The publication in 2005 of a book on the Tor case made Carles Porta (Vilasana, Lleida, 1963) in the native Truman Capote. But that was only the start. The irruption of ‘Crims’, in the form of ‘podcast’, book and program of radio or television, would turn into a phenomenon his way of narrating the ‘true crime’. East Monday May 2 (22.05) returns to TV-3 with new cases, to put «llum a la foscor» –the program’s motto– and to give color to the black chronicle. Although, he assures, neither the red of blood nor the yellow of sensationalism appear in his palette.
25 years ago, when he started the Tor crime, he couldn’t imagine where he would end up.
No. It is a very interesting and beautiful madness. First it was ’30 minuts’, in 1997, and in 2005 I wrote the book. And if all goes well, next year we’ll do a documentary series on Tor. But then came ‘Crims’, which has had a very surprising repercussion and success.
True crime is in fashion. But not everything goes. That is clear to them.
We apply the three Rs, which is a way of working. Informative rigor, because we start from journalism and everything we broadcast or write has to be absolutely verified. Respect, something very important, for all the people we are talking about, but especially for the victims. And narrative rhythm, because what we do is explain a story in the best possible way and with rhythm. All this defines our product. Then there is the look.
Not less important.
Black Chronicle –because ‘true crime’ is an American adaptation of that concept– there has been a lifetime. But the stories we make have a look, a particular point, that makes it special and, above all, transversal. And that is because of the respect we have for the facts, for the victims, for language, for history; fleeing from sensationalism, from morbidity. And all that makes us global. Because there are more ephemeral or reduced ‘true crime’ and black chronicles. They don’t have as much of an audience as we do. The sum of all this is what has led to such success.
Their stories start from a great ‘spoiler’, however they hook.
The narrative construction that we do from True Crime Factory and Goroka has such a beautiful invoice, so cinematographic, that the great luxury is to see it. People stay even though they know how it will end, because they are interested in the narrative. The talent of a team, the intensity, the passion, the respect make it a world-class product.
Despite this respect for the victims, they have been opposed by a family.
One of 200 chapters. And we hadn’t done the show yet. And we didn’t end up doing it. The question is: if you want discretion towards your case, and you go and post it on Twitter, do you want discretion or prominence? On the other hand, if you call the person who does the program, maybe in two minutes the story will be over. We do not seek the permission of the families, because legally we do not need it, but rather their complicity. And we call the lawyers, the families, but when we can. And this man came out to make a tweet. Complain if we have made the case, not before.
Other families, on the other hand, appreciate it.
The vast majority. So that the evil that the murderer has done is known, and above all, because they socialize his pain. They feel accompanied. That is why in more and more chapters we have direct relatives of the victims. Because we are a society that takes the victims very little into account, we look at them badly. The girl who wears a miniskirt and has just been raped is the one who goes wrong on the street, she is the one who feels guilty. When she is the victim. It is something that we do not know how to assume as a society. We explain how much they have suffered. Or they, in the first person. And they feel accompanied. All those who participate leave very satisfied, because they have removed that regret. I’m not saying that we do therapy, that’s what specialists do, but they find someone who listens to them and explains those facts and that pain with respect.
If a disturbed person enters an institute, it is he who goes down in history with his first and last name. The victims remain in the background.
We accept neither the victim nor the failure. We always get closer to success. And one victim has failed. She would do us better as a society to help her get out of her hole.
‘Crims’ premieres season. They put “llum a la foscor” again and give color to the black chronicle.
But without using the red of blood or the yellow of sensationalism. This third season consists of eight chapters with the names of the protagonists: Kevin, Isidre, Marina, Manoli, Sònia, Iaia Anita and Noia de Port Bou, a case that, 30 years later, has a spectacular twist.
Kevin is the most international case, although it happens in Barcelona.
The protagonists were Colombians, but the kidnapping was in Barcelona. We chose it for its narrative strength. It is a case of great intensity and a very pure ‘thriller’.
There is a case of transobia.
Yes, that of Sonia Rescalvo, considered the first transphobic crime in Spain. It caught our attention because it helped make LGTBI groups visible at a time when Barcelona wanted to clean the streets and they were considered second-class people. And because of the investigation, which was not easy and it was interesting to see how the culprits were found. It has a social justice component for LGTBI groups and an investigative effort.
Now that the trans law is under debate and that there is an uptick in transphobia, it is a good time to remember it.
Sonia’s chapter portrays a moment, in 1991, that seems very far away, but unfortunately we see constant examples today, the 21st century, 2022. That case will seem too current. And that’s really sad. We will dedicate it to José Martí Gómez. Because he wrote a lot about that story and we have him as a benchmark of good journalism and black chronicles.
In one of the cases there is humor. Does it fit in these kinds of stories?
Let’s see. It’s a case that has Fargo connotations, because the victim is extremely unlucky. Everything happens to him. And, that, in an environment like Vilafan… Besides, then there is how the investigation went. There is a point of black humor, irony or sarcasm, as in life.
He has been very successful at Sant Jordi with his two new books: “Crims: Llum a la foscor” and “Crims: Tot el que llegireu és real”.
I have signed nonsense. I am super happy and grateful. People are super friendly. A phenomenon has been created around ‘Crims’ that is amazing. And I have found people who, through books, television and, above all, the ‘podcasts’, we have accompanied them a lot. And people who are learning Catalan thanks to ‘Crims’. tens.
It does more than any language campaign.
The only thing I do, with my team, is things well done. But, because of my way of talking about Lleida and the theme, people get it. Between all of us – Catalunya Ràdio, TV-3, the publishers – we have created a very interesting team. The one of families who say it’s the only thing they watch together on TV. And young people who never read books, read these. That is very beautiful. And we are talking about crimes. If we were not respectful, if there was curiosity, we would be a minority. And instead we are very general and we have a transversality in ages, territories and social status that is incredible.
After jumping to Movistar Plus +, will they case the rest of Spain?
That’s where we are. negotiating. We are Catalans, we were born and raised here, but we are not at all closed to doing Spanish cases. In fact, I have a ‘podcast’ on Amazon Audible, ‘Why do we kill?’, in Spanish. And now we are negotiating with Movistar, but Amazon and other chains are also interested, and perhaps we will make the leap to Spanish cases.
From other countries, not yet?
Let’s go little by little. Because we don’t give enough. Each chapter supposes a year or a half or two of research before deciding to do it.
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Gila used to say in one of his monologues: «War has an advantage, you swell up to kill and the police don’t even say anything». Does the war unleash many psychopaths?
War is the industrialization of evil. There is carte blanche to kill. The weird thing is not doing it. In the histories of war, the one who has been able to kill and has not done so has transcended. That is something tremendous.