I was eager to do mine, I thought, "You'll see, this will be gone in two days." Until I started hearing the questions, and no, questions keep popping up that you don't quite know where they're coming from!

Do you have a favorite?

— Someone wanted to know how to tell if a chicken has a cold.

And how do you know this? Now you've created in me a desperate but absurd need to know, although I'll probably never end up needing it.

— See? This is the heartbeat of the program. Nothing, you can see there's a snotty nose that gives them away. But now imagine me when I had to face this question. Or when someone asked how fast a fly flies. You think: how did they even come up with that? That's why I mentioned the sovereign people, because you see how far removed we are, in this case journalists, from reality. How the people make us see things that really matter much more to them than what motivates us. And others, which motivate us a lot, don't move them at all.

Would the program be different if it were done in Spanish?

— I suppose it's because every country fights its own battles. But ours is admirable: the cultural curiosity, the eagerness to learn, the respect, the modesty... the business of keeping dirty laundry private. You see there's a certain prudence, don't you? I don't know what would have happened elsewhere. I don't know.

And if I had you pick up the phone and dial 201 74 74, knowing that the listeners would answer, what question would you ask them?

— Why does the number 40 appear so often in the Bible?

We also have forty questions: coincidence? In any case, I'll be keeping an eye on the comments on the website and, if someone solves it, I'll send it to you.

— Come on!