Sílvia Bel (Barcelona, 1970) believes in authenticity and naturalness, and practices them. The actress, who has graced the major theaters of the Catalan scene and is currently known for her role as Marta in Com si fos ahir, alternates maximum expressiveness –gestural and linguistic– with introspective silence. Bel understands the arts as a space for sincere expression, far from affectations and hypocrisies; and it is also in this way that she speaks of gastronomy and wine.They made a Ribera del Duero for his daughter, Ainara Elejalde. How does Sílvia Bel imagine the wine?

Noelia is already dead. And she is dead because the state has executed her. I believe in the state and in the fact that the monopoly of violence is in its hands. But not that of death. The death penalty disappeared from the functioning of Spanish institutions decades ago. In prisons, people commit suicide, but they are not euthanized. It is worth asking why in a hospital it should be any different. Noelia is dead because a committee has considered that her illness has no foreseeable solution and that the chronic and intolerable condition of her suffering justifies her death. And that the will to power, finally, to rest, takes precedence over the rest of her rights and duties. But even if we accepted the existence of the mythological little animals of will and autonomy, one would have to ask whether the state can obey someone's desire for death when that desire for death is a symptom of their illness. Noelia was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, a disorder crossed by suicidal ideation. Noelia tried to commit suicide and, when that happened, the state's healthcare system prevented her from dying. Now that Noelia has explained, on Sonsoles Ónega's program, that she had always thought she wanted to "die beautiful", the state has allowed her to die. Beautiful.Euthanasia for mentally ill patients has been a debate for decades in Europe. “If chronic and unbearable physical suffering serves as an argument for requesting assisted death, why shouldn't psychological suffering serve?”, they say. “Why distinguish one pain from the other?”, they ask. And they add a paradox: some psychiatric patients, when they receive permission to die, decide not to. Indeed, in a 2015 study with Belgian patients – a country where euthanasia for psychological suffering is permitted – it happened like this: of all the patients who received permission to die, eight retracted, who knows if reconciled to life by having the possibility of dying peacefully at hand or by some twist of fate. But let's put it better: of all the patients who obtained permission to die, eight retracted; thirty-five died.I don't know if Spain is ready for Noelia to be the first name on a list, to become the practical precedent that death to alleviate psychological pain is possible and acceptable in the country. But above all, I don't know if it can afford it. Among those surveyed by the INE in 2023, more than 14% had recently shown symptoms of depression, another disorder crossed by suicidal ideation.The state cannot renounce caring for its sick. It is a renunciation of the future, of progress, of the machinery of medicine that advances every day. To give up a sick life definitively at 25 years old is to not understand the times we live in. To speak of chronic illnesses and irreparable pains in an era of daily pharmaceutical discoveries is to violate the principle of reality. To give death to a young woman of 25 years is not the exercise of an "ethical and democratic" society, as has been said. It is the society of care distributing the pill of death.

It is difficult to think of happiness in Catalonia without this name coming to mind. Tortell Poltrona (Barcelona, 1955) has just returned from Ukraine. In the words that the Rokada association has dedicated to Clowns Without Borders for his stay, there is a precise synthesis of a lifetime dedicated to the happiness of others: the gratitude for offering children not only laughter, but "the reminder that joy is still possible". Tortell Poltrona —or rather, Jaume Mateu— says he is getting old. But this does not inhibit his desire to keep traveling, nor does it prevent him from moving forward before he can ask the first question.The clown is like wine. Did you know that?

The writer Najat El Hachmi (Beni Sidel, 1979) responds gracefully to the proposal of this interview: "You invite me to weddings." The winner of, among others, the Ramon Llull, City of Barcelona, ​​and Christmas prizes, who has just published a new edition of The Body Hunter (Ediciones 62, 2026), not only relates to the world through the embellishing filter of literature: it also does so through taste.

Màrius Carol (Barcelona, ​​​​1953) directed The Vanguard Between 2013 and 2020, during the turbulent years of the Catalan independence movement and the October 1st referendum. A veteran journalist and author of several books, he says his profession has opened many doors for him. Including those in the world of wine.

The economist Miquel Puig (Tarragona, 1954) is one of the voices that most frequently participate in the country's debates, also on the ARABeyond the articles and controversies about regional funding, immigration, tourism and wages, Puig maintains a long-standing relationship with another part of the Catalan economy.

Since last September, Júlia López (Barcelona, ​​1994) has been one of the voices accompanying family meals on weekends. After stints at Betevé, La 2, and Canal 3/24, the journalist has joined the show as a presenter, airing Saturdays and Sundays. Midday news of 3Cat.

Martí Melcion (Barcelona, ​​1995) is the illustrator of choice for young people in Barcelona. With a mischievous streak that doesn't preclude a tenderness for his surroundings, Melcion has captured much of the mood and daily life of his generation in his cartoons and animations. His collaboration with EVA (3Cat) has resulted in... Elma and her friends (Random Comics), which will be published in April.

At the beginning ofCream!(ColumnIn her memoirs, Maria Nicolau (La Garriga, 1982), a chef and writer, recalls that as a young woman, she understood cooking as a form of craftsmanship, a job done with the hands. Far from the catastrophists who predict the end of Catalan cuisine, and championing the complexity and sophistication of everyday cooking, Nicolau has established herself as one of the most important voices in contemporary gastronomic discourse. However, her life's journey also includes travels through several cities. In her memoirs, she explains that she chose La Rioja, not Segovia, to learn about wine.

Julià Guillamon (Barcelona, ​​1962) keeps about ten empty bottles at home. The writer and critic of The Vanguard He copied the idea from an exhibition that the National Library of Spain dedicated to Camilo José Cela, in which the bottles, mostly antique ones, that the Galician writer had decided to keep were displayed. Guillamon has published around twenty books – the latest of which, Scrapers (Galaxia Gutenberg, 2026), has just arrived in bookstores—in which many topics coexist, including, inevitably, wine.

Toti Soler (Vilassar de Dalt, 1949) often falls asleep listening to his own music: the slow and subtle pieces that he and his daughter call transparenciesFifty years after the celebrated concert with Ovidi Montllor at the Olympia, Soler leads a quiet and peaceful life. Born into a family of musicians—his great-grandfather was an opera singer, his mother a pianist—he found two undeniable virtues in the guitar his aunt gave him: the direct contact of his finger against the string, and the ability to carry it on his back and take it with him wherever he went. The rest is history: more than 400 songs and 37 albums, and having been the irreplaceable accompanist for generations of artists.

Laura Grau (Blanes, 1995) has established herself in recent years as one of the most prominent Catalan-language communicators and content creators on social media. After working for RAC105, Catalunya Ràdio, and iCat, she has created her own platform from which she addresses social issues that concern her and also discusses popular culture, with a particular focus on the world of castles. Hours after the interview, Grau got in touch to add a detail she had forgotten to mention: she loves the summer red wine, although its name in Catalan – black summer cocktail – hasn't quite convinced him.

Four months ago, Francesc Garriga (Súria, 1983) returned to Catalonia after working for four years as a correspondent for Catalunya Ràdio in Washington, a period marked by Donald Trump's return to the White House. In addition to his day-to-day work, this period has resulted in a book. In Washington by parachute (Portico, 2024), but above all a very concrete way of looking at the United States through everyday details, contradictions and small – and large – cultural clashes.

Carles Sans (Badalona, ​​1955) has spent more than four decades on stage, most of them without uttering a word. A founding member of Tricicle, along with Joan Gràcia and Paco Mir, he helped transform gesture into a recognizable and exportable stage language. Now, in a phase marked by his shift to spoken performance, Sans reflects on time, the body, changing habits, and his relationship with wine: a lesson that, like so many others, requires knowing when to open a bottle and when to leave it closed.

When Roger de Gràcia (Barcelona, ​​1975) explained to his mother that he was going to write a book about the social phobia he has suffered from since childhood, she warned him that he would never get hired again. That doesn't seem to have been the case. Since the publication of Tell me, crazy. In 2023, De Gràcia continued working on the podcast We keep our word. from Catalunya Ràdio, and with Júlia Otero on Onda Cero. In his book, and also in the conversation, the body, the head and drink appear, as a habit, as a learning process and as a limit.

A good correspondent is a guide for newspaper readers. Enric González (Barcelona, ​​1959) has been one for decades, reporting from London, New York, Rome, Paris, Jerusalem, and Buenos Aires. A journalist for publications such asThe Catalan Post,Monday's Page, The Catalan Newspaper,The Country,The World,Jot Down and theNOWAnd in contexts as decisive as the Rwandan genocide and the Gulf War, González has learned to explain the world by observing, listening, reading and, often, drinking.