Mamen Mendizábal A few years ago he left current affairs and live television – he presented debates, talk shows, news programs… – because “he needed to do other things” and delve into all the possibilities that television offers. He left Better late and took charge of stick and splinter y unexpected encounters. Last year, he released Anatomy ofa program that returns this Sunday to prime time (9:30 p.m.) on La Sexta with a first installment that will dissect the story behind one of the most iconic images of the 1980s: the one taken of Marta Chavarri at the Mau nightclub. Mau, a snapshot that Interviú published in which he appeared without underwear.
Since this Sunday, he has occupied Jordi Évole’s place in La Sexta. It’s a Brown or a privilege, because you have set the bar high?
I think that very soon it will be Jordi Évole who will occupy the position of Anatomy of [risas]. Being there on Sundays is lucky, because there are many people who are used to sitting in front of the TV to watch Gonzo, Évole or, now, Anatomy of. Television has a lot of habit and on Sundays it shows.
Do the three programs have a common denominator?
I would not make a comparison with Évole, beyond the fact that this program is also produced by its production company. His program is an interview program and we travel through the last 30 years of Spain looking for the history of history. We do investigative journalism with relevant facts of recent times and narrative of true crime.
They start this Sunday with Marta Chávarri and the Interviú images. What has caught your attention about this case?
I was surprised that, when he died, all the obituaries remembered what the Interviú photograph had looked like in which it was seen that he was not wearing underwear, because that changed his life. The fact that that episode was remembered made us investigate what was behind her and we discovered that she was a collateral victim and was used by the power struggles of the era of the beautiful people. That photo was kept in a drawer for many months until someone was interested in taking it out. And this is what we will tell on Sunday on the program.
They have spoken with the sister…
Isabel Chávarri did not want to appear in the image but she gave us a few words. The program is not focused on Marta and her figure, but on this fact and on that kind of Succession of Spain at that time.
What other topics are they going to cover in the program?
Next will be the Madrid Arena, where a great party turned into a great tragedy. It is going to be a program that is going to generate a lot of indignation. Afterwards, we will do a double chapter of what is called ‘The robbery of the century’: the disappearance of five paintings by Francis Bacon at the home of his lover in Madrid. It’s a movie story.
She has been away from live television for some time. Do you live better now?
Now I see her as a spectator. I have dedicated myself to live journalism for 25 years, but as a professional I needed other challenges. As a viewer, I choose what I consume and also the dosage. Because there is a lot to choose from. Those who announced that free-to-air television was dead will have to rectify it because consumption is still amazing.
When news of interest occurs, such as the Valencia fire, the public realizes that linear television is still the only one capable of broadcasting current events…
If you want to know what is happening, live television continues to teach you. It is a very nice part of our profession, I just needed to do other things.
With so much tension and tension in political life, have you ever been glad not to be on a live program?
But let’s see… When is there not tension and tension? Tell me a moment in the last 10 years when you can tell me that there is no tension or tension. That is part of our idiosyncrasy and has always been that way. The political tension is the same as always, only the actors and protagonists change, but the speaker has also changed, which is now diverse and gigantic, with digital media. Social networks are also a huge parallel speaker where information is disseminated without control or filters.
Just as you left live television to do new things, what would you like to do in the future?
I have many pending issues Anatomy of. This program has a long way to go. There are many things I like, but other people already do them. Why am I going to do interviews if Jordi does them? [Évole] phenomenal? In any case, you can’t be thinking about what you would like to do, but rather enjoy the opportunity to do new things. And that in our profession is very stimulating. I don’t look back or think about what I will do in the future.
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