He works seven days a week to fulfill his life’s professional dream: to host a morning television show, as personalities such as Jesús Hermida, Pepe Navarro and María Teresa Campos did at the time. When Jaime Cantizano (Jerez de la Frontera, 50 years old) received the call from TVE to take over the management of Mañaneros at La 1 (co-produced with La Cometa TV), he decided to combine it with his Saturday and Sunday radio show on Onda Cero, Por The end is not Monday.
Barely two weeks have passed since his double shift and the fatigue has taken the form of a cold. But it’s paying off for him, he admits a few minutes after completing his live performance on the sixth set of Prado del Rey (Madrid).
Questions. How does it feel to leave a live show that lasts so many hours?
Answer. I have a passion for live music. I don’t feel comfortable in recorded spaces. I’ve been doing this for 25 years and mañaneros meant degreasing some mechanisms that I hadn’t greased. Now television has a faster pace. You must use certain technological tools that enable you, for example, to read a text almost simultaneously as it is being written to you by the editorial team. I thought there was little to learn or discover from television. And it turns out that at my age, I’m taking an intensive course in recycling.
Q It is a television that is far from its times: “Where are you, darling?” (DEC).
R. It’s completely different. I’m not a nostalgic person and I don’t think anyone needs to apologize for things from the past. We’re entering a cycle where there’s a time to hit a guest on set.
Q And did it happen in this program?
R. At Atresmedia there were a number of boundaries that were never crossed. I refer to the last few cycles, but now we are entering a different phase.
After a long time, we on public television are using tools or ammunition that private television also used
Q Many current magazine presenters celebrate this cycle change. Are you also referring to the ending of Sálvame?
R. I am happy to agree with my colleagues about the cycle change. When they asked me about the ending of Sálvame, I remembered that they had changed the TV language. I competed with them [con DEC] and it was very difficult to get where they wanted to go. We couldn’t match their rhythm or their way of making television.
Q And that’s it?
R. Yes.
Q Despite the surprise of Telecinco’s Antena 3, it is La 1 that shakes up the television season with an increasingly competitive offer.
R. After a long time, we on public television are using tools or ammunition that private television also used. At TVE you have to make television without complexes, although always with limits.
Q For years he was responsible for Antena 3 in the afternoons.
R. Yes, and I absolutely did that in the morning before Susanna Griso. It was my dream, but the broadcaster decided at that moment that the afternoon’s battle was the fiercest. Here a tomato was running on Telecinco and the managers thought they had to pull out the knife there.
Q Why did I want morning?
R. It was a professional fixation. 20 years ago I thought I could have time in the morning. It took me all this time to get there, but I finally got there. And it was exactly the least expected moment. In the month of March I had already planned my professional life and thought that my television phase was over and I should concentrate on the radio that gave me so much joy, first on Cadena Dial and now on Onda Cero.
Q Was your clue in the morning exactly on this chain, Jesús Hermida?
R. Yes, we paid tribute to him on the first day of broadcast in Mañaneros. But that also applies to Pepe Navarro and María Teresa Campos. It was a surprise to me, but deep down I knew it would happen.
It is unbearable to constantly be demanding and maintain pressure
Q In return, he works seven days a week. A cold in mid-September is normal.
R. There are times when combining is unavoidable. It depends on the seasons. For seven years I have had the opportunity to devote myself to my private life, which is fundamental to me. So far I have been able to enjoy the afternoons and several rest days per week at Onda Cero. There are times when you have to get on the train. And I changed my perspective. It’s unbearable to be demanding and constantly under pressure.
Q Do you mean fear?
R. Talking about mental health is now very common. I know what fear is. In my case it depends on the level of personal demands in all areas. I have to live with it because it’s in my DNA. So you have to know how to deal with it. I don’t need to argue with her right now.
Q But he once had an anxiety attack as he was about to board a plane shortly before his holiday in the Seychelles.
R. The body and mind are very intelligent. It was a very nice moment when DEC achieved ratings of over 30%. When everything turns out in your favor, a certain feeling of dizziness sets in. It was exactly a Sunday before I rested. I looked at the terrace of my house, took a deep breath and didn’t like seeing myself at that moment.
Q In what sense?
R. I didn’t like seeing the feeling of weakness and dissatisfaction. That I didn’t know what situation I was in, that I didn’t feel complete. Apparently, even if you have everything, you must have the right to express that feeling.
Q How was your time in Sabor a ti with Ana Rosa Quintana?
R. I arrived through a series of coincidences. Someone sent a VHS tape and the suggestion came through. I panicked because Antonio Hidalgo had played this role for a long time and I didn’t have his entertainment skills. I compared myself to him and there was a moment when I thought I couldn’t do it. I had to find another way.
Q It was a different magazine than the one she publishes now, there were no political editorials.
R. It’s been 25 years… We’ve all evolved. I think that when a professional reaches a certain point and a certain age, one must understand that he or she will show themselves as they see fit. We live in a time of rejection and political divisions. I think we should slow down and understand that the person in front of us doesn’t think the same way we do. And nothing happens.
Regardless of their vote, people have understood that limiting already acquired rights is not possible; That you can’t take a step back
Q You also presented Pasapalabra in your early days. Can you imagine never having left it and still being there?
R. I spent 9 years at DEC and wanted to leave twice. There’s always that moment when you feel like you’ve spent too much time somewhere and need to try other things. Over time you learn that it’s better to be the way you are… because it rains a lot outside.
Q He usually remembers a sentence that a blind devotee told him: “I heard you on TV, I see you on the radio.”
R. I started with the radio. It is the one that has given me the most rewarding moments of my entire career. It made me more transparent with the audience. Deep down, it gives me great satisfaction. And that made me fulfill my dream of watching morning television.
Q Before, he didn’t talk so naturally about his sexual condition. What has changed?
R. Nothing has really changed. The thing is, I was asked very little and never had to invent anything. As a child, I got used to living without too many explanations. Years ago, a false rumor spread like wildfire that I had married the captain of a Seville soccer team. At that moment I realized that whether I gave explanations or not would hardly change the situation.
Q Is it more necessary to give explanations (and examples) in today’s Spain than back then?
R. Spanish society has evolved in extraordinary ways over the last 25 years. Regardless of their vote, people have understood that limiting already acquired rights is not possible; That you can’t take a step back.
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