Spain is not a country for Blacks. Or at least, that is the case for anyone of races, other than the predominant White in the Iberian Peninsula, who is interested in working in the entertainment industry.

There is no reliable data on the presence of racially diverse characters in cinema and television “made in Spain” but as the ODA (Observatory for the Diversity of Audiovisual Media) reports, their existence is not only scarce; it is also still very difficult to find a non-stereotyped representation in Spanish fiction.

The organization stated in its latest report: “In cinema, we see how the majority are relegated to silence, to invisibility and to being treated from a halo of superiority, as it occurs, for example, in Madres Paralelas. Other times, as in La hija, race-diverse characters (especially female ones) seem to be used to express helplessness and dependency, thus reaffirming some power dynamics.”

Advocating for change is The Black View, an organization that was born six years ago in Spain, with actors, actresses and artists of different origins “to obtain normalized visibility and without stereotypes in the audiovisual and cultural industry” in Spain.

We spoke on the phone with Armando Balboa Buika, an actor in such works as El oro de Moscú and Backseat Fighter as well as part of series such as La fuga and Águila Roja, and the founder of The Black View.

Buika, as an Afro-descendant who was born in Mallorca, is familiar with the topic, including this typical conversation where the usual “Where are you from?” is followed by, “Really, where are you from?” when Buika, who is Black, answers that he is Spanish.

Is Spain a racist country?

I like to point out things. Spain is a mosaic of cultures in which there are people who are racist. That doesn’t mean the country is racist. It seems unfair to put everyone in the same group.

I believe that Spain is a wonderful place but it is a country that has to learn a lot. It has to accept that Spain is not white. As simple as that. And that is hard.

Does the situation get worse when we talk about artistic expression?

We are at the tail of the rest of the world. There is constant resistance to racial representation in cultural settings.

In fact, we have presented a PNL (a non-law proposal for Congress to urge the Government to follow a certain policy) to the Chamber of Deputies to promote the inclusion of ethnic groups in the culture because it seems that access and right to culture is only for White people.

And it is something that has to change. Why do Black people don’t go to theaters? Because they don’t feel represented. That’s it.

What is the artistic and personal trajectory that led you to The Black View?

I come from the fashion world. I’ve walked a lot in Paris, in New York…and I got there because I realized that being Black in the world of fashion was a positive element. I would hit the catwalks and being the only Black was a positive thing.

Evolving, I realized that through the performing arts, I could live other lives without being judged. And this was my inclusion. For survival. But it has been a very, very hard road.

As I tell young people now that I am a coach, “The moment you are in is difficult, but it is not hard.” It was hard when you had to shoot a movie and you had to literally play a “Black.”

When the director called you, he said “Black, come here” and you couldn’t say anything. I come from that time.

What was the spark that lit the fuse to launch The Black View?

Talking with my sister. We are six siblings, among them Concha Buika, the singer who decided to leave Spain because she couldn’t bear to always have to say thank you for being born here. And I quote verbatim.

She couldn’t take the pressure. Curiously, she is now given the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts (granted by the Spanish Ministry of Culture). These are the ironies in the world we live in. Nobody is a prophet in their own land.

Talking to her – she now lives in Miami – commenting that my situation as an actor was untenable, venting my anger and frustration for 15 minutes. She didn’t say anything until she told me, “I’ve been listening to you for 15 minutes and I don’t see you doing anything. If they don’t hire you, you create the opportunities.”

And that’s where the spark was ignited. In Spain, there is no space in which we (Afro-descendant artists) face each other and tell each other our sorrows, where we get to know each other. And that’s where The Black View came from, to create a space where we could all talk, pass on information, make ourselves strong and say no to depending on the casting.

For example, there are those who say, “We are looking for dark-skinned actors to play a role that has no dialogue.” We pass this on to the group so that no one goes to a casting where they address us like that.

What other improvements are being achieved?

We continue to have a very White cinema but I want to be positive. For example, we are working with APDICE, the Professional Association of Casting Directors of Spain. At The Black View, we sit down to see at what point in the process skin color is taken into account.

We met with the Writers Guild, with executive producers, with casting directors, and we came to the conviction that this is not just a job for us, Black or racialized people. It is everyone’s job if we want our country to move forward.

APDICE saw what we were talking about and together with The Black View, we are proposing projects in which talent prevails and not skin color. That is fundamental. Besides, there is something else in this country. You can be in favor of diversity but if it doesn’t come from the creation of the character, it’s very complicated.

I’m tired of seeing projects with a Black character who doesn’t make sense why he’s there. The proposal is that we have the capacity to offer ourselves to advise the scriptwriters, that you can count on us if you want to include Black characters.

Are there changes happening?

I want to be positive and mention examples, such as Suma Content, the producer of the Javis (Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi) which is very interested in. We already had conversations with them. We had a script workshop. But this is still a minimal thing.

That’s why you have to legislate. The General Audiovisual Law must be changed, which, although it defends equality in article 4, is not enforced. So far, the invisibility has been terrible.

Spain is a country of clichés. The Basque is the brute; the Catalan is the stingy; the Andalusian, the lazy; the man from Madrid, the pimp; and this extends to the Black, who is the one who dances well or the hypersexualized one.

We have worked hard to change and modify all these clichés but we are convinced that until the law is modified, there will be no change. In the United States, there is a quota that must be met. The same in London, in France.

The question is, why are we so far behind in Spain? Spain is not White and what is not visible does not exist. It has been necessary to talk about the lack of representation so that the frameworks for change can begin to be created.

How much do international movements help to create awareness in Spain?

Before worrying about what is happening in the United States, instead of puffing up our chests in Spain criticizing what is happening there, we have to realize that the battle has not even begun here.

I have criticized the response of companies in Spain to Black Lives Matter because they were incredibly hypocritical. I regret the violent death of any human being. It doesn’t hurt me more because the dead person is Black. But I’ve never seen any American – and I know I’m throwing stones at my roof – protesting the deaths in the Mediterranean.

And it seemed hypocritical to me that a supermarket chain like Mercadona put up its mourning page when they don’t have Black people working in their stores. Obviously, we are interested in solidarity but without hypocrisy.

Does the racial revolution in Spain need a new cinematographic generation?

Without a doubt. All this happens because people of diverse origins do not occupy spaces of power. There has to be diverse directors, producers, screenwriters…There are but they are in that strange limbo in which their voices don’t reach those spaces or are not allowed in those projects.

The new platforms have opened up a lot of markets for us. It is very fashionable among large companies to have diversity and inclusion departments. But those departments are run by White people. It is very difficult for a White person to understand what we are doing. It’s very complicated.

It has happened to me with Netflix, with Disney. Sit down with them and tell them that this is not about hiring a Black guy for one shoot or two scenes. It’s about really changing things up and having people not only in front of the camera but behind it as well. That is why I am talking about modifying the General Law of Audiovisual Communication.

Translated by Mario Amaya