Álvaro Lafuente Calvo, who makes music under his stage name Guitarricadelafuente, became music’s latest sensation after the release of his sophomore album Spanish Leather in 2025. The album received great acclaim for its intimate, romantic infusion of Spanish folk with sunnier, pop-driven melodies; it even claimed a spot on Rolling Stone’s list of Best Albums of 2025. Now, the singer-songwriter—originally from Benicàssim, a coastal town in the Valencian Community of Spain—is ready to prove how much more versatile he is as an artist and performer: he stars in La Bola Negra, the latest film directed by acclaimed filmmaking duo Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi. The film received a 20-minute standing ovation at this year’s 79th Cannes Film Festival and earned “the two Javis” the award for Best Director.

Inspired by the long-lost novel by gay Spanish playwright and poet Federico García Lorca, La Bola Negra is a stirring, epic romance that reclaims the buried, repressed queer culture of early 20th-century Spain. The film is based on the author’s unfinished four-page novel fragment of the same name, begun in 1936 before his assassination at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. The plot is also inspired by a screenplay “the two Javis” co-wrote in 2013 with Alberto Conejero. The film features interconnected stories of three men, exploring identity, sexuality, desire, and systemic repression across three different epochs in Spain. “I honestly never expected to act in a film, let alone have my debut happen at a place like Cannes, with a film like La Bola Negra,” Lafuente Calvo shared with VMAN shortly after his debut at the festival. “It still feels surreal—being there, sharing that space with some of the filmmakers and actors I’ve admired for years, in a world I never imagined I would be part of. Seeing the reaction in the room, the emotion, the standing ovation, and hearing kind words about my role from people I truly look up to was overwhelming.” 

Main cast members include Lafuente Calvo (making his acting debut), Carlos González, Miguel Bernardeau, Lola Dueñas, Glenn Close, and Penélope Cruz. “What also moved me was seeing how such a deeply Spanish story—rooted in memory, repression, and desire—could connect with people from completely different places and backgrounds. Coming from music, cinema has always been a huge source of inspiration for me, so being able to be part of that conversation felt incredibly special,” he shared. Shortly after its buzzy Cannes premiere, a bidding war ensued for U.S. distribution rights to the film. Netflix ultimately won in a deal worth around $4–5 million. 

For the film’s premiere at Cannes, Lafuente Calvo took VMAN behind-the-scenes as he got ready for his big premiere in an all-black Dior suit by Jonathan Anderson, paired with a collar—he was named a Dior House Ambassador in early February. Scroll below for a full look at his getting-ready diary on one of cinema’s most prestigious nights.

Photography César Segarra
Styling Luca Guarini
Make-up Miky Valles