Jordi & Marta: Between Truth and Imagination
A Tale of Survival
The Characters Who Are Real… and Not
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When readers meet
Jordi and Marta, they often ask: Are they real?
The answer is both yes and no. At some point, every story begins with a simple question: who are these people?
In my case, the answer is not as straightforward as it seems.
There are no two
specific individuals I can point to and say: “This is Jordi, and this is
Marta.” And yet, they are deeply real. They are a reflection—a distillation—of
the many people I met in Catalonia, especially in the Pallars Sobirà region.
Jordi and Marta were
born from questions.
Questions that
followed me everywhere:
- “You’re from Syria?”
- “Why Haiti?”
- “Why Catalonia?”
- “How did you end up in Tírvia?”
- “Are you happy here?”
Some questions came
from curiosity. Others from genuine care. Many came from a desire to understand
a life so different from their own.
Over time, I realized
something important:
These questions were not just conversations. They were the foundation of a
story.
Why I Created Them
At first, I hesitated
to write.
I did not want to
produce a traditional autobiography. I did not want a linear, heavy narrative
that simply recounts events. What I wanted was something more alive—something
that could carry both truth and imagination.
So I chose dialogue.
I chose to build a
narrative where ideas move through conversations, where characters bring
different perspectives, and where reality blends with fiction in a natural,
almost invisible way.
This is where Jordi
and Marta come in.
Two Opposites, One Reality
Jordi represents a
certain kind of simplicity—deeply connected to nature, grounded, and
instinctive. A cattle herder who spends his days in the mountains, he is not
concerned with the wider world. His questions are direct, sometimes naive, but
always honest.
Marta, on the other
hand, represents curiosity shaped by knowledge. A journalist, well-traveled and
sharp-minded, she observes, questions, and connects ideas. She sees beyond the
immediate.
Individually, they
are different.
Together, they create balance.
Through them, I was
able to represent two types of people I encountered:
- Those who experience the world
through life and land
- Those who experience it through
information and inquiry
And yet, what unites
them is more important than what separates them.
They share something
I found striking in this region:
a sense of simplicity, openness, and a natural, unforced friendship.
Their conversations
are often playful, even teasing. Humor is not an exception—it is the starting
point. This stood in contrast to what I was used to, where interactions often
begin with formality and caution.
Here, things were
different. Warmer. Freer.
A Door Opens
In the story, there
is a moment when Jordi, almost casually, suggests:
“You
should write all this down.”
It is a simple
sentence. But it changes everything.
That moment reflects
something real.
Not just one conversation—but many.
Encounters where
people listened, questioned, and, without realizing it, encouraged me to
revisit my own story.
Writing did not begin
as a decision.
It began as a response.
A response to
curiosity.
To shared moments.
To the realization that these experiences—personal and historical—deserved to
be told.
Between Reality and Fiction
Jordi and Marta are
not inventions in the usual sense.
They are compositions.
They carry voices,
attitudes, and memories of real people—merged into characters that allow the
story to breathe.
Through them, I was
able to:
- Avoid the rigidity of
autobiography
- Create dynamic, engaging dialogue
- Present complex ideas in a
natural, human way
The result is a
narrative that feels light, even easy to read—yet carries deeper layers beneath
the surface.
More Than Characters
Ultimately, Jordi and
Marta are not just characters in a book.
They are a bridge.
A bridge between
cultures.
Between questions and answers.
Between the life I lived—and the story I chose to tell.
And through that
bridge, the story begins.
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