The day Verónica Echegui vindicated all the neighborhood girls with "Yo soy la Juani"

For the people from the neighborhood, the character of La Juani, so perfectly captured by Verónica Echegui in 2006, didn't surprise us at all. Her gait, her vocabulary, her clothes. Her boyfriend—possessive, bossy, insecure—played in Bigas Luna 's film by Dani Martín , then the leader of El Canto del Loco (a role that suited her like a glove), was also tailor-made. Yo soy la Juani was the perfect portrait of the suburban girl of the 2000s (that decade in which it seemed we could all be something, travel, and even own a super home). But with one big difference: La Juani was confident, poised, and wanted to succeed. La Juani wanted to get out of the neighborhood and not be destined to be a cashier. That's what revolutionized everything with this film. Luna and Echegui gave a new lease of life to what had always been (disparagingly) called the "chonis" of Spain. Finally, they were something more than soulless slum dwellers .

Hence, those of us who are from Echegui's generation, all of us whose hearts sank upon hearing the news of her death even though we never knew her, haven't forgotten her. She will go down in history. Because as the character in the film says: "I'm going to be an actress, and let no one doubt it because I will achieve it, let it be very clear, because I am Juani ." That's very much our generation. JASP, even from the neighborhood.

The chronicles, when you go to the newspaper archive—it's still a wonderful place to find real information—tell us that Echegui, who had just finished her studies at the School of Dramatic Arts (RESAD), didn't want to do that casting because, precisely, she didn't see herself as "a chav." However, for Luna, who usually had a pretty good eye for less experienced actors—he was the great discoverer of Ariadna Gil, Javier Bardem, and Penélope Cruz , among others, with films like Jamón, Jamón , and Huevos de oro —saw in her the perfect Juani. Echegui, with her naturalness and improvisations—which later carried over into the filming as well—landed the role out of 3,000 candidates and stood behind the camera in the streets of Reus and in the Bonavista neighborhood of Tarragona, where the film was mostly shot, as well as in Madrid.

Bigas Luna: "I think she embodies the 21st-century Spanish girl, one who is no longer a victim of the Iberian macho and wants to be a leader in her own world."

Bigas Luna then said that Verónica Echegui "is a real girl who constantly seeks the truth." "I think she embodies the Spanish girl of the 21st century , one who is no longer a victim of the Iberian macho and wants to be a leader in her own world."

Social phenomenon

The film tells the story of a girl who wants to leave her poor neighborhood to become an actress. She also wants to leave her annoying and sexist boyfriend, Jonah (Dani Martín). To achieve this, she moves to Madrid with her best friend, Vane (played by Laya Martí ). Neither of them had any education, but they believed they could advance. It was true 2000s faith.

As Luna said at the time about those characters: "They're capable of influencing fashion by wearing a pair of plastic earrings and a miniskirt and a tracksuit jacket. Juani is the new Iberian icon after the folkloric Lola Flores ." The actress also believed in that role. "I think Juani is authentic . It refers to someone who dares to pursue their dreams and break molds, to overcome the barriers imposed by destiny. Nobody expects anything from a woman like her, but she has a lot of potential and a huge heart. She constantly repeats to herself: 'I want to do this and I'm not going to give up on it.' There are too many people who don't have the guts to chase what they love and life must be lived," she said in an interview.

Echegui: "I believe that Juani is authentic. It refers to someone who dares to pursue their dreams and break the mold."

Those of us who saw the film at its premiere also saw all of that. That's why the film became a social phenomenon. It's possibly one of the best cinematic portraits of the 2000s. Furthermore, it was back when the working classes were still portrayed, not from a victimhood perspective, but from a place of strength and a desire to take on the world. The girl from the neighborhood was more than just the one who wanted to be on television and make it big; the girl from the neighborhood wanted to be someone and succeed. It's odd, but today it seems like a way of life that's far from us, not the one we have today when all we aspire to is money and luxury : what does it mean to take on the world?

Just to quote a review published in Espinof upon its release: “Verónica Echegui is simply wonderful in the role. Shameless but also tender and funny on many occasions, she forms a perfect tandem with Laya Martí, who plays her best friend, with whom she dares to travel to Madrid to become an actress. The scenes in which they are together are some of the best in the film; both manage to convey the excitement of new opportunities and the feeling of true friendships.”

The director, who had already made numerous films about marginalized characters to which he gave substance and presence, also stated after the premiere that his intention was to show that "success and happiness can be the result of personal effort , even when obstacles arise." He also intended to make a trilogy of "strong and feisty women," but he only made one more film, DiDi Hollywood , with Elsa Pataki. Luna would die, also of cancer, in 2013.

"I'll give it my all"

It was hard for Echegui to let go of Juani. She said so in every interview, although she also spoke fondly of a role that placed her at the center of the film world and many of her viewers. The film ended with a young girl deciding to follow her dreams. In the background, the song "Como en un mar eterna" (Like in an Eternal Sea ) by Hanna plays—the soundtrack featuring La Mala Rodríguez, Facto Delafé, and Hanna is another of the icons of those years of hip hop and flamenco from the neighborhood—and goodbye to her boyfriend and the Tarragona neighborhood. "Vane, life isn't all roses. I'm looking for something and I swear I'm going to get it. I'll give it my all. I'm going to be an actress . I'll stop being a girl, but I'll still be Juani," her voiceover states as the hives of apartments in the Catalan neighborhoods pass by through the window of that commuter train. That was 2006. And those were the neighborhood girls that Verónica Echegui vindicated forever.