César Zappa publishes Nahali, the second installment of the Álex La Calle trilogy, with Javier Ojeda from Danza Invisible.

 Before fully dedicating himself to writing, Zappa developed a decades-long career in the music industry, linked to touring, artist security, and show production. That experience behind the scenes of the artistic world — alongside names such as Antonio Canales, Fangoria, Aviador Dro, La Unión, or Jaime Urrutia — filters into his narrative with a direct and unembellished perspective. With Nahali, the author consolidates his own literary universe in which action coexists with a reflection on violence, loyalty, and the difficulty of reinventing oneself when the past remains present.

 The novel will be presented on March 11 at the Manuel de Falla Hall of the SGAE in Madrid, in an event that will feature the participation of Javier Ojeda. On the occasion of this publication, we speak with César Zappa about the origin of the story, the construction of his protagonist, and the next steps of the trilogy.

 1. You have had a long career closely linked to the world of music and the backstage of entertainment before fully dedicating yourself to writing. How did those years on the road, stages, and with artists influence your decision to become a novelist?

 My career in the music and entertainment industry has gone hand in hand for twenty years, but although my life in rock and roll may influence the way I write, it was never a reason for me to become a novelist.

 2. After a long experience in the music industry, what led you to make the definitive leap into narrative writing and to build your own literary universe?

 My need to write and the ease that my work sometimes provides allow me to continue doing both.

 3. In Nahali you once again place Álex La Calle at the center of the story, a complex character marked by violence but also by a personal search. What does this protagonist represent for you within your work?

 Being the second part of his trilogy, I could not leave him out. Álex is a character with whom I sometimes identify. Without being autobiographical. He is a very important part, but he is not my only character. I feel very comfortable writing his adventures.

 4. Your narrative is characterized by a direct, rough tone closely tied to real experience. Do you deliberately seek that rawness to bring the reader closer to a more authentic world?

 The truth is that I did not deliberately seek anything. Only to convey my way of thinking and living.

 5. In this second installment of the trilogy, the word “Nahali” functions almost like an enigma that runs through the entire plot. What does that term really symbolize within the story?

 It was a trigger within the story, without necessarily being important. Yet.

 6. In your novels, the world of entertainment and music frequently appears. Is it also a way of reflecting the less visible side of the artistic world that you have known firsthand?

 It allows me the luxury of speaking about an environment I know perfectly. Perhaps bringing a different perspective from what people think. But without complaint or debate.

 7. Nahali is the second part of the Álex La Calle trilogy. At what point is the third installment, and what literary projects would you like to develop in the future?

 The third part was conceived before the second. I am very eager to start writing it, but before that a new story has appeared that I already have in progress and that will most likely become the fifth novel.