Himar González: “The air is at 27 degrees; when there are 40 outside, that is glory”

The photographer cannot help but praise out loud the beauty that the interviewee offers to the camera.

Accustomed, perhaps, to this type of reaction in others, Himar González smiles, poses professionally and close, and then applies herself, professional and close, to the talk.

She responds cordially, with measure, avoiding deep puddles.

But she looks into her eyes and, in hers, you can see almost everything.

It may be that in that almost that she does not say is the most interesting.

Off the mic and off camera, she gives some revealing clue.

It's not so easy, not so sweet, all that glitters.

Who is Himar named after?

I am the third of four siblings and the only girl.

My father saw the name in a book about the ancient Guanches, who were sold as slaves in the Peninsula, when my mother was pregnant with me and he liked her, even though he was a boy.

When I was born, he was told that I was the only Himar registered on the island.

Now is there any more?

I know of some couples who named their girls Himar for me when I began to be known on TV, and it seems beautiful to me, although at school, the children laughed at me and I told my mother that I wish I had put Little Star.

What does the Canary Islands have to give so many famous meteorologists: the late Carlos Cabrera, Paco Montesdeoca, yourself?

I think it's because of the particularity of the islands.

The weather is so uncertain, due to the orography, the conditions, the dimensions, that having worked as a meteorologist in the Canary Islands is an appreciated bonus in the guild.

When I arrived in Madrid and did interviews on TV, they valued that information.

She wanted to be an actress and ended up studying atmospheric physics.

Did she want her to live in the clouds?

I was an actress, I have done classical theater tours all over the world, I have been Doña Inés many times, for example.

But my parents wanted me to pursue a degree and I studied Physics because I also love astronomy.

I worked for a while at the Canary Islands observatory, but I didn't want to lock myself in that igloo all day, and I ended up doing weather information on TV.

As a youngster, I thought I was a freak for having a passion for both worlds, until I saw my quantum physics teacher at the theater, and it all clicked.

Scientists have to be creative.

Without imagination and without creativity there are no such happy ideas that advance science.

He was about to die in the hard phase of the pandemic.

Did he change his head?

Yes, I suffered from septicemia due to a kidney infection in the middle of the second wave of covid.

It took me a while to go to the emergency room, because I was collapsed.

I endured too much, I have a very high pain threshold, and when they treated me I was really serious.

I recovered, yes, but my head was already changed from before.

Because of previous pain or because of character?

For both things.

I have had significant losses.

My mother, who was my pillar, died too young 10 years ago.

My father, my other column, had been close before.

That's why I know what matters.

That life is here and now.

This conversation you and I are having, for example.

Did it take an emotional toll on you to report the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja on La Palma at the foot of the volcano?

It was very intense.

The Sunday of the eruption I had a one-way ticket at five in the afternoon because they told me on Saturday that something was going to happen.

The flight was cancelled, I flew on Monday and reported non-stop until the following weekend.

There I did break seeing the destruction and suffering of the people.

That moment really made me see where I came from.

Until then I used to say that I came from the Canary Islands, those volcanic islands, but seeing the volcano live, destroying everything in its path, lives, illusions, dreams, puts you in your place, gives you the true meaning of that phrase.

Filomena

We are having a time of transition between what we knew and what is to come.

We are experiencing turbulent episodes and we are going to a port that we cannot yet predict, but that we are not going to like.

Increasingly intense and extensive droughts, fires and heat waves, extreme phenomena.

Are you afraid of climate change?

And who doesn't?

For us, for my nephews, for the generations that have not yet arrived on this planet.

We have to do much more than what we do.

What do you do?

Well, I do a lot.

I recycle.

There are products that I do not consume.

I close the taps.

And, regarding energy, I have the air at 27 degrees, I lower everything to 26. When it's 40 outside, that's being in glory inside the house.

And the heating?

at 20 degrees.

If you look closely, the optimal temperature at home is like the average outside in the Canary Islands.

26-27 degrees in summer and 20-22 in winter.

The Paradise.

Does a denier piss you off?

I don't pay attention to them.

It is as if someone comes to you, who makes a living from writing, telling you that “to have” is without an ax.

There is no discussion.

Do you think that, with the latest weather disasters, meteorologists have gained moral authority over politicians?

There is still a lot left.

The politician lacks a lot of scientific advice, they are a bit lame in that leg, and that is where, sometimes, they can falter.

We will have to wait for future situations, which there will be, to see if the politician really listens a little more than he listened to us, for example with

.

Is the 10-day weather forecast for mobiles useful?

That is bullshit.

Not even those of three days on the mobile if they are automated applications not endorsed by a scientist.

You, as a meteorologist, with your experience and your models, can risk making a forecast for two, three, five days at the most.

And with hairpins.

Aren't algorithms useful there?

The robot will not kill the meteorologist, a machine will never be able to replace the mind of a scientist.

So you don't dare say what August will be like, I guess.

Well, there are trends.

And the trend says that August will be scorching hot.

That's hardly news anymore

That's what we were talking about.

This summer is being unusual.

What is good weather for the weather woman?

The necessary at each moment.

Now, it would be him raining nonstop, not torrentially, for days.

But that's not going to happen.

Take off the uniform: and to be on vacation at the beach?

Thirty degrees and a nice breeze.

I would stay to live in my 30s.

Throughout?

LOL.

Well, in my case the 30 are over, fortunately, because that means that time is running out and everything is going well.

What do you think about who thinks about his physique more than about his work?

I have never had the feeling that my brain is undervalued.

There may have been, yes, some scuffle, or some unfortunate comment and, in that, sometimes it is not only the men who can trip you up, but also a female partner.

And you say, what a pity.

But I don't waste energy on that, I don't go in, I draw a thick veil and move on to the next thing.

Count to 100 to not reply to certain comments?

I don't even tell, it's that I haven't even finished reading them, they don't interest me.

Sell ​​me your serenity.

LOL.

I think it is basically giving importance to what they have.

It's like when they whistle you in the car to go ahead or run more.

Look, boy, if you have a bad day, it's your problem.

What does he do when he's out of shot on TV walking towards infinity on those high heels?

Put on the

that I always have in the locker.

Go back to being Himar.

I don't care if the Prime Minister is there.

I already told you that I save energy.

Always.

Almost unique in its class

Himar González (Gran Canaria, "My age is on Google, it doesn't seem relevant to me," he says) was one of the few Physics students in her class at the University of La Laguna.

The daughter of a bank clerk who doubled work in the evenings to make ends meet, and a housewife of Lebanese origin, Himar was a shy girl who found refuge in "the characters of the black and white movies" of the TV.

Even today, she says, they are the only ones that keep her in her seat, including the telefilms that she broadcasts on her own network at the weekend after-dinner, just after she gives the weather forecast.

After dedicating himself to interpretation, and to weather information in Canarian media, Himar has been preparing and communicating weather information on national television for 12 years, the last ones on Antena 3. 

You can follow EL PAÍS TELEVISIÓN on

50% off

Subscribe to continue reading

read without limits

Keep reading

I'm already a subscriber