Almudena Navalón: "Manuel is still the same person I knew and fell in love with"

Almudena Navalón could have been a good journalist like her mother, but love crossed her path and she chose to dedicate all her time to her children and her partner, the singer Manuel Carrasco. Which doesn't stop him from giving her imagination free rein, designing sneakers and now her own jewelry collection. A line of sterling silver, made in Córdoba, where the best silversmiths in our country are.

For Almudena, this is her first solo interview, which is why she cannot hide a certain nervousness, which she makes up for naturally, knowing that being married to a singer as charismatic and famous as Manuel Carrasco makes her a character of interest for the press.

"From my parents I have inherited character and love for music and journalism"

Almudena, from whom did you inherit your entrepreneurial streak? It will be from my parents, because both my mother and my father have been two enterprising people, in their own way. My mother studied journalism at one time, the dictatorship, which was not easy, then she went to Huelva to work, far from home, when she was very young, which is a form of entrepreneurship, and my father, the same. He was a sound technician from an early age, and he made a living going to concerts.

Have they been two ahead of their time? Sure. From them I have inherited the character I have, wanting to be my own boss and, of course, the love of music and journalism. I think I am a fusion of both.

Her mother belongs to the generation of the Transition She did parliamentary information because she loves politics, she was in the EFE agency, later in Telemadrid, from where she left after 35 years a victim of the ERE. If I am a journalist it is because of her, although except for the internships I did at Onda Cero, I have never worked doing 'serious' journalism and I would have liked to.

Has she taught you the lights and shadows of this profession? She should tell you that chapter, because it is true that journalism is an exciting profession that allows you to meet people of all kinds, and learn a lot, but it also has its bitter side .

"When my son Manuel was born I remember the tension in the hospital"

She had Manuel, her second child, in the midst of a pandemic. If I tell you that my son was born on March 10, 2020, how do you feel? I had the caesarean scheduled for that day, when it was still not known what was coming, and luckily I chose the 10th, if I choose the 17th I don't know what would have happened.

How did he live with a newborn baby?I remember the tension in the hospital, I didn't know why. The first night after the delivery they told me that they were going to remove the line to see how I would respond, that worried me because the parturients are usually hospitalized for five days. On the second day I left in a wheelchair, they put me in the car, and I went home.

Without knowing what was coming their way. We didn't know anything. When I left on March 12, it was already heard that they were going to confine, but imagine how we were, with a girl and a newborn baby, and the four of us alone at home. I don't remember it wrong because we made pineapple.

Even so, it must not have been easy. We lived through confinement in a bubble, listening to music, watching series... With two children we had little time for anything else, but we helped each other a lot, and the child behaved very well the first month ... is now a character.

Is that when you get the idea of ​​designing jewelry? It was something you had already thought about, since at the business level the pandemic was a blow because in 2019 we had launched a line of exclusive sneakers, which were very well received, but by confining everything, the factory had to be closed.

Now it's time to reinvent yourself? That's what we're doing, reinventing ourselves, because the shoe thing was expensive and complicated. On the other hand, the jewels are designed by me, inspired by trends, but above all by what I would like to wear. One day I asked my daughter what she would like me to do and she told me: butterfly earrings.

"I am aware of the risk when designing jewelry but the world belongs to the brave"

Are you aware of the risk you are running? Of course, but the world belongs to the brave. I understand that if people have 20 euros they spend it on food, on a few beers, jewelry costs a little more but lasts longer, and you can wear it at special moments in your life. They are designs that are made by hand, one by one.

Have you thought about going back to journalism? It is a tough profession, with a lot of competition, sometimes unpleasant, but I would like to. If they ever offer me something and I have time, because with two children it is complicated, I would think about it.

Is conciliation difficult? I work more now without leaving home, because there is an unrecognized job, such as caring for children, which is not seen. The work of an entrepreneur is not seen either, despite the fact that you spend a lot at home thinking about things. It is a 24-hour job, glued to the mobile, it is not easy to reconcile.

What has motherhood given you? I have a friend, Conchita, who is an artist, and when we talk about this subject she always says: Either I take care of him or they take care of him. I prefer to take care of my children, because they grow so fast that I don't want to miss these stages of their lives. I like being at home with them, it's exhausting but I don't regret it, because I can dedicate time to work.

There are women who would have preferred not to have children. I always wanted to be a mother.

Have you thought about having more? Not right now, but later who knows.

Is Manuel involved in raising his children? A lot, he does what he can like me. Combining it with his work when he toured was complicated, then with the pandemic he has been very involved. Now that he is back to giving concerts, I imagine that he will have less time, but he is very involved.

His was a crush, it's not like that. It was a total crush, and I take this opportunity to say that we didn't meet while doing an interview with him. It was romantic, beautiful, but we met in a bar in Malasaña, at three in the morning.

And what happened? I was with a friend of his, and it was love at first sight. I met him and since then we have separated very little.

"The famous one is Manuel, not me"

What would you highlight about him as a person? That he doesn't believe it, and that caught my attention, having as much talent as a singer but also as a composer. But Manu doesn't give importance to lyrics that I loved. That caught my attention and I think it has been good for him to be who he is.

Hasn't fame gone to his head? No, when I met him he wasn't that famous, but he suddenly had a tremendous high. At home we had a normal life but when we went out everyone knew him, he knows him, they ask for autographs. He is still the same person I knew and fell in love with.

And how have you learned to handle those situations? The famous one is Manuel, not me. He is not comfortable, but I have to say that 99.99% of people are wonderful, and now that he is no longer at home and we can go out, much more. That's the beautiful part of fame, the worst, not having privacy, because not everyone always has a good day.

He lives in Madrid but his roots are in Andalusia. We came to live in Madrid when I was 3 years old, but as you say my roots and many of my friends are in Huelva. My heart is in two lands: my home is in Madrid, because it is where I have lived the most, where my family is, where our children were born.

He doesn't have an accent…If I'm talking to people from Andalusia I pick him up right away, or in the town of Manuel, because they have a very strong accent. He has a song that says: my accent is my DNA, and he has always defended it a lot, because there are those who punish them for the accent, and it is unfair because it seems that there are accents of first and second, when this is a country with accents very diverse.

Some artists try not to be noticed. I haven't had that problem, I suppose it exists, because we all know someone who has had it happen, my own father had to change it, and some presenter I know too, and I don't know why, Andalusia being a very welcoming town.

Is equality still our pending issue? For some of my generation, yes, but there is no doubt that we have come a long way, and that the new generations are very aware of these issues.

Are there many glass ceilings to break? Until we have real equality, there are. It is something that we see on a day-to-day basis with gender violence, that is why education, respect for women, is so important, so that it is really understood that we are truly equal. And we must be in all areas, at home, at work, in small and large gestures.

What values ​​would you like to instill in your children? The freedom chosen by them, respect for everyone, and equality.

"I have a weakness for shoes"

Haven't you followed your parents' advice…? I've been lucky that my parents have allowed me to be what I wanted to be, they gave me freedom and I've had it because I've been quite consistent. In my house we have always talked about everything with great freedom.

Victim of fashion? Before I had a blog, now I don't have time, in which I wrote about fashion because I used to be a model, but I like it, I have a weakness for shoes.

Some say that the fashion of the 90s has returned. It shows in everything, in the makeup, in the eyebrows that are once again thick, the color of the lips and, of course, in the clothes. It was an important decade in all aspects.

Interview conducted at the AC Aitana Hotel. Paseo de la Castellana, 152, Madrid

your favorite photo

"I like this photo because I am with my two grandmothers, and a cousin of mine."

Who is Almudena Navalon?

She was born in Huelva. At the age of three she comes with her family to live in Madrid. From her mother, a journalist, and from her father, a sound technician, she has inherited her love for music and journalism.

She studied She graduated in Information Sciences and Tourism, she did a Master in audiovisual journalism, radio and television.

Her trajectory Her For a time she devoted herself to musical information, until she met Manuel Carrasco. She created her own brand of sneakers and now she is immersed in her jewelry line ORIGEN de ella, which she exclusively designs, sterling silver pieces made by hand in Córdoba.

Almudena family and Manuel Carrasco got married in 2018 in Bolonia, Cádiz. A civil ceremony attended by Pastora Soler, Pablo López and Vanesa Martín, among others. The couple has two children: Chloé (2017), and Manuel (2020), who was born in the middle of the pandemic.