Sandra Barneda y César Muñoz They have very different personalities and that is probably the success of the couple of presenters of This is life, whose chemistry has been building throughout the year that they are about to complete on screen. “I have a shorter fuse and he thinks things through more, he helps me slow down, but he has more of a sense of humor,” the presenter explains to us. “I’m not as cuddly as César, although I’m improving,” she tells Informalia Barneda, who for some time has been much looser in front of the cameras and less corseted than in the past. “I have had some very good years on a personal level and I am more transparent, going through fears, enjoying myself, open with people… and it shows.”
They started working without knowing each other. “I didn’t speak at all, because I had Sandra Barneda in front of me, who for me was and is a reference,” admits César Muñoz – or ‘The boy next door’, as his partner defines him. -, for whom This is life It was his first national program after passing through Telemadrid or Canal Extremadura. “It has been a year of a lot of learning and personal evolution. The program has also changed and now we are in the best moment.”
This is life It began as a current affairs space and has become a pure-hearted magazine that, in its daily broadcast of only one hour, has managed to generate its own content that has fed back to the rest of the network’s programs. The best example was the soap opera by Carmen Borrego, a collaborator of the space that produces Cuarzo, and her son José María, who curiously works in this same format, but behind the cameras. “We have had good content, but I think we have exploited it well and we have set the limit. No matter how much it worked in terms of audience, we have not crossed any limit,” defends the presenter. “It could have been told in many ways and we have chosen one because it was the one that seemed correct to us and it was a: that’s it,” adds César Muñoz.
Did you imagine that you were about to celebrate one year in That’s Life?
César Muñoz: Not me. I came for three months and we are going to be a year old at the end. Not even in my wildest dreams.
Sandra Barneda: No, TV is unpredictable and imagining what could happen is making a mistake. If a program lasts, it is a gift.
You started working together without knowing each other. As was?
César Muñoz: The day I met Sandra, at a previous dinner, she was ‘cagao’ and didn’t speak anything, because she had Sandra Barneda in front of her, who for me was and is a reference. She is very generous and I am very happy to have her by her side.
Your chemistry has been improving. Has that been reflected on the screen?
Sandra: I believe a lot in chemistry and I had it with him from the beginning. I like clarity and good people. And he is. He is not someone who pushes, lags behind or feels threatened. And we have not been in a rush to create a relationship.
César Muñoz: How can I feel threatened by you? We are different people, but we have gotten along very well. Even though she may seem serious, at short distances Sandra is a slut. We wrote notes to each other during the live show.
What do you write?
Sandra: Things from the program, the interlining of what is happening.
César: We are discussing the salsa and evaluations of what happens on set.
Sandra, you have made a big change. You are more natural, relaxed. Is it linked to this program?
Sandra: The change is linked to how I am personally. Television is indiscreet and captures how you are. You can’t fool the viewer. I have had some very good years on a personal level and I am more transparent, going through fears, enjoying myself, open with people… and it shows. That’s Life is a format that caught me suddenly, being in the Dominican Republic, but it has allowed me to return to the magazine format, even if it is short, because I would like it to be longer, but we have a great team. And César is giving me many things and I am learning a lot from him. I am more of a short fuse. He thinks things through more, he helps me slow down, he has more sense of humor… I think it’s a very good combination and I wouldn’t like it to end.
César, you too have evolved a lot since day one…
César: It was my first time presenting a program at the national level. It has been a year of much learning and personal evolution. The program has also changed and now we are in the best moment. I would like to continue evolving and do it in this house. What I always try is to do my best and make sure people have a good time.
Sandra: It has the point of ‘The boy next door’, the boy next door, the one that all mothers want for their sons or daughters. He is cuddly and that transfers him. I’m not that cuddly, although I’m improving. What This Is Life aims for is that people laugh with us and we really have a good time.
What is the topic you least like to address within the program?
Sandra: It’s not a topic, but how it is approached. That cover of ISabel Pantoja and her new friend, I felt very uncomfortable, because they spoke with some euphemisms that made me feel uncomfortable. It generated a debate for me. In Mediaset there is freedom and in this program also to feel comfortable and that we can express ourselves as we are. But when I turn on, no one has come to tell me anything. They let me express myself. So I like that there are also topics that I don’t like.
César: There are themes and characters that come from two centuries ago and it is difficult to like them, but you enjoy playing with them in a more ironic or critical way and that is also fun.
Sandra: When you do a live show, the energy is palpable: days when we are hornier, others more intense…
César: We have managed to create a family, where each one gives their opinion without cutting corners, because each one has a very different profile.
What is it like dealing with Carmen Borrego and Alejandra Rubio, who are collaborators and famous people?
Sandra: No one is pressured excessively because it is not our philosophy. We like to create an atmosphere of trust and that leads you to let go of many more things than if you tighten or create an atmosphere of tension. They already know that they have to speak, but it is not forced on them.
Caesar: They are not coming to hostile territory. The topics are discussed to the extent they want and that is why they come more calm and generous than in other programs.
Sandra: We all respect each other even if we don’t agree on opinions. We got a little angry but we got along well. That balance, which is difficult because we are doing television, we have achieved it and the collaborators come comfortably and that translates into them bringing information, because being a small program we have given big topics. And that has been because of the team and the collaborators, who are very generous.
César: We are a small but tough program.
The topic that has worked best for you is that of Carmen Borrego and her son, who works on the program behind the cameras. How have you managed it?
Sandra: We have had good content but I think we have exploited it well and have set the limit. No matter how much it worked in the audience, we have not crossed any limits.
César: It could have been told in many ways and we have chosen one because it was the one that seemed correct to us and it was: until here.
Sandra: I think we have a responsibility, even though we are on private television. I wouldn’t like to be treated the way I wouldn’t like to be treated and I think that’s what we do here. There are days you go over, because the border is delicate, but you come back again. The line is another.
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