Marta Barceló (According to her sister, Maria Barceló): "She cried to get to the third floor and then wanted to do acrobatics"

PalmBeing the youngest in the family, she was destined to inherit her sisters' clothes. The situation frustrated her a bit; everyone wants to wear something new, and she couldn't: "To make her happy, Mom took her to buy shoes just for her: she chose red shoes, with studs, in the Sevillian style. She was small, but so determined that neither Mom nor the saleswoman at the shop could count her out." This determination is one of the traits she most highlights about her sister, whom she describes as more of a shy and quiet doll.

María has a twin brother named Alfonso, and between them and Marta is Esther. They lived in a building on Plaza de Quadrado in Palma, and their cousins ​​lived in the same building: the atmosphere was familial. They spent hours together watching TV series of the time, such as Galactic, Battlestar and V, the mythical story of the aliens; also Charlie's AngelsThe music played was that of their father, a lover of classical music and opera, but also—like a good socialist—of Latin American "guerrilla" songs: so they grew up listening to Quilapayún, América Joven, and Víctor Jara, which blended with Michael Jackson, Parchís, and Mecano. The three sisters sang in a choir on Saturday mornings at a church. María suddenly points out that "Marta sings very well." It's not known exactly if this creative streak that has been simmering inside Marta since she was little is inherited, but perhaps there's something to it: "A godmother had a brother who sang opera, and some rumor said he had sung at La Scala in Milan, but we don't know for sure."

The older sister explains that Marta began writing at a very young age, an interest that must have been prompted by reading, a hobby that all the siblings shared, following the example of their parents and, especially, their mother, who was a teacher: The FiveThe PUC collection… every weekend, when they received their allowance, one of the siblings would buy the latest book in these collections. They also used the time to go to Cal Che to buy sweets, a place that is now a community center in the neighborhood.

María thinks that something that helped Marta to "portray all kinds of people so well" in her works is the fact that, at home, the doors were always open (both in Palma and in Cala Millor and Alcúdia, where her godmothers lived): "Her mother was very sociable, and we'd have one visitor with another. Kasparov, because his representative in Spain was a friend of my father. It was incredible," María recalls.

She remembers that Marta never knew what to answer when someone asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her discovery of theater came at the Guillem Sagrera high school, thanks to an elective taught by Joan Lacomba. That subject left a lasting impression on her. "When she said she wanted to study theater in Barcelona, ​​her mother was terrified: 'You'll starve, don't you want to think about it some more?' But Marta had already made up her mind," explains her older sister. The family was also surprised when she started doing circus acts and acrobatics. "It really shocked us, because she was so lazy... As a child, she refused to go upstairs to our apartment, which was on the third floor, and would stay at the bottom of the stairs brooding!"

María says that Marta has "exquisite sensitivity": "She gives herself to others, she's always willing to help. She's determined, has lots of ideas, and usually achieves what she sets out to do." She's self-taught, faces problems with dignity, and knows how to take on responsibilities. She also highlights Marta's capacity to surprise: "When she adopted Sabrina, we discovered an exceptional mother, and nobody knew she had this maternal streak." Above all, says María, "she's a great sister."