Javier Cámara, as Juan Carrasco, in a still from the series. /
The Danes have ‘Borgen’. The Spanish, the series starring Javier Cámara, a satire that returns today with a new season
It is logical that the union series interest the real professionals who carry out this work, even if it is for the curiosity of the portrait or to be able to criticize them later. Most doctors have approached ‘Central Hospital’ at some time. The cops saw ‘Riot Control’ last year (and they were not very happy). And journalists still remember the fiction of José Coronado. In Spain many occupations have been approached from the audiovisual but it has been unusual for it to be done with that of politicians. All the more reason for them to run to know the cartoon that of them is made in ‘Vota Juan’, a production created by Diego San José and interpreted by Javier Cámara, which was later extended with another season called ‘Vamos Juan’ and now with a new, ‘Venga Juan’, which premieres today on HBO Max.
However, for the preparation of this report, it was difficult for us to find a representative of the institutions who have seen it (or who dares to recognize it). And that we knock on all doors, left and right. “It is a series, but that one has not followed it”, “They have told me that it is fine but I have not had time” are some of the answers they gave us when we asked them for their opinion, in case they feel represented in what they see, in case they recognize the goings-on that happen. Until we find one who does know Juan Carrasco and has followed in his footsteps.
“Seeing it makes me feel ashamed of myself, of what I do, of what I could do,” confesses Esteban González Pons, MEP and vice president of the European People’s Group, who acknowledges that he enjoyed watching it -more the first batch of chapters than the second – “because it seems written by a politician.” “It’s a parody, I say it’s like ‘Crematorio’ but as a joke, but it shows that the scriptwriters know what they are talking about, they have taken good advice. We are used to seeing series in which the authors imagine what politics is like or dream about how it should be, but they do not really tell what is really there, “he adds.
‘Vota Juan’ premiered in 2019 on TNT without making too much noise, despite how fun it was. It told how a Minister of Agriculture dared to stand up to his party and decided to appear in the primaries to run for the presidency of the Government. The protagonist is a mediocre manual, who has managed to occupy positions due to his lack of scruples and because a powerful sector has benefited from having someone presumably manageable among its ranks. Although then it turns against them. In 2020, ‘Vamos Juan’ was presented, in which the main character faced creating a match from scratch after not having finished too well in his (nothing that has not happened in recent years in our country). The mood of the story changed. Juan Carrasco became someone even more pathetic and there were times when it was even uncomfortable to look at him because of the embarrassment he caused others. To the third part, ‘Venga Juan’, he arrives with more hair – the hair graft in Turkey that they told us in the second season worked – with a blast and with a position in an electrician that he has arrived without any knowledge. But the corruption practiced in the past is going to take its toll on him and it will be the opportunity for the viewer to see that he can still be more petty.
«What interested me the most was the way he recreates the cabinet that surrounds the politician, it is very real. I enjoyed it because I’ve had people like them close by, like that judicious press officer who tries all the time not to screw up any more, who is the only one who dares to tell him the truth, that she really loves him. I have also met a few climbers, such as the young advisor, they are those who nudge to be by your side, but who, as soon as you lose power, they stop talking to you “, says González Pons, who also recognizes in the series the authority that Moncloa exercises. “I have not been a minister, but I have checked it closely.” The relationship with the party seems more forced. “That is more exaggerated.”
Three frames in the series. /
The press officer referred to is María Pujalte and the little boy, Adam Jezierski. The two repeat in the chapters that from today can be followed on HBO Max. Again both are going to be dragged, unintentionally, to the hells to which Juan is condemned, who, aware that his (political) end is approaching, has no objection to taking anyone away. He does it because he is mean, but also because he is a coward and does not know how to be alone anywhere. In the same bag of victims are his wife and daughter, in Logroño, who never manage to get him out of the way. Esty Quesada and Yaël Belicha resume in those roles, like the previous ones.
“People like to make sure that politicians are people, that they make mistakes like them, that they suffer from anxiety, that they have a private life that suffers from their activity.” Manuel Rodríguez, political scientist, political consultant and social innovation consultant at the Civic Chamber joins the conversation. “Juan Carrasco humanizes the politician, brings him closer to the public, seeing that he is self-conscious about being bald or that he does not get along with his daughter,” says this professional who has had to travel “behind the scenes” shown in the series. “The work in a cabinet consists of solving the day-to-day life of the politician and that sometimes leaves little room for strategy, so sometimes decisions are more random than is advisable,” he adds.
«In Spain we have had examples of political leaders who have oversized their possibilities, whose ego prevailed over reason. The series perpetuates the idea that many politicians seek their own interests above all and it is true in some cases, although there is everything in reality, but the ones that attract the most attention are these, ”says Rodríguez.
‘Parlament’, another case of success
“We have to laugh at ourselves, the criticism is very healthy. There is a lot of talk in the European Parliament about the case of ‘Parlament’, a hilarious production that takes place here ”, recommends González Pons. “There is more truth in these comedies than in some dramas like the French ‘Baron Noir’, which is very good, but is not credible, no one like the protagonist, with that background, can reach a position of power,” he explains. He also remembers ‘Yes, minister’, a British sitcom from the 80s from which many others later have drunk, such as the Juan Carrasco saga.
“The Danes have Borgen, we ‘Vota Juan’ and we must consume it with equal devotion.” Would it work the same if the plot turned into the management of a mayor or a minister? “No, of course, the conspiracy, the surprising speech, the corruption is of interest,” acknowledges the MEP.
A promotional image of ‘Borgen’.
‘Venga Juan’ opens already blessed by the nominations it has received for the Feroz awards, which will be resolved in January and which are voted by journalists specializing in film and television. It is a candidate in four categories (comedy, leading and supporting actors and actress) and shows all the desperate characters, looking into an abyss, to which they have been condemned after years of bad acting and looking the other way. Diego Soto and Pilar Palomero have joined the script work. And just as in the previous season, the chapter starring Anna Castillo stood out a lot, in this one that is sure to be talked about in which Manolo Solo captures all eyes, as a corrupt businessman. To see it there are a few weeks left, yes.
Video.
The trailer for ‘Venga Juan’.
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