Lisbon's Gang Name Could Have Been Lima Reveals Star

Money Heist star Itziar Ituño's character Raquel Murillo is eventually given the code name Lisbon, but one of the original choices was Lima.

Money Heist star Itziar Ituño revealed that her character Lisbon was almost named Lima. The Spanish heist series, which was created by Álex Pina in 2017, ran for 5 seasons once it was picked up by Netflix. It followed the exploits of a gang of robbers run by the mastermind The Professor (Álvaro Morte). Although many of their real names are revealed throughout the course of the show, the gang is originally only known by their code names, which are cities from around the world including Berlin (Pedro Alonso), Denver (Jaime Lorente), Nairobi (Alba Flores), Rio (Miguel Herrán), and Tokyo (Úrsula Corberó), who also narrates the series.

One of the most interesting characters throughout the run of Money Heist is Itziar Ituño's Raquel Murillo, who has the widest-ranging arc of all the people who appeared in every episode of the series. She was originally the inspector assigned to negotiate with the Professor during the gang's first heist in seasons 1 and 2, but she eventually fell in love with him and joined the gang in season 3. When she did so, she adopted the code name Lisbon, which is the capital of Portugal. She is one of several new members including Stockholm (Esther Acebo), another member who joined after falling in love with one of the robbers.

Roster Con shared a video interview with Itziar Ituño recorded at the Money Heist-themed convention The Hold Up Gang, which took place in Paris on January 8, 2022. When she was asked what name she would have chosen for her character, she revealed that she did in fact choose her own name. She came up with Lisbon when she was asked to pick a city name during a pre-season 3 interview, and though the writers "were hesitating... between Lisbon and Lima," they ended up landing on the name that she had already selected. Read the full quote below:

Well, once in an interview, I was asked to choose a country capitol, and I had chosen Lisbon. And later, without knowing that Raquel - without knowing that there would be a third part - I said Lisbon and they gave me that name. They changed my name and called me Lisbon, as I had chosen. I think they were hesitating between two, between Lisbon and Lima, but in the end they chose Lisbon. But then thinking about it, I thought “I should have chosen Bilbao, as I am from there!” But hey, I love Lisbon.

It seems that, due to the very particular circumstances of her character joining the gang, Ituño was probably the only actor who was allowed to choose her character's code name. The reason she was asked to come up with a code name was the fact that, at the end of the first two seasons, she was the only major character now aligned with the gang who didn't have one. Esther Acebo's hostage character Mónica Gaztambide, the only other role in the same position, had the code name of Stockholm pre-ordained because it's a joke about her Stockholm syndrome.

Although Ituño might regret not having chosen Bilbao, it speaks to the sensibility of the Money Heist writers that they allowed her fun interview to become an actual part of the show. The series is an impeccably constructed heist packed with twists and turns, as well as drama aplenty. However, the core of the show has always had a sense of fun that they clearly embraced when developing the new heist for season 3.

Next: Money Heist Season 5 Part 2 Ending Explained

Source: Roster Con