Although I have been promoting the GoFundMe page to help Nastasia Urbano recover from homelessness (which is still short of its €6,000 goal), I must and will give all the credit to her longtime friend Daniel Mirabal Gallego-Díaz, who has known her far longer than I have, for starting it. I've only been promoting it. (I'm not completely modest; I am happy to report that I was the second person to donate to the page, but I won't mention here how much I donated and whether or not I made subsequent donations. Suffice to say that I've donated as much as I can afford.)
Daniel - whom I've befriended on social media as a result of Nastasia's plight - spoke last month to the Spanish Internet news site El Español's "Jaleos Del Corazon" section about his efforts to help Nastasia get back on her feet. This Q&A interview is a bit dated already - Nastasia has obviously come farther along from where she was at the time - but I post here an English translation (which, as usual, is from an automatic Google translation and cleaned up, with some of the untranslatable comments edited out) of Daniel's comments to demonstrate just how committed he and everyone else who know Nastasia and love her are in making sure she never has to deal with indigence again. I credit Raul Rodriguez for conducting the interview and writing the original article. (The picture of Daniel and Nastasia below is also from the original article.)
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The friend of Nastasia Urbano who has raised 2,800 euros to get her out of poverty
This man from Madrid has been fighting for years for the model Nastasia Urbano to get ahead after its economic ruin.
He refuses to be called 'El Salvador' by 57-year-old model Nastasia Urbano, but the truth is that Daniel Mirabal Gallego-Díaz, a professional expert in the fashion business for more than three decades, is the person who has spent two years trying to put in order the life of the Ms. Urbano, a woman who once earned a million dollars every twenty days as a top model and ended in indigence.
On February 4, Daniel set up a campaign in GoFundMe where he requested 6,000 euros so that the former muse of Yves Saint Laurent could pay the three months' rent of a small apartment to live in dignity outside of Barcelona. For the moment, he has obtained 2,800 euros [Note: it's now up to €5,421, or US$6,137.31] in just three days, with the total rising.
In conversation with JALEOS, Mirabal has made this clear. "And I want there to be no doubt that the bank account that is linked to the campaign is in care of Nastasia Urbano, which of course, says Consuelo Urbano because that's her real name, it's not named Nastasia, but it's Consuelo in Paris. and New York, you know . . .."
What is your relationship?
I've known her all my life. I met her in Paris in the '80s when Nastasia was a top model - not in Spain, but the world. She was and is an exceptional woman and very respected internationally. When I saw her campaigns I did not know she was Spanish. When I met her, she caught my attention, we had a lot of contact with each other, but then she went to New York and you know, life goes by . . .. We've always had more or less contact but someone told me two or three years ago that Nastasia was not well and that a series of personal things had happened . . ..
How does a person who had everything end up like this?
Look, have you ever earned a million dollars with twenty days of work? When someone makes a lot of money and in such important amounts, one thinks that he or she is always going to stay there. Any of us - models, make-up artists, photographers - can find ourselves in the same circumstances as Nastasia. In our cases, in fact, maybe we would have sunk. She, however, stands up and is able to stop traffic.
What kind of problems led to her destitution?
I would like you to make it clear that Nastasia has never had problems with drugs or alcohol. The speculations, you know how they are . . . well, they're totally false. Nastasia Urbano is a generous, exceptional woman, and on top of that, she is a great mother. Her children are wonderful, beautiful, educated . . ..
And her relationship with her children?
I would not like to get into this. My goal is to help Nastasia, and her children have not been aware of the bad luck that she has had. She deceived them by telling them that she was staying in someone's house, even though that person was moving, because first of all she is a great mother. Their children love and protect their mother, and they're having a hard time.
How is her life now?
Now, she has great luck. She has a friend named Toni, who is a charming person and has given her a room. She lives there now. She not asking for a job to pose for a Vogue cover now, she's only asking for a normal job. She has worked as a housekeeper, caring for the sick, the elderly, but now she can't do so. Not with the pain of arthritis in her hand . . ..
How does theGoFundMe campaign work?
It's a bit of a mess . . . but the goal is to get 6,000 euros so she can rent a small studio with which to pay three months' rent. She does not want to live in luxury. A little apartment in the outskirts of town, so that she's safe and her rent is paid for for a few months. We are working tor help her have a worthy life.
Have you received calls from anyone famous? Someone who knew Nastasia in better days?
I have contacted the entire fashion industry. And when I say the whole industry, I mean everyone . . .. When I sent the messages to all of them, saying that I needed help, they not only ignored me but asked me for money to help them . . .. Look, I could never imagine that I could do that. I won't name names but they are Spanish models that have never reached Nastasia's level. Do you know what it is to sign with Ford? That was impossible! There were only fifteen top models in that agency, and Nastasia was the only Spaniard there.
What projects does Nastasia have now?
This is getting out of hand right now. I knew it was going to happen, but they're getting in touch with me - media from all over the world. Nastasia is overwhelmed. Now, she has a very important fashion editorial that will be published. [Note: This refers to the El País fashion editorial I reproduced on this blog on February 22.] Television networks are in contact: Fox, Univision, a Russian television network. Many fashion magazines want her again . . .
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Indeed, things have been overwhelming for Nastasia in the past month, but clearly in a good way. And while Daniel has clearly demonstrated that he doesn't want to be known as her savior, this article demonstrates with equal clarity that he's a prince of a fellow. And a guy who just wants to do the right thing. And he can be proud of himself and know that not only is he doing the right thing . . . he's doing it right. Thanks, Daniel. :-)
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