We are now in what feels like day 600 of the saga of Laura and Mario, the couple pictured in the viral stock photo that’s taken social media by storm. Yesterday, we heard from photographer Antonio Guillem, who shot the photo, and today Laura and Mario have spoken up to let their fans know: The meme is good.
Guillem combined the most popular questions he’d seen from the media and sent them along to Laura (who we now know is the girlfriend in the blue shirt) and Mario. Their answers are below.
What do you remember of this shoot?
Laura: First of all, I’m the “girlfriend,” ahah. For me, it was a curious and funny photo shoot, especially when we had to make the photos like the meme, more humorous. When people saw us simulate those scenes in the street, they stopped to look and laugh, and in my case, that I had to have a more serious face, I had a hard time to keeping it, ahaha.
Mario: I remember that it was kinda embarrassing because there where people watching and laughing, and I had to make this silly face. But in the end, like we always do, I just forgot they were there and did my job. I remember it like a learning experience, and I had fun with my team.
How did you discover the meme?
Laura: I started receiving notifications from my friends by tagging me on the posts they found on social media. Then Toni sent us the first emails for interview requests he got about this photo, and I realized that it had become viral.
Mario: People just started sending these memes to me, filling up my social media, even people I hadn’t seen for many years.
What are some of your favorite labels that you’ve seen so far?
Laura: We have had a lot of work these last few weeks as we are trying to increase production. We have not paid much attention to everything posted on the net, but I can say, by the little that I have seen, that people have a lot of imagination!
Mario: As we are working really hard to give our clients the best quality photos we can make, I do not really have the time to follow these things, but for what I have seen, I can say that it’s crazy what people can imagine.
How did you feel when you saw the memes?
Laura: It’s quite strange to be a meme, but also funny due to the imagination of the people.
Mario: I was a bit surprised because I didn’t expect that a photo that we made would become so popular on social media.
Are you being recognized on the street?
Laura: Maybe if I put the face of the meme someone could recognize me, but no, no one has recognized me yet, ahaha. Even some friends of mine told me, “Look, this girl looks like you,” and I said, “It’s me!” Ahaha
Mario: Not yet, ahaha.
Have you ever been any of the three characters depicted in the photo in real life?
Laura: I think everyone once in their lives has been the girl in the red dress, maybe without being looked at with such brazenness. And I’ve never found myself in the situation that my boyfriend looks at a girl in that way, so I’ve never been “my character” in real life, ahaha.
Mario: Hahahaha, I would never look at someone like that in real life, and about the other two characters, well, I am not so pretty.
