"Summer was summed up in everything that happened at the town pool."

BarcelonaFor actress and singer Alèxia Pascual, summers are spent at the swimming pool in Constantí (Tarragonès), her hometown. "The town pool is what has made summers special, despite being practically the same." It's no different from the others; what makes it special is "the bar where people have always been," where "she would eat ice cream every afternoon with friends." And that's how we see her in the photograph, when she was about four years old, sitting on a bar stool, eating ice cream, and "very happy."

It was a routine. Every summer day of her childhood, she'd head to the pool after lunch, and around seven o'clock, her parents would arrive and they'd have dinner there together. The thing is, Alexia has always liked to go to bed early—"I've always been sleepy"—so many nights she'd end up sleeping in the car while her parents dragged their feet. This has become a family anecdote, one they now find bizarre, "even though the situation was very safe because they left the windows open." "I was so happy, and they could keep the party going," says the actress and singer, who admits she still struggles to stay out past midnight.

When she was older, they would go on trips with friends to pick each other up: "It was like saying: we've grown up and now we can go alone." First, they would go shopping for snacks, and then they would swim, have a snack, soak again, shower, and have dinner with their families. In addition, there were special festivals like San Juan that were also organized in this nerve center. "Summer could be summed up with everything that was done in the pool" and if someone went on vacation it was a drama because "it meant they wouldn't be in the pool," she explains with amusement.

And so, between card games, bracelet deals and tapas of bravas and squid, they spent the afternoon. Now, however, the singer and actress who shot to the media spotlight with Euforia and who has played the character of Blanca in Sea and Sky, he feels that "it's not the same anymore." "I miss it now. I can't be there anymore, and my friends have drifted apart," he admits. He also associates vacations with traveling these days. "The kids are more into screens, and you see that the little groups don't hang out as much anymore." However, this is his favorite time of year: "I love summer because it brings back so many good memories."