According to his sister, Biel Huguet was like this: "Before leaving for Barcelona, he was already talking about London."

PalmHe grew up watching westerns Classic films, especially those starring John Wayne, with directors like John Ford and Howard Hughes. If there's one type of cinema that has been a constant companion throughout his life, it's that of the Marx Brothers, his favorite then and now. A film that was important to both his father and him. Cine ParadisoAnd, like his father, it also left its mark on him. AmarcordFellini's style, with its gaze fixed on the Mediterranean, but also open to modernity. We're talking about the businessman Biel Huguet (Campos, 1972), and his sister, Manena, seven years his junior, introduces us to him. Margalida is between them. Their father is the poet Damià Huguet; their mother, Magdalena Ballester. Neither of them is alive, and that permeates the conversation.

"Our house always had its doors open to everyone. My parents were very affectionate, and everyone came to play. It was a cheerful house; there was music, and my mother could whip up a potato omelet in a flash for anyone who wanted one. We spent our time copying each other; we didn't look alike, nor did we dress up. We were orphans," says Manena. The memory of the two is very much alive, and it's clear that Biel Huguet is, vitally and energetically, his father's heir: for his passion for cinema, his open-minded vision of the world and culture, and his commitment to and appreciation of his roots. Knowing this is essential to understanding the current head of Huguet Mallorca, a tile factory founded by his godfather Biel Huguet, who also saw his father at work.

Manena remembers her older brother as a cheerful child. The photos Damià Huguet took of him prove it: "He was always happy; he's laughing in almost every photo. He wasn't a quiet child, quite the opposite: he loved the olive oil mill." Perhaps that's why, even as a teenager and "before leaving to study in Valencia and Barcelona, ​​he was already talking about London and Paris." Another legacy from their father: "His mind went beyond what was close to him," says his younger sister.

Among her childhood memories, Manena recounts that the family spent summers at the Sant Jordi Colony, and the little girl remembers those trips well: "It felt like we were moving houses. I remember Biel had like a moped silver with a long seat. We would go to Les Baules, near Cala Galiota, and spend long periods on the rocks and soaking in the water.” He says that the businessman played football for many years: “Many moments from these matches are documented by my father, who took videos and photos when no one else did.” In this family, tradition runs deep. Clas Huguet and Ballester spent a lot of time looking at slides, and as soon as they had access to Beta tapes, “at home they started collecting films when this wasn’t yet common practice.” There was also a record player, and he says that a group that greatly influenced both his father and Biel was The Beatles. Dedicated to Antonio MachadoThe poet also mentions Paco Ibáñez and María del Mar Bonet from Mallorca, who "often came to our house." Bikinis and pizza also came early into Biel and his siblings' lives, but nothing compared to the smell of dishes like rice with fish, the crackling toast from the embers, and desserts like cream-filled Swiss rolls and cream-filled rubiols, their favorites. This whole world, and the parts we don't know, has made Biel the person he is today, "a person very sensitive to emotions and beauty." And that's why he gets emotional when he talks about his parents. Manena is clear about it: "I'd say the three of us siblings have been very much in love with our parents."