Into the Heart of Darkness in “El Conquistador”, the new survival program on TVE | the television

Through a grueling and grueling journey through the woods in search of the mysterious and legendary Mr. Kurtz, sailor Marlowe ends up encountering unprecedented aspects of himself and the human condition in… Heart of DarknessThe great novel by Joseph Conrad. Something similar happens to my racers Conqueror. There hasn’t been a lot of fame or money as a reward in that nearly two decades reality Extreme survival is a social phenomenon on Basque TV ETB. The incentive for the participants is the very challenge the program poses to them; surpassing Moby Dick. These days in June, TVE is recording the national version of Space at complex locations in the Dominican Republic, in collaboration with the production company that created the format, Hostoil (Mediapro studio).

Since then until now they have not been able to compete on budget with the large formats of the national chains, He won, as it is known among the Basque onlookers, replace it with the truth. It is an aspect, not to fabricate reality, which was essential to the creators of the format, Pachi Alonso and Joxan Goni, when it comes to adapting it to La 1, they explain on the pitch that they have resided in the Caribbean, where EL PAÍS traveled with another group of media at the invitation of the production company and channel.

Raquel Sanchez Silva joins space veteran presenter Julian Imantze at the helm of this version that will premiere at La 1 in September. The mechanics will be the same as the original: 33 contestants will be divided into three teams and each team will be led by a captain. Boxer Joanna Pastrana, former soccer player, coach and professional Pache Salinas fitness Cesc Escola accompanies them during the six weeks of competition.

Every day, the candidates face a new game that, based on the score, takes each team to camp. The first is known as the wealthy, covered by basic needs such as furniture, cooking, and food. There is a second, poorer camp, in which there is practically nothing to survive. And in case of the latter, the destination is a camp called Hell, where you can barely walk without drowning in mud and where there is no food to gather and instead a wide variety of wildlife. It is easy to find yourself due to the different landscapes that act as a recording studio for tarantulas and countless mosquitoes, rats, sharks and insects of all kinds. Also, depending on the month of the year, whales, dolphins, and many species of birds that make up for the perpetual misfortune of these invaders with their beauty.

After several weeks, the applicants still in the game are consolidated. Conqueror Therefore, it presents them with a psychological and physical challenge, as the participants must know when to play as a team and when to compete alone for the ultimate victory. “The mind pulls the body, but the opposite is not the case. This is not Iron Man. There is also a strategy part and a salsa part, because reality. There are many unifying elements, and in the end, each of them connects to a different type of viewer,” explains the presenter of the audience success the competition has had so far. He admits that his biggest drawback to working long hours in this part of the world is dealing with the damp heat. persistent.

The Caribbean country has become a regular destination for the Spanish television industry. luxury villas in temptation island (Quatro and Telecinco) are there, as well fake lovethe new reality From Netflix with a similar premise presented precisely by Sanchez Silva. And also What a vacation!Competition Celebrity summer show presented by Luján Argüelles for Telecinco in the coming weeks. But the area in which they occur Conqueror It’s very special. Located in the south of the Samaná Peninsula, Los Haitises Natural Park is diverse in an area of ​​600 square kilometres. Players live among hundreds of limestone hills, known as mogotes, forests, intricate mangrove swamps, cliffs, swampy waters, and interconnected grottoes and caverns.

“The program team often landscapes these places after the consequences suffered by hurricanes and human intervention,” explains Goni, who is also the director of the acreage, in the middle of the so-called wet forest, because of the peculiar microclimate it generates. “At the production company, we’re two students of content, and this place in the Dominican Republic goes a long way,” its executive producer Pachi Alonso, who has recorded other versions in Argentina’s Patagonia and in Brazil’s Iguazu Falls, told this newspaper. They arrive with part of the team a month and a half before the recordings start to prepare the ground.

For a large part of the technical team of reality Made up of more than 250 professionals, contest registration is a challenge. The editors must sleep in the same camp as the contestant they accompany during the entire recording and the distances between locations are resolved on continuous boat trips coordinated by the production company.

ConquerorThe program team explains, It’s recorded in real time, with no drills and no script, though there is a test taker, climber Eric Lopez, who pre-works the challenges they pose to make sure they’re applicable and to give riders some clues that will help them ensure your safety.

Conrad’s text about those hidden regions of one’s mind inspired Francis Ford Coppola to depict war End of the world now. in jump Conqueror Grants were sought by those responsible for the production company Hostoil reality The visual bill is more cinematic than in its previous releases on ETB. Drones and more than a dozen cameras record one of the final tests of the competition in mid-June on the beach front. Raquel Sanchez Silva, who has presented other adventure formats such as survivors And Beijing ExpressAnd He thinks narration makes all the difference in this case. “In all of them there are severe tests that no one can finish, but how it is told is completely different this time. The allegory is between entertainment and documentary. When I do my work better here is when I am calmer, because it is an adventure in which everything is directed so that the protagonist He’s the contestant,” she explains.

Meanwhile, Joxan Goñi and part of the show’s technical team remain locked away a few feet away, in a small, cozy cabin that serves as a production control. The director watches the meeting between the finalists and presenters through a screen, and although there are many versions behind him, he reacts eagerly to the contestants’ responses. “In today’s recording, something happened between the contestants that continues to excite me. I still share with them,” he confirms, as if he were just another spectator.

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