I am a fan (with a card) of Mecano: the night that Ana Torroja signed one of my treasures for me

It won't be the first or last time I declare that the band Mecano has been vital in my life. Especially from 1982, when I saw them for the first time, just eight years old, at the legendary Tivoli World amusement park in Benalmádena, until 1992, when I started college, which caused my unhealthy obsession, which bordered on paroxysm, to begin to diminish and I began to discover other groups that also became an obsession. It's normal. I've always believed that the experience and affair with pop music, as is the case here, must be driven by a rabid teenage spirit at its finest. Even if you're 50.

This still happens to me with Mecano. I admit that my behavior wasn't normal. Although if you call yourself a die-hard fan, the logical thing to do was to chase them all over Spain, and if your parents didn't give you permission, your anger would last for days without leaving your room. I raided the magazine and newspaper section of the Madrid VIPs looking for any photos or articles about the group, copied their hairstyles, and spent my savings on a very expensive shirt worn by Nacho Cano. Not to mention the phone calls to Ana Torroja's father's house, or the excitement that erupted when I received a letter in my mailbox one day from my favorite singer and sex symbol thanking me for "such a wonderful gesture." She was very polite because they were rather ordinary earrings.

Looking back on those years, I feel very proud of my status as a textbook fan. Because a fan is very happy, even if they sometimes suffer from not getting everything they set out to do—a front-row seat or the most unreleased vinyl record. I don't know how today's fans handle being so close to their idols on social media. Knowing myself, I think it would have created a lot of anxiety for me. Stars were more inaccessible before. And if there was any chance of access, my parents were there, and they raised me by warning me not to bother the person by going to their front door and ringing the intercom.

Anyway, to this day I'm still a fan of this group. Their songs still play in my house. I still keep all my albums with all their photos, which I add to when I find gems at flea markets. But the most beautiful thing that happened to me in this love story was when Ana Torroja came to my house for dinner and signed one of my treasures: "To the most unique, authentic, incredible, and wonderful person I've ever met. If you didn't exist, you'd have to be invented." Isn't that the best gift for a fan? Even to be a fan, you have to be lucky. And I, with Mecano, have been very lucky. With their discography. With Nacho. With José. With Ana. Above all, with Ana.

It's very total to be a fan.