He looks at me, immediately checks my ignorance and holds out his phone to ask Siri:Instill in English.”
The word is translated “root”, but this definition does not fit it. It is insufficient; Instill it is something more rooted. It is one of those words whose connotations are deeper than what an online translation can convey.
“But let’s use the roots,” continues Luna. “I think your roots can’t be from just one place. My mother was British, my father is Mexican. As soon as I was 18, I started going to Spain, then to the United States [for work]. I have lived in many countries, but I will always call Mexico home. When I’m here in Spain, I relate to this country as if I were a native. I think we have to be very careful about this nationalism which is very dangerous these days.”
Every night after the show here in Madrid, he greets fans outside the stage door. There was someone who returned a second time to bring his partner, others who flew from France and Italy to see him. Luna became familiar with the city’s thriving Latin American community—Colombians, Venezuelans, Peruvians.
“As much as the States are the region to migrate to from Mexico and Central America, countries in South America tend to look more at Spain as a place to move to,” he says. “I ended up understanding a little more about what Latin America is like being in Madrid. Latin Americans interact more here than we do in our country [countries]. We know very little about each other, but Madrid gathers so many nationalities.”
He adds: “This doesn’t happen anywhere in the world, where you can cross 20 borders and still be speaking the same language, right? At the same time, it’s kind of sad, how small we are [Mexicans] the journey – our art, our stories, our work. When you’re in Madrid, you understand how all these different communities interact [with each other] in a very interesting and rich way.”
Another day, I see Luna in a modest cottage outside the city. We are surrounded by thick, well-read books that line the walls: History of Spain, an architectural atlas of Warsaw, a biography of American engineer John DeLorean. Luna tells me she wants to direct, something she has done several times in the past. “It’s something I miss,” he says, hoping to create something more personal. “We have this saying in Mexico,” he says. “We played like never before and lost like always. It means, ‘We played like we’ve never played before, and we lost like we’ve always lost…’” He trails off, unsure. “It sounds better in Spanish.”
Luna explains that the phrase comes from football. He felt it during the 2018 World Cup, when Mexico faced Germany, who were among the favorites to win the tournament. Mexico did the impossible when Hirving “Chucky” Lozano scored in the first half.
Luna remembers the moment clearly – he had 30 people in his house, all crowded around the TV, just waiting for something to go wrong. “Until the last second, there was a feeling that we were going to equalize, that they were going to score somehow,” he recalled. The saying, then, describes “the feeling that you will never be able to win. But that was the day I went, like, okay, something’s different.”
Germany’s attack became desperate, but Mexico’s defense was stronger. The Mexicans ended up winning 1-0.
“And then we lost the next day,” Luna says with a laugh. “But in that match we beat Germany, the undefeated team. And I felt like things could change.”
Shirt, $1,150, and belt, $890, by Tom Ford. Pants, $1,690, by Valentino. Necklace, $1,425, by David Yurman.
Ian Murray is a writer based in the UK
A version of this story originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of GQ under the headline “Diego Luna Goes Rogue”
PRODUCTION CREDITS:
Photos from Fanny Latour-Lambert
Styling by Tobias Frericks
Grooming by Matthew Tuozzoli for Oribe Hair Care and Chanel
Produced by MAMMA TEAM PRODUCTIONS SL
