The Chilean Isabel Allende, the most widely read living author in Spanish in the world, says in an interview with the Mexican journalist Jorge Ramos that living is an “exercise of memory and love” that one clings to remember loved ones who left , but they are still alive inside us.
The writer, about to turn 80, chatted with Ramos about the essential things in life for the journalist’s new streaming interview show, “Algo Personal con Jorge Ramos,” which will air next Sunday.
In this kind of intimate and sincere conversation, Allende did not avoid matters as personal as the tragic death of his daughter Paula, who suffered from porphyria and who died at only 29 years of age.
An experience that changed the life of the writer and that she narrated in her book “Paula” (1994).
“I am living the life that my daughter was not able to live”, that is why “every day is important to me and I want to live it fully”, she told Ramos serenely, evoking the power of “remembering and loving”, a resource that, Allende added, it allows us to “stay with the person inside” regardless of the time that has elapsed since their death.
The direct consequence of this existential approach, he specified, is that “every day I live I want it to be a happy day, because I am living it for her (her daughter)”, whom she continues to “feel under the skin”, she confessed in the interview at his home in California, where he resides.
Asked by Ramos how she has managed to live with so much pain, the writer replied that she has also had very gratifying experiences, of “a lot of joy, love and work”, to the point that she considers that she has suffered much less than most people.
“I’ve had a fantastic life,” said the writer, whose work has been translated into 42 languages.
Addressing the world of characters and plots that populate his work, Allende (Lima, Peru, 1942) commented on an anecdote about his grandchildren, when they were children: “My grandchildren used to say when they were little that I had a town in my head and lived in that village”.
In the interview, Isabel Allende defines herself, offers details of her personal life and the mission of her foundation, and talks about the lessons learned during the covid-19 pandemic and the current situation in the country.
“Something Personal with Jorge Ramos” premiered on April 24 on ViX, a free streaming service for Spanish-language content for the US and Latin America owned by TelevisaUnivision.
In this space, the Mexican journalist interviews celebrities and celebrities in a colloquial tone where the power of conversation is the most important thing.
The first season of the program consists of interviews with writers such as Isabel Allende and Mario Vargas Llosa, actors such as Eugenio Derbez, soccer players such as Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, and singers such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Yuri, Carlos Vives, Alejandro Sanz, Maná, and Sebastián Yatra.
In a recent interview with Efe, Ramos recognized that having the opportunity to talk with people of the stature of the guests was a privilege.