May
18
Sábado Gigante gets a facelift
Last week in Los Angeles, the U.S. television networks unveiled their schedules for the 2008-2009 television season. Amid all the confirmations [Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been renewed, yay!] and cancellations [New Amsterdam got the axe; boo, hiss] was a little bit of news that caught my eye: the revamping (finally) of Sábado Gigante.
This wacky, tacky throwback of a variety show has been a staple of Spanish-language TV since 1962 (!). It airs every Saturday night for three hours and its host, Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, better known by his stage name Don Francisco, is in the Guiness Book of World Records for being the longest-running host of a TV show in history. Take that, Oprah!
Univision, the network that broadcasts the Miami-based program, said the show is finally going under the knife, so to speak, for a little digital nip/tuck. Univision execs were mum on the changes in the works except to say that the 68-year-old Mr. Kreutzberger will continue as the host but that the show would be “more quicker” and showcase a “more modern look,” reported the New York Times.
I’ve tried on numerous occasions to watch Sábado Gigante but couldn’t watch it for more than a couple of minutes. It’s just so bizarre and cutre, with the big-breasted, scantily-clad chicas, lame humor and cringe-inducing contests. Yesterday’s episode included a segment called “Abuelos con amores gigantes” and was a contest of young people looking for dates for their grandparents. Eww. Yes, I know Granny and Granddad need love too, but this type of matchmaking is played for laughs.
Don Francisco is a cultural icon in Latin America, so he must be doing something right. Can anyone enlighten me and explain what the appeal of Sábado Gigante is? (That’s not a rhetorical question. I really would like to know. Anybody?)
The Chileans love Don Francisco because he was so charitable on his show while it was just starting out in Chile. Nobody was giving prizes to such poor people like Don Francisco. His “Teletón,” modeled after Jerry Lewis’ Telethon, was also a first in Chile and perhaps even in all of Latin America.
He had a really good system for making his show about average people doing wacky and entertaining things and giving them the chance to win lots of fantastic prizes so when he took the show to Miami, all he had to do was tweek it to be mainly for Latinos living in the USA. Other than the professionals who come in, I think that the real attraction is giving real life average Latinos a chance to be in the spot light and the chance to win fantastic prizes.
Ryan,
Thanks very much for the insight and for the additional info about Don Francisco.