“The reality is that boys are the same everywhere”

It gradually became a symbol of childhood, Diego Topa has already put together a new proposal to start the winter holidays. This time it will be Top. Time to play that on the 15th began its season with two shows from Tuesday to Sunday (2 and 4:30 p.m.) at El Nacional (Corrientes 960). He added Emiliano Dionisi. “Not only motivated – emphasize Topa – but also helped to write. He is my friend, I would almost say family, we live six blocks away ”. He will be accompanied by the actors Andrea Lovera and Ramiro Delgado, plus the dancers Florencia Liserre, Fernando Vera, Caterina Petinari, Leo Vasone and July Antonio, with choreographies by Gustavo Carrizo. As always, the musical direction will be by Mauro Cambarieri and Federico Montero.

—How would you define this show?

It’s a completely new proposition. I love music a lot, but this time Emiliano (Dionisi) told me to show more of the comedian, the actor that I am. I’m always in creative supervision, but this time I came and left everything in his hands. I am going to travel in the first time ship made in Argentina. I will take myself to the time of the dinosaurs and also to a very entertaining future. I think the most fun for parents and grandparents is when I get to the seventies. For each era there will be a music. We will make a potpourri, honoring Palito Ortega, Donald and Raffaella Carrá. The family is going to dance!

—You completed twenty years of profession: what did you propose and what are you missing?

I never imagined that I would become who I am. My expectations and my dreams were fulfilled much more than I would have thought. I enjoy everything. I think I was sowing throughout my career, and today I am reaping love from people. I swear to you that there is nothing as beautiful as receiving so much love from people. They put me in a place of reference for childhood and not only in Argentina but also in Latin America, thanks to the arrival of Disney that opened the doors to all those countries for me. That is unique to me and I take great care of it. I recently returned from Italy, where a music producer contacted me along with my friend Luli Pampín, whom I met during the pandemic. I went to record an album of hers with her that will be out at the end of the year. That is one of the dreams of the continent that she had: to be able to reach Europe, where they still don’t know me. Now I’m going to land there. They tell me there are no male child references.

“What do you think it’s for?”

I think it has to do with a life decision. You have to have absolute love and respect for these issues, it even happens with women. They start doing these shows and then they go on to do other types of work, on television or in the movies.

—Your public is centralized in thirteen Latin American countries: what differences do they find?

—The reality is that boys are the same everywhere. It’s crazy to be able to say it, find out and I’m sure because I went through it. They have fun with the same jokes and like the same songs. In Argentina they are more used to seeing me, while in other countries they can’t believe when they find me, it’s as if I were Mick Jagger. It is a madness of love, and it not only happens to the little ones, but also to their parents, because one enters the family, through music, television or platforms.

—How does the pandemic change you?

—I’m only now noticing the aftermath. It particularly happens to me that I am overwhelmed. I enjoy my home more, my daughter and I try to find a balance with my work. Even later with the tours, where can I take her and where I don’t want her to miss school. For example, I appreciate virtual therapy to avoid travel times. I think I take advantage of the family more. The quantity does not matter, but the quality. It seems to me that we have become more aware of the here and now. We look more for the personal, we find many screens and video calls. It’s nice to be able to find.

—How do you face issues such as child abuse or hunger?

These are issues that concern us all. I talk about it with the closest people. I don’t know what happened in past times, but I don’t have the recollection of it happening. It seems incredible to me that life changes so much that these aberrational, strong events happen today, that they are even unforeseen and cause me anguish. We will have to think about how to avoid them. You know what a clearance means, but it worries me as a parent. I am lucky to be very present in my daughter’s kindergarten, with the teachers and administrators. A phrase always accompanies us: “how can it happen?” I see everything that has to do with childhood, both hunger and insecurity, everywhere. I hear it in every country I go to: they are not just Argentine problems.

—Have you ever planned to live in another country?

—I love Argentina, I am one of the ties, of my family and my friends. I would only be gone for months, but I couldn’t settle anywhere else. Maybe when I’m older, but I don’t want to miss out on my nephews growing up or being with my parents, who are older. I really enjoy my home, going to the theater: I am very Argentine. I have already seen The Outbreak, The Capsule and What the River Does by Paula and María Marull. Here we put a lot of love on stage, we understand it as an actor and also as a producer.

“And the platforms?”

—There is no place for characters like me, cartoons predominate. There is a proposal out there, which I hope can be achieved: Public Television called me and I would like to reach children throughout the country. We already started thinking and working. I’d love to. I have my own channel on YouTube, it’s going back to music and songs from before like those of María Elena Walsh.

“Would you like to make a movie?”

—I participated in many successful programs such as Married with children, The nanny, Put Francella and The simulators, now that their film is coming, I am going to tell you that I want to do even a cameo. I deeply admire Damián Szifron. I would like to make movies. A movie about Latin American Christmas is spinning in my head. I have no trouble.

—Did you ever feel like you could get dizzy from fame?

—I am lucky to have a family that always accompanied me and it cost me a lot everything I have, that’s why I take care of it. I think the key is that I don’t believe it. I am very grateful for what happens to me and I continue to be surprised. It is true that fame is pure story. It is very difficult to maintain a career. I love that they recognize me because I accompanied them during their childhood and I’m not interested in them doing it for my personal life. I’m not ready for that. Many times I have been invited to participate in Bailando but I feel uncomfortable with that type of media fame. I think it would make me cry if they attack me in a return, because I don’t know how to handle myself.

“I am the Argentine mickey”

In 2021, a major publisher published Topa. The traveler. Book 1, Now Unveiled: My First Recipes. He says: “It came about because of my daughter, Mitai, because I found myself wondering what I make for her to eat something nutritious and healthy. The first one was of stories that were not mine, I only supervised them together with Soledad Mirasolo, adding activities, they practiced numbers and vowels”.

He has Instagram and Facebook, although he affirms that the networks are not his thing. “Disney opened the doors to everything for me – he underlined gratefully – made me very popular and was the company that trusted me. I love you very much and although I am not working today I am still on your platform. I am the Argentine Mickey and I take care of him. I have many friends and the chances of returning are always there. They took care of me, they put me in a beautiful place and they listened to what I think.

When asked the reason for his Halloween Special, he clarifies: “It’s a musical concert via streaming, like the one I put together for Christmas. They are thematic shows. It is another format, because some shows cannot be moved, since they would be very expensive. Last year I did the show El viajero and we talked about the cultures of Latin America. “Today that I am a father, I see, for example, that the topic of dinosaurs appeals to both girls and boys. We seek with Emiliano that people have fun with Topa. Time to play. When we read the text together with Andrea Lovera and Ramiro Delgado we couldn’t stop laughing. They are musical comedy actors and they are with me in this journey and mischief. I am passionate about acting, but singing connects me with my heart, with my soul and something magical happens, ”he concludes.