Arrogant, aggressive, unscrupulous, resentful, manipulative, narcissistic and cynical…
Josep Quintà was able to stay afloat during the postwar period thanks to his car. He was one of the few who had one and thanks to it he was able to move around his native Figueres region working as a chauffeur. That’s how he managed to work with some important people. Like the journalist Josep Pla. In the shadow of the latter, Josep Quintá placed his son, Alfons, who grew up in the profession thanks to his knowledge of power and his skill with blackmail, harassment, and manipulation. Thus, Quintà developed a prestigious media career, replete with disturbing nuances at the same time.
He was the first delegate in Catalonia of the newspaper El País, through which he uncovered the Banca Catalana case; he was the first director of the Catalan autonomous television (appointed because of his knowledge of the hidden backroom of power, according to his own confession); he also created El Observador, a media outlet supporting the government, whose hegemony he ended up deeply despising. He ended his days denouncing the cuts in healthcare and the deviation of the Procés, and his tragic end came in December 2016: Alfons Quintà, ill, shot his ex-partner to death and then committed suicide.
A disturbing character that appears behind the darkest moments of the recent history of Catalonia.
DATOS RELEVANTES: The Chauffeur’s Son (El hijo del chófer) is an enlightening and insightful examination of Catalan (and by extension, Spanish) political history and has been a huge and well-deserved critical and sales success. Amat draws a devastating and stark portrait of the struggles for power, of the promiscuous relationships between journalists, politicians and financers, of the extensive stain of corruption, as well as of the silences, resignations and betrayals of one and all.
Its writer, Jordi Amat, won the Casa de América Essay Award and the Comillas Award for History, Biography and Memoirs. His works have been hailed as fundamental to understanding 20th century Catalonia.
AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: In development for a Docuseries/TV Series.
LANGUAGES AVAILABLE: Spanish, Catalan.
