Between 2010 and 2019, the video platform YouTube celebrated its most viewed posts of the year in a compilation video titled YouTube Rewind. There was hardly any presence in Spanish, except sporadically for ElRubius, Luzu, YellowMellow and a few others. The pandemic caused this Christmas tradition of virtual community to disappear, but years earlier an alternative had already appeared in Spanish, promoted by Valencian Alec Hernández, whose channel has more than 3.15 million subscribers. It was titled Hispanic Rewind. And he is still alive in 2023.
This recording reviews the best of the year on the Internet, its social networks and platforms in an ambitious production of almost 30 minutes. 70 well-known content creators in Spanish took part, including DjMaRiiO, TheGrefg, Illojuan, Auronplay, Jordi Wild, Gemita, Lluna Clark and Perxita. This time the compilation video was funded by three sponsors, a spicy snack brand, an online bank and a beer brand. Alec Hernández claims to have exceeded the budget more than in previous years, which is why he spent more than 200,000 euros on the recording. In the first six days of its release, the video reached eight million views on YouTube and generated tons of related content that also earned millions of views.
“For YouTube, like many other industries, the United States is the center of the world. I've been thinking about what we could do to make this tradition special. It is a way to justify the Spanish and Latin American community, which generates an enormous number of visits to platforms worldwide,” said Alec Hernández this Thursday in a telematics conversation from Valencia.
With a clear cinematic vocation, this year's commemoration refers to viral moments created on Twitter, TikTok, Twitch, Instagram and YouTube itself that transcend the entire society. There are references to the much-discussed Session 53 of Shakira and Bizarrap singing, to the Colombian's breakup with footballer Gerard Piqué, to Luis Rubiales' controversial kiss on Jenni Hermoso at the World Cup, to David Bisbal's surreal comments and to #Barbenheimer . the unexpected and ironic marriage of two very different films, Barbie and Oppenheimer, which hit theaters on the same weekend this summer. Two new stars of urban music also stand out: Peso Pluma and Quevedo; Fantasy and horror cinema blockbusters such as “Transformers: The Beasts Awakens” and “Five Nights at Freddy's”; Sports phenomena such as the Evening of the Year organized by Ibai Llanos; and many video games, from Counter Strike 2 and Zelda to Call of Duty and Fortnite.
A moment from the filming of “Hispanic Rewind 2023”, inspired by the action film saga “Kingsman”. DHC Films
The “Hispanic Rewind 2023” was filmed in 16 locations in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Teruel, Andorra and Mexico.DHC Films
Filmed in 16 locations in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Andorra, Teruel and Mexico, this year's proposal is inspired by the action genre and the Kingsman film saga, reproducing one of its most spectacular scenes. With these annual videos, Alec Hernández wants to promote the activities of the company DHC FILMS, founded by his brother David, with which he already shoots commercials. And “demonstrate the potential of the production company and make it a catapult for scaling to larger productions in film or series,” he admits. For this reason, there is a story thread in Hispanic Rewind this time. And a lot of self-parody. In this short 27-minute fiction, Hernández himself is kidnapped by the YouTube community, which, angered by previous editions of the video, has reached the end of its patience. The YouTubers decided to build an artificial intelligence computer that will be responsible for creating this year's compilation. This AI, which shows its identity through a robot called ROB, absorbs all digital content creators to create the long-awaited video.
Hate on networks is one of the main topics of this year, which the video has not been able to escape since its premiere on December 22nd. One of the main criticisms from users was the lack of Latin American representation in an initiative that describes itself as Hispanic. Hernández explains that he traveled to Mexico last year and assembled a team responsible for filming each year with content creators from across the continent. He admits that he brought together fewer names in the final montage than he would have liked because “overcoming the enormous distances was made difficult by the personal summons to a Mexican studio.”
Alec Hernández at the moment of recording.DHC Films
The pre-production phase of Hispanic Rewind 2023 began in mid-September, while recording began in October and ended in November. According to the production company, more than 50 technical professionals went through the project and 100 VFX artists worked in post-production. Dealing with the egos of so many internet stars together was one of the most complicated parts of this year-end video, the creator admits. “They are colleagues, but not friends. Content creators have their conflicts with each other, as is the case in any competitive sector such as Formula 1 or tennis,” says Hernández.
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