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Telepasión Española, usually shortened to Telepasión, is a Spanish Christmas Eve television musical special aired on La 1 of Televisión Española for 28 editions since 1990. It fea…
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Investigate this subjectTelepasión Española, usually shortened to Telepasión, is a Spanish Christmas Eve television musical special aired on La 1 of Televisión Española for 28 editions since 1990. It features many of the presenters of the shows and the actors from the series of the network performing well-known songs in elaborate choreographed musical numbers.
Telepasión Española, usually shortened to Telepasión, is a Spanish Christmas Eve television musical special aired on La 1 of Televisión Española for 28 editions since 1990. It features many of the presenters of the shows and the actors from the series of the network performing well-known songs in elaborate choreographed musical numbers.
Telepasión Española was created by Javier Caballé, Óscar Gómez, and Jordi García Candau. The first episode was broadcast on 31 December 1990 and has aired every year since then with the exception of 2005 and 2007–2013. Except for the first two editions broadcast on New Year's Eve, the show is broadcast on Christmas Eve following the King's Christmas Message on La 1 of Televisión Española (TVE). It has been the most watched show in its time slot constantly and together with the other special programs broadcast that night on La 1, make the channel the most watched in Spain consecutively on Christmas Eve.
Each edition focuses on a theme, and has a main comedic storyline starring the hosts, interspersed with elaborate choreographed musical numbers performed by many of the presenters of the shows and the actors from the series of all TVE channels. Presenters from Radio Nacional de España (RNE) also perform, and technicians and other staff from both networks appear uncredited in some of the numbers, waving from their workstations or dancing in the background. The RTVE Symphony Orchestra and Choir participate occasionally. The show usually ends with a large group musical number after which the hosts wish the audience a Merry Christmas on behalf of all the employees of Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE).
The presenters and actors sing well-known songs in their own voices, lip-syncing to pre-recorded tracks. The lyrics of the songs are usually adapted to the theme or given a Christmas touch. The elaborate musical numbers are staged either on purpose-built sets in a studio, on the actual sets of the shows or series themselves, on other locations in and around RTVE production centers, or on real indoor and outdoor locations around the country. The actors from the fiction series appear as themselves in current clothing, or as their characters in costume. The 2025 edition features the participation of more than 130 credited presenters and actors, including for the first time the anchors of the seventeen regional newscasts of TVE.
Telepasión Española has undergone a profound critical and technical evolution divided into three periods. Its first two editions achieved unanimous acclaim thanks to a groundbreaking and clever meta-television parody that revealed the network's backstage, and the cultural impact of showing the most serious news anchors singing or in a relatable register. However, starting with its third edition in 1992 and continuing through 2006, the format entered a sharp decline due to a loss of novelty, repetitive scripts, clumsier humor, outdated musical repertoires, and poor staging. After an eight year-long cancellation, since its return in 2014 there has been a progressive redemption and dignification of the show, according to critics: the musical repertoire was modernized, complex high-quality choreography and camera direction were introduced, and the staging was decentralized by opting for meticulously chosen real locations. Critics have also highlighted that, although the historical vocal imbalance between the performers persists because most are not professional singers, these flaws have been significantly mitigated by advanced audio post-production tools like autotune, consolidating the modern special into a highly dignified holiday show that serves as RTVE's traditional Christmas greeting.
Since 2007, the show has had a counterpart on RNE titled Radiopasión Española, or simply Radiopasión, where the radio presenters also sing well-known songs.
Source: Telepasión Española (CC BY-SA)
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