There are groups that are not usually the protagonists of fiction. One of these groups is, without a doubt, that of housekeepers, those who clean hotel rooms. Las invisibles, the new series that premieres today on the SkyShowtime platform, will precisely aim “to make visible this collective and their precarious work”, explains its creator Héctor Lozano (MerlÃ).
The protagonists are a group of housekeepers from a five-star hotel on the Mediterranean coast. “We are a tourist country and I thought it would be interesting to see this other side of tourism”, points out Lozano. “I don’t know how they endure doing up to 26 rooms in six hours with everything that entails (back and muscle pain, depression, anxiety…) and with the fear of taking leave in case someone else takes her place â€, relates Lozano, who wanted to reflect “this very hard work even though obviously the first objective of the series is to entertainâ€.
To document himself, he spoke to members of the Las Kellys union (as they call themselves “las que limpian”, in Spanish), many of whom claimed that they are not invisible. This is where the title of the series came from. Some of them have already seen the first chapter and have thanked their creator for having conveyed their truth with such realism.
Las invisibles has a luxurious cast that includes Lolita, MarÃa Pujalte, Elena Irureta and the Mexican Yoshira Escárrega. Lolita is Espe, “a strong woman with a lot of character but also weak and sensitive, that is to say, human”, he continues. Within a marriage that holds on due to inertia, Espe will experience a sudden infatuation with a new hotel worker.
One of her best friends and companions is Isabel, in charge of MarÃa Pujalte. “An insecure woman with more fears than Espe, who goes from work to home and vice versa and doesn’t want problems.” The arrival of a little brother at home will shake up his life.
Elena Irureta is Pilar, who dies at the beginning of the first episode from a heart attack while making a bed in the hotel. “Her voice-over will follow her friends and in some way watch over them and take care of them”, reveals the creator of the series, who also goes on to say that “since Pilar wanted to be a dancer, in each chapter she imagines at some point the friends dancing, from a sirtaki to a pasdoble; they are small pills that give unity to the seriesâ€.
Yoshira Escárrega completes the main cast. He gives life to Gladys, the youngest of all, “she arrived from Mexico some time ago and will be the one who holds the group together when demanding improvements to working conditions”.
“These women are essential in the tourism sector, but they seem invisible not only to hoteliers but also to customers,” she continues. He would like viewers to see these workers in a different way after watching the series: “People will realize that a kind word, a kind look or leaving the room with dignity is very much appreciated because they have to do the minimum It would be fantastic if this empathy was achieved”.
Despite the drama and suffering of the protagonists to move forward with their lives and families, “the joy and good vibes between them is very present; in this sense it is an optimistic and hopeful series in the fight against its exploitation”.
