There is always a reason to talk to Fernando Esteso (Zaragoza, 1945), a significant figure in Spanish popular culture. The return to movie theaters with ‘Loli Tormenta’ is one, but his 50-year film career (he debuted with ‘Jealousy, love and the common market’ in 1973) are also valid as an excuse. Or the five decades that ‘La Ramona’ will celebrate in 2024. “I feel proud to have made a song that has brightened the festivities of the towns of Spain,” he says. He is more defined by the lyrics of ‘I am a playboy’, qualifies an actor, who proposes for his tombstone: «Here lies one who tried to make others happy».
Before beginning the interview, two people recognize Fernando Esteso and ask to be photographed with him. The comedian accepts very willingly. He has tables off stage. “On the street I have never lacked recognition and affection from people,” he says. Esteso (Zaragoza, 1945) has just released ‘Loli Tormenta’, by Agustí VIllaronga, in which the Valencian actress Susi Sánchez participates. This is the last film by the prestigious Mallorcan director, who passed away last January.
“Some people turn to me looking for a photo to show their uncle, their grandfather… It is a pride to be recommended from parents to children,” he adds. Esteso, known for his roles in ‘Los bingueros’, ‘Yo hices a Roque III’ or ‘Los liantes’, says that he also has the favor of the little ones: «My participation in ‘La que se avecina’ has given me that children know me. I remember that while I was taking a walk through Valencia, the students from a school came out, recognized me and addressed me. That popularity surprised me.”
-Fernando Esteso is an intergenerational figure?
-I started to get on stage at the age of two and a half because my parents worked in a variety company. At the age of 13 they gave me the artist card and I have already turned 65 as an artist, but I still don’t have any work medal (he jokes). I have not worked, I have had fun and I have had a great time. I adore this profession.
-Would you like to do more television?
-Some producers have their own pool of actors whom they promote in their series and other producers consider that older men should be played by 45-year-old actors. It seems that there are no roles for adults despite the baggage of veteran interpreters.
Do you think about retiring?
-(Laughs) There is no way. I am willing to continue working and I show it in ‘Loli Tormenta’. I can do all kinds of roles, but maybe it’s my fault for being pigeonholed because of the success of comedy movies.
-Are you typecast as an actor?
-I have been versatile. I’ve done everything: I’ve sung zarzuela, I’ve danced, I’ve acted… I don’t consider myself pigeonholed but some people have kept the type of successful films that followed one another with Andrés Pajares and Mariano Ozores. Working with them meant opening my eyes because they always taught me something. It was a phenomenal time. There is a generation, the one that is forty years old, that continues to see that cinema.
-Why are the uncovering movies still seen?
-Because they are fresh, funny films, they are distracting… yes, they have sex scenes with women but under a humorous prism. The actors didn’t have a good time in those scenes because it was cutting for us. Of course, there was respect for the actresses.
-‘Loli Tormenta’ marks a before and after in your cinematographic career?
-Yes, because of the character who, as a villain, has it all: operated on for cancer, Jehovah’s Witness and family abuser. I passed six or seven castings for this character despite having worked with Agustí Villaronga on ‘Incerta glòria’. You had to meet him. With him I connected as a human being and with the cinema. I have never been so careful on a shoot as in ‘Loli Tormenta’, the recording of which coincided with a health problem in the Achilles tendons that forced me to use a wheelchair, a walker and a cane. On set we became friends. It was incredible.
-You recalled the figure of Agustí Villaronga at the last Goya Awards gala…
-Before the ceremony I spoke with Fernando Méndez-Leite to ask him for permission to talk about Agustí because at the gala you can barely talk, there aren’t many people who know how to speak and some people also make their demands. The president of the Film Academy thanked me for the memory of Villaronga.
-What was your relationship with Agustí Villaronga?
-If you ask his sister, who is the spitting image of him, she will tell you that it is a very affectionate relationship. I called her on the phone, she told her: ‘Take care, I want to make another movie with you. He was a friend, as well as one of the best directors Spain has ever had.
– How did you go from starring in breakout films to shooting with Agustí Villaronga?
– Most of the comedians who have made movies, such as Mariano Ozores, José Luis López Vázquez or José Sacristán, have accumulated experiences that provide background for tragedy or drama.
-With ‘Loli Tormenta’ you will reach a younger audience than the one who saw the breakthrough films, which gave you such success. For the ‘millennials’, who is Fernando Esteso?
-A friend of the family, who has dedicated himself to this. They still enter the movie theater to see the comic Esteso and find a very hard movie with Agustí’s gaze. It is a colorful comedy that does not leave you indifferent. He knew that it was the last film and he wanted to leave the closed circle of his ability to make films.
Is making movies more pleasant now than dedicating yourself to humor?
-The humor that I have practiced has been white, that is why I have reached families. Making humor is always difficult, it is at all times. I played with the double intention and resorted to ingenuity to be able to talk about everyone. Some monologists now link occurrences after occurrences when before there were writers of humor. I’m the easiest audience for comedians because I laugh with any comedian who comes on stage.
-Doing humor is a risky activity?
-It is a veto activity, but some have bull. Today the difficult thing is to find something that does not offend anyone. My friend Arévalo would not pass any cut now. Look how funny he is playing twangy!
-In 1973 his first film was released. ‘Jealousy, love and common market’ by Alfonso Paso. It is the 50th anniversary of his film debut. What balance does he make when he looks back?
-Sometimes I think I’ve only just begun, but I don’t know. I don’t count the records or the movies or the kilometers I’ve done, I know I’ve been happy. There is nothing sadder than going to a station and no one waiting for you. This has not happened to me. I would like to be considered more as a human being than as an artist, because I want to win over people and not lose hugs. There are three categories of celebrity: popular, famous, and endearing. When you get to endearing you are already happy! Making others happy makes you happy yourself, perhaps it is pure selfishness. In my entire career I have not received any grant. Everything I have done has been at my own risk. I didn’t set out to earn more than the businessman did.
-Does not depend on aid make you freer?
-There are those who do what they want and have been subsidized all their lives. There is a lot of subsidized in the country that is not dedicated to cinema.
-What do you mean?
-Don’t know. It’s all regular. There is no money left for culture. They use the money for pens, mobile phones or give 18-year-olds 400 euros to vote for them. There are families that receive 400 euros to live. We are crazy.
-In 2024, ‘La Ramona’ will be 50 years old. Does she still sing it?
-I feel proud to have done a song that has brightened the festivities of the towns of Spain. In part, the lyrics of ‘Soy un vividor’ define me more because I «never wanted to be the rich man in the cemetery». I turn my tombstone and maybe it says: “Here lies one who tried to make others happy”
-He has lived in Valencia for a decade. What have you found here?
-The first time I came to Valencia was with my parents. I have done a lot of theater in the city of Turia. I left Torrevieja to live here with my children, who no longer let me go out alone (he jokes). They take care of me, they want to know who I’m dating and where I’m going. We all live together with my dog Torch who is a blessing at 45 kilos.
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