He has written hundreds of articles about the corona “and they have never sued me or asked for a rectification because they know that what I publish is true.” Pilar Eyre, journalist and writer, He had to endure criticism and “punishments” for telling things about the king emeritus that are now coming to light. This Friday, she will present her book in Alicante when we were yesterday. The 2014 Planeta Prize finalist places her story in the Barcelona of 1968a city in full expansion, full of contrasts, political struggles and with women as the engine of change.
when we were yesterday sounds nostalgic.
Well no, the truth is that it is not a nostalgic book. It has a lot of humor, many contrasts, it is a book in which I do not try to mythologize any era, because there were also very hard moments and rich in historical events between 68 and 92, such as the anti-Franco struggle, sexual liberation, democracy… but These are years in which the lives of the people who lived through them and starred in them in some way are very little told, those who are in the fine print of the history books. Perhaps that is why I felt the need to write this book.
It deals with many topics: Catalan high society at the end of the 60s, the role of the submissive woman with weddings of convenience, but also rebellion, love, the forbidden, the fight against Franco…
When they ask me if we are better or worse, if there is a woman who dies of gender-based violence, that is already being wrong and it is necessary for the feminist struggle to continue. But we come from underground. When I got married I needed a paper from the priest to authenticate that we were a married couple so that they would admit us to hotels; buying the pill was a very complicated thing. Although it is also true that precisely because we fought against giants we became more warriors than anyone else, we were very strong, we became very empowered. Many of us went to prison, were tortured, that made us very strong. From my mother’s generation to mine not one passed, a hundred generations passed. Things that now seem simple to us then involved decision-making that caused constant fights with families. We wanted a new world and something totally different. Now I miss a bit of combativeness, the generations of now are more accommodating. The price you pay now when you protest is great, they ridicule you, they put a label on you.
Gender violence exists and existed then, but it was hidden.
At that time, crimes of gender violence were crimes of passion, it was seen as something unnatural, we don’t have to exaggerate, but as something that was there. Children were also beaten. There was a climate of permitted violence.
Are we worse off?
Worse no, we are infinitely better. Whoever says that we are worse is that he does not know that time. So you couldn’t do anything. I think she was the only girl in my school who went to college. The rest got married and followed that path. I discovered my mother when I was sick, we lived together for two years and I saw that she was an observant woman, very intelligent and very cultured.
It would also be worth the title of his novel for the Spanish crown.
One thing is what they represented and what we saw, and another was reality, but since there was no one to tell us about it, we were left in the dark. At the Barcelona Olympics, when they said that King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía were a great team, I found him holding hands with another woman in a restaurant. Since they knew that I was not going to say anything, they continued calmly. Then I put it in one of my books. And with the issue of money exactly the same. Juan Carlos is receiving commissions from the year 72 until now. There was an agreement, like after 23 F, to be left alone. When I started to publish books about the monarchy they harmed me in many ways, they fired me from places, they tried to discredit me… I had a lot of problems because of my books.
“I miss a bit of combativeness from women, the generations of now are more accommodating<"
Did nobody really know what King Juan Carlos was doing outside of Spain?
There have been journalists before me who for years have been trying to explain things about the king, about his contacts with Arab countries, but well, they have all paid a very high price and they don’t want to talk about these issues. I have also been telling this for a long time and I hope that people have no doubt that we are telling the truth. I have written hundreds of articles and a dozen books on Bourbons, and have never had a lawsuit or been asked for a rectification. They know that I tell the truth. They have contacted me to tell me that they had not liked it, but beyond that, no.
You are an expert on the Spanish monarchy. Is there a tour of the institution?
Well, if Letizia and Felipe continue as they have been up to now, which I think they are doing quite well, I think so. It is much more complicated to undo this racket and now there are more pressing problems. I see that the issue of the Republic is not seriously raised by any party, not even those that have the Republic in their DNA.
The one who seems to have less left is the king emeritus, who has gone from being one of the most admired and respected figures in Spain and in the world, to being repudiated and set aside. After his visit to Sanxenxo he was going to return in June and it seems not.
And do not forget that on July 1 he has a very important trial in London, accused of defamation and harassment of Corinna, which are two serious charges and the British judges denied him protection. They say there is going to be an out-of-court settlement and that seems disastrous to me because it means acknowledging that she is guilty. Now she would have the opportunity to explain herself and I don’t know if she is going to do it. And that he doesn’t come in June seems fine to me. The last trip was grotesque, it was out of control. I think we will see little of him here.
“I have written a dozen books on the Bourbons, and have never had a lawsuit or been asked for a rectification”
How much does your image harm the figure of your son, King Felipe VI?
I think it is delimited and people distinguish who is one and who is another. Felipe has been seen as a victim of his father, he has been praised. Those who attack Don Juan Carlos are praising Felipe and vice versa, those who defend Juan Carlos harm Felipe.
On the issue of the king emeritus, do you think there is a lot of thread left to pull?
man yes A lot of things are missing. Last year I posted I the King, but he could have written four books with all the information there is. We have seen the tip of the iceberg, it has been more than 40 years of total impunity. What I don’t understand is what need this person had to do all this. In Catalonia in 1992, a survey was carried out on the most appreciated figures and Juan Carlos was in second place. His image was very good in all areas. What makes him more angry is that what has moved him is pure greed.
What does Queen Letizia think of her father-in-law?
They have been bad from the beginning. She had no choice but to accept. They tell me that at first he treated her with absolute indifference, then he attacked her and in the end, as Letizia felt stronger, she changed her attitude towards him.
Who they are going to treat like a queen is you on Friday at the Maestral Literary Evenings. A menu according to the book and an exclusive wine called Rafael, as its protagonist.
It is wonderful. I am very excited. I have many friends because I have already been to the Literary Evenings several times and I love Alicante. I really want to.