Came the day. This Monday, September 18, represents a change in the structure of television in Spain. Ana Rosa Quintana has officially made her debut in the afternoons, after being in charge of Ana Rosa’s program for the last 18 years. The presenter opened TardeAR with a heartfelt tribute to María Teresa Campos and a tradition that is still in force on the screens: the completely white dress.
A custom that the communicator has put into practice with each premiere since 2005, and that has spread to other spaces such as And now Sonsoles, where Sonsoles Ónega also wore white in her first program of the second season. However, where does this tradition come from? The Antena 3 presenter assured that she had been directly inspired by Ana Rosa to follow the cycle, but the origins of this custom are more curious.
According to different media reports over the years, this use of the color white with each new television season is due to superstition. Ana Rosa herself considers it to be her favorite color, ideal for welcoming new beginnings and renewing energy. Likewise, image experts also give it other attributes: purity, reflection, impartiality, peace and cleanliness. Archetypes similar to those of a canvas that has yet to be painted.
The start of the broadcast was equally striking. A few first seconds of the program occupied by a young Ana Rosa, recreated through artificial intelligence. “Hello, I’m Ana Rosa, and I’ve been telling stories on television for 35 years. The TV reminds you of your mother saying ‘girl, don’t stick to the TV so much that you go blind’, it’s your son asleep in your arms with the adjustment letter in the background,” the presenter expressed in her initial speech.
“It will be getting inside an erupting volcano, flying in real time from the set to Thailand, traveling in time to the end of the Women’s World Cup, knowing if Trump’s trial is telling the truth.” On set, she continued remembering all the women who, together with her, have made television history in Spain: “Laura Valenzuela, the first presenter; Pilar Miró, the first female director; Lolo Rico, the first screenwriter; Carmen Sevilla, Lina Morgan, Rosa María Sardá, Concha García Campoy, Rafaella Carrà…”.
Her introduction to TardeAR concluded with a heartfelt tribute to her partner and rival in the mornings: María Teresa Campos. “I wanted to enter the screen to tell stories, because television is María Teresa. Wherever you are, telling stories, in the garden, alongside pioneering women, you will always be television history,” she said to the applause of the audience present on set.
