How are you?
I'm still taking it in, trying to wrap my head around the fact that I'm the new Mister Spain. It sounds strong, because I wasn't expecting it, but it happened to me.
What does it feel like when the jury pronounces your name and you are proclaimed the most handsome man in Spain?
A lot of emotion. Millions of things went through my head, especially the people who have always supported me. I burst into tears like a little boy, I didn't think I was going to get so emotional.
Your reign, moreover, is the result of chance, because you had not won Mister Las Palmas?
Exactly, I was first runner-up in Mister Las Palmas 2009, but the winner renounced the title. Then, they called me and I assumed to represent our province. The truth is, I've been very lucky.
Had you ever entered a beauty contest before?
Well, I entered Mister Lanzarote in 2009, but before, when I was a kid, I had never competed in this type of contest. This was almost by chance and look how well it turned out for me.
You are a soldier at the Lanzarote air base, how did you come up with the idea of entering a beauty contest?
I have always been interested in the world of fashion, I have always liked it. I thought I had qualities to present myself, I tried my luck and it worked. The merit is shared with the people who have always supported me, from my mother, my father to my aunt. Behind me there are many people who have always helped me.
How is Mister Spain experienced from the inside?
It is a great experience. The truth is that I found great companions among the 52 participants. There was no controversy, we were all very united during the contest. My colleagues congratulated me, were happy for me, hugged me and supported me. I am very happy because all my colleagues told me that I deserved the title. I am very proud.
So, is there also time for friendship in this type of contest?
Yes, of course there is. Competitiveness is healthy and good. I became very close to my roommate, Mister León, and with Mister Sevilla, with whom I also get along very well. I hope to keep in touch with them. This week we have been talking on the phone and we are thinking of meeting up and seeing each other again. Hopefully this contest will not only serve to make us Mister, but to grow as people.
What would you say to people who think these contests are very frivolous?
Well, it's not like that, you have to be there, live, to know what this contest is like and what it feels like. It is a unique and rewarding experience 100 percent. You meet a lot of people and make very good friends.
How are you going to take advantage of this reign?
I still don't know, what I'm clear about is that you have to work hard, because this is not safe at all. Mister Spain puts you in front of many doors, but I'm the one who has to cross them. It is a title that can help you to go to many castings, but what you have to do is to train and know where you want to direct your career.
And, Alberto, have you already thought about what you want to do from now on?
As of today, I am not closing doors to anything. I want to try everything and then, stay where I feel most comfortable. I like fashion, I like television but I don't know where I can fit in. Therefore, I would like to take elocution classes, pedagogy classes, I want to train well. I don't just want to be a pretty face. I have a lot of work ahead of me and, above all, more than physically, intellectually.
Do you already have any projects in sight that you can advance?
The closest thing I have is a couple of television sets, like Sálvame, from Telecinco. At the moment, this type of contracts are managed by Mister Spain, so they are looking and communicating it to me.
So, have you thought about leaving your job at the military airfield in Lanzarote?
Mister Spain is a train that you have to get on, but the world of fashion is very difficult. I am a civil servant, I love my job and I would not like to lose it. I love what I do in Lanzarote and I want to try to combine my work with the contracts that may come out after winning this contest. I would have to consult this with my barracks and with my boss who, by the way, has always supported me and has given me many facilities to be able to present myself to the contest. I am very grateful to all my colleagues, I also owe them this title, because they never put any objections and helped me to present myself to Mister Spain.
Has your whole life taken place in Lanzarote?
Yes, I was born in Arrecife and at the age of 12 I went to live in Arrieta. Now, I still live there. I am 100 percent conejero, I have no roots from elsewhere. I have done everything on the island. I studied at the Instituto de Haría and, after finishing high school, I started a higher degree in Vocational Training in Computer Science. I left it after a year, because I got the opportunity to join the Air Force, and it is very difficult to enter. Besides, now, as the economic situation is, it is a privilege to be a civil servant and have a salary every month. This gives you security and I would not like to lose it. It's almost a luxury, right now.
Would it be very difficult for you to have to leave the island to dedicate yourself to the world of fashion or entertainment?
Very much so. Our climate is unsurpassed, life is very good here. These days in Madrid it is 2 degrees of temperature and I don't even have winter clothes. Why do I want a coat in Lanzarote, to wear it once a year? It's bad with so much cold and if I left, I would miss my land very much.
But, it is also true that accessing the world of fashion from Lanzarote has to be very complicated.
Yes, it is very difficult, and there are no facilities. Both the town councils and the Cabildo have preferred to subsidize or support the Queen of the Festivities galas, and those have no continuity. Before, both Miss Lanzarote and the Queen of the Festivities went to Miss Las Palmas, which is really a springboard for this world of fashion.
That's what happened to Helen Lindes in 2000. But now they are not supporting this beauty contest and I don't understand it, because a beautiful girl wins a Queen of the Festivities gala and then has no chance to enter another contest, that's the end of everything and it's a shame. Since they invest money, let it be for something.
I, for example, presented myself to Mister Lanzarote, then to Mister Las Palmas and now I have had the luck that they named me Mister Spain. This is a continuity.
Your reign could also serve to take the name of Lanzarote throughout Spain.
Of course, I speak very well of my island everywhere, I tell them to go and visit it, that it has a lot to offer. I say that it has a perfect climate 365 days a year and that it is beautiful.
In what corner of the island do you like to get lost?
In my house in Arrieta, first of all. And, if I had to stay with another place, it would be El Bosquecillo, in Haría, because there are spectacular views of Famara and La Graciosa. It is a place where I feel calm and meditate. It is my place of meditation, I like to be there.
