Since he rose to fame in the mid-90s as a twenty-something who was very clear about his place in communication, the trajectory of Jordi Cruz has been marked by the nostalgia effect that arises in the viewer over the years. His first signs of popularity occurred among children while he presented ‘Club Disney’ and showed that he had what it took to take charge of another format that changed his life. So I didn’t expect that his “Hello, artemaniacs!” This is ‘Art Attack’, the crafts program that shows you that you don’t have to be a great expert to be a great artist” would haunt him until now, but for him it is the opposite of a sambenito.
«My career is not one in which you regret things, on the contrary, what I have done has shaped me as a person who connects with an audience. It would be absurd not to want to talk about ‘Art Attack’,” says Jordi when two decades have passed since the end of the crafts program that made him the ‘hands of Spain’. Success never changed his mentality and he did not close himself off, away from television to other opportunities. “In my case, my profession is to be a communicator and what I do is because I feel identified and proud,” says the person who debuted in recent months in a different register than the ones he is remembered for.
The communicator was chosen, due to the connection he has with the public, to star in the Spanish advertising campaign for the latest ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ game alongside Wallapop. Set in the 90s, ‘The Secret Tapes’ immersed the viewer in a spy plot that proposed users search for video tapes through the application. «If he had not recognized me, I would not have accepted. I have felt very comfortable because there was quality within the production and when there is a worked concept you let yourself go,” he acknowledges. He spoke about the project with ABC in an interview in which he also recalled what the children’s television milestone meant to him and opened up about his life after fame.
child idol
When the director of ‘Art Attack’ gave him free rein to do whatever he wanted, Jordi Cruz knew that he would mark a before and after on television with his thuggish style. «It was a wonderful and enriching work experience because I was going to England to record with a fantastic team that had a great time, and in the end I reached the audience. “I feel very proud to have spoken to children in a normal way,” admits the man who was surprised to reap the fruit he sowed there years later. “What I never imagined was that this program would resonate so much and that later that love would return in the form of tons of affection and that phrase ‘you were part of my childhood,'” he says.
Although he was a star among children, he never really felt like he was a mass idol. «I was aware that what I was doing was a children’s program and I didn’t feel more famous or more recognized. This part of recognition never feels real,” he confesses. Despite his fame, he continued to trust in himself when he was no longer in the media spotlight. «It happens that sometimes being active is related to having a massive audience. And I spent many years in Mallorca doing a program that was only heard there and I felt fulfilled. I have never cared about the reach or the audience,” he says, acknowledging that “it is easier to navigate the world of communication when you have already had a wonderful time.” As a sure thing, “I have already removed the thorn of success.”
Success in networks
However, not being so present before the public even led him to face his own death due to the death of the presenter of ‘Art Attack’ in Latin America. «To this day they still send me messages that they thought I was dead and I take them as funny. Whether people have forgotten me or not has never mattered to me. I have continued living my life, living experiences, I have lost my parents but I have also gained many other things. “I have always tried to make life come first than work,” he says.
At present, Jordi Cruz has found on social networks the best way to remain close to his fans and the public with crafts and being authentic. «I demand that you continue doing what you like. There are people who say ‘you don’t know how to do anything else’. Well, if I like doing something, why would I stop doing it? He has put a camera in front of his hobby and invites his ‘artisaniacs’ to make crafts that suit everyone and that have many visits. But not everything is positive in his success on social networks. A few weeks ago, the presenter shared a photograph with his latest collectible purchase and began to receive criticism, judgments and insults related to his age. “You can tell me ‘it seems immature to buy a stuffed animal at 48 years old, but do what you want’ and there is no problem,” but when everything turned to hatred he responded with a joke that went viral. “I thought: ‘why do I have to block when they are bullying me?'” and it ended up giving visibility to a reality.
«I love that people have understood that ‘Jordi Cruz El Bueno’ can also be lacking in grace, and I love that I have put on the table that you can do whatever you want no matter how old you are as long as you are not harming anyone,” he says, claiming that “age does not have to limit anything. Buying a stuffed animal has nothing to do with immaturity. Jordi has many cups and dolls at home and has made many people feel represented. “I’ve gotten messages from people who say they buy things and ask for them to be wrapped because they’re embarrassed to carry them, and they’ve said ‘why do I have to hide?'”
The presenter has always taken it as his flag to face criticism in this way. «I try to argue as little as possible with the universe, keeping my annoyances to a minimum. Everything in this life can teach you a lesson, the point is that you want to try to see it. It is growing with the purpose of being a better person than I was yesterday,” he expresses while already thinking about what may come in the future. «I love that things can happen, and sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t and that doesn’t make it a failure. What has defined my career have been phone calls that have changed my life. So there continue to be those calls that propose amazing projects. “I can’t stop dreaming that it could happen.”
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