What happened to Miss Spain?: These were the galas that no television wants to do today
Bluper BEAUTY AND SCANDAL
The beauty pageant had its heyday in the 90s, being for many women the first springboard to jump to stardom.
December 12, 202110:28
Jose Manuel Avila Related news
How much we have changed... The nineties meant an explosion for television in which everything, or almost everything, was worth entertaining. The arrival of private television channels brought with it innovation and daring when it came to betting on formats that, to a greater or lesser extent, remain etched in the memory of the Spanish people. Programs that today would be, to say the least, difficult to replicate.
An example of this is the Miss Spain pageant. A mythical beauty pageant with decades of history behind it and that many consider extinct due to the fact that it is no longer broadcast on television. The last edition that was picked up on the small screen corresponds to 2008, the year in which Telecinco, which had been the chain in charge of broadcasting it, decided to withdraw from the project. From then on, Miss Spain continued to proclaim in the desert in search of a new television channel that would spread it. Impossible mission to this day, in which the vast majority of viewers do not know that this competition is still taking place.
Eva González receiving the crown of Miss Spain 2003.
The new wave of feminist thought, the lack of interest on the part of the audience in the last years of its broadcast and the lack of financial support in terms of sponsors, have ended with the broadcast of some galas that we all remember. A contest that had its time of glory in the late 90s and early 2000s, and that had memorable moments in which controversy and beauty went hand in hand.
In 2002, a report by El Mundo Televisión revealed the great lie of Miss Spain. The infiltration of a reporter as a candidate for the contest meant that, through a hidden camera, the journalistic group demonstrated that the title of Miss Alicante could be bought. An unprecedented scandal in the organization of the contest that ended with the attempted suicide of the head of the investigated delegation, María Elena Dávalos, who appeared in the program that was broadcast by Antena 3 trading with the crown of the aforementioned region. Shenanigans, cosmetic operations and influence peddling were some of the ingredients that made this documentary a success. A setback for Miss Spain, who was seen in the media against the ropes.
Given that at that time the beauty pageant was a good business, those responsible decided to carry out an image wash, and for this they had the collaboration of Marina D'or. An unprecedented tourism project in our country located in Oropesa del Mar (Castellón) that wanted to take advantage of the name of Miss Spain to promote itself and celebrate the emblematic election there. Politicians, artists, hordes of the press and a lot of glamour, gathered at the vacation spot for the competition. Some well-organized galas of great invoice that many still have in mind. Personalities such as Jesús Vázquez, Emma García, Carolina Ferre, Christian Gálvez, Carlos Baute or Paulina Rubio acted as masters of ceremonies to choose the most beautiful woman in the country and who would later represent us in Miss Universe. Elections from which girls as diverse as Helen Lindes, Eva González, María Jesús Ruiz or Lorena Bernal, among others, emerged.
Emma García with Miss Spain 2008 in the last broadcast of the contest on Telecinco.
Although it is true that figures like Eva González, professionally successful since her election, dignified the title of beauty, the personal scandals involving other girls did not sit well with an organization already marked by controversy. Love affairs with low-level characters of the heart and somewhat torrid situations did not leave the name of Miss Spain in a good place, as she saw how little by little her brightness was fading. A decline that was accompanied by a general disinterest on the part of the public, who no longer stood en masse in front of the television to see the representatives of the 17 autonomous communities of our country parade in bathing suits and at night.
The banality that is implicit in a beauty pageant collides squarely with any feminist approach that generates so much debate today. A reification of women that would not be viewed favorably if these contests, which continue to be held today, were broadcast on any television network in our country. Contrast this fact with the reality that exists in other European countries, such as France. And it is that our neighbors have managed to perpetuate the good reception of this contest by the public. Every year the Gallic country celebrates its national contest from which girls come out who later become quite popular, a competition in which the physique has ceased to be exclusively valued to appreciate other aspects such as social and artistic skills.
Miss France 2021 contest.
Reality that is also developed in a large part of Latin American and Asian countries, which continue to bet on this type of competition. A new era in beauty contests in which diversity is even enhanced with respect to beauty canons, an evolution that is necessary today if they want these competitions to continue to attract the attention of viewers.
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