'La ruta' retraces the steps of bakalao and the Valencian scene in search of its brightest and most unknown side

The Ruta del bakalao noventera is known for its endless parties, drugs and the darkness of its nightclubs.

But in its origins, at the beginning of the previous decade, there was a cultural and creative effervescence similar to that of the Madrid scene.

The series

, which premieres at AtresPlayer Premium on Sunday, November 13, retraces the steps of this social phenomenon in parallel to that of its five protagonists.

The first of the eight chapters of this fiction begins in 1993, with a group of almost thirtysomethings about to say goodbye to the Valencian night and their friendship.

As the weeks go by, the viewer will witness the origin of everything, step by step, until reaching 1981 and a night scene that is very different from the accumulation of excesses that has been recorded in the collective imagination.

In the book

(Editorial Contra, 2016), the journalist and DJ Luis Costa defends the legacy of a creative movement that was blurred by the media and frenzy of his last years.

That is one of the starting points of this fiction created by Borja Soler —a regular partner of Rodrigo Sorogoyen, as co-creator of the feature film

and as director of some of the chapters of the

and Roberto Martín Maiztegui —writer of the series

—.

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Soler announces that

will compose a very different portrait than expected: “It is still a series in which we are going to be in nightclubs, but the musical part and the dialogues are going to show us another type of route, more cultural.

A place like Barraca had its own artistic team in charge of designing the staging of its events”, he explains this Thursday at the San Sebastián festival, where Atresmedia has presented this production that especially pampers its script and production design.

"Those who were there say that the end of the route came when the clubs ceased to be cultural centers and began to be just clubs," explains Martín Maiztegui.

Its inverse narration, "with a first chapter that seems like a last chapter", its creators point out, has defined the tone of the series and its work process.

That first installment is titled

in reference to the mythical nightclub in which it is set and also to the particular structure of its eight episodes.

In it we meet Marc (played by Àlex Monner), who is a Valencian nightlife star about to change scenery with his sights set on Ibiza.

But Toni (Claudia Salas) serves as an emotional anchor.

Sento (Ricardo Gómez), a self-made businessman, represents the Spain that is to come and that contrasts with Nuria (Elisabet Casanovas), whose creative essence has been left behind, in favor of the massive and the lucrative.

Over all of them he plans the absence of Lucas (Guillem Barbosa), Marc's charismatic brother.

'La ruta' is set in the Valencian nightclubs of the eighties and nineties.Atresplayer Premium

“To achieve skin at that start, the chemistry between its protagonists was essential”, says the duo responsible for

.

“The initial days of rehearsals in Madrid were practically a group dynamic, for the actors to get to know each other.

The first thing that had to be conveyed to the viewer is that feeling that they loved each other very much in the past and that there is something between them that is no longer right”, they comment.

The music, another of the most pampered elements of the production, has helped the quintet of performers to unite in front of and behind the camera, reveals one of its actresses, Elisabet Casanovas.

This constant going backwards meant an extra acting effort, says Àlex Monner, who highlights the difficulty of "going rejuvenating the character, with new nuances, until portraying the adolescence of the eighties, oblivious to the overexcitement of today's youth."

The creators of the series 'La ruta', Borja Soler (second right), and Roberto Martín (right), pose with the actors.

From left to right: Guillem Barbosa, Elisabeth Casanovas, Ricardo Gómez, Àlex Monner, and Claudia Salas, at the San Sebastián film festival.Juan Herrero (EFE)

Professionals from the road, such as DJ Fran Leaners, and nightlife entrepreneurs of the time have helped the series team to gather references beyond the clichés that have fed television reports.

Some of his personal stories and anecdotes have been incorporated into fictional characters.

“The craziest thing that appears in the series is the real part of the story”, comment Soler and Martín Maiztegui, who have maintained their own legends that have been created about the route through “humorous winks”.

Atresmedia has already announced that it is preparing a second season of

, this time set in Ibiza and, initially, with other characters.

Although the story, Borja Soler points out, "is still in its infancy."

"We are thinking a lot about how to continue the story, because there are many paths to explore," he says.

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