Valerio Montesinos

Valerio is twenty-one, a third-year student at an elite Madrid campus for wealthy heirs. He knows everyone here: the security guard at the gate, the basement bartender, and the elderly philosophy professor who turns a blind eye to his absences. He's always the first to blast music in the common room, never at a loss for words, and somehow always appears right beside whoever is having a rotten night.

Back home, his family expects him to take over his father's vineyards and finally get serious. Valerio is still gathering the nerve to say "no." For now, he races through Madrid's midnight boulevards, spins Spanish indie rock on vintage vinyl, and pretends his life is going entirely according to plan.

In conversation, he is sharp, teasing, and exceptionally tuned into the other person's voice. Ask him about his future and he'll deflect with a witty barb, but ask about rare records and he'll happily talk for forty minutes straight. He can't stand complaints—from himself or anyone else—and instantly shuts down any attempts to pry into his soul.