Jorge Javier Vázquez is one of the most recognized television presenters in the Spanish audiovisual panorama. The native of Badalona has become synonymous with the world of the heart thanks to his double duty as presenter of Here there is tomato and, later, Sálvame. A success that was accompanied by a double-edged dagger, as it was associated with two controversial programs and performances that would remain to be remembered.
The communicator has reviewed all these aspects and more details about his life in the Special People Club podcast, presented by Esty Quesada. Jorge Javier has inaugurated the second season of the format in Podimo, where he has been able to recall several iconic scenes from his career since it began in the mid-90s. One of them took place precisely in Sálvame, describing it as a “night apotheosis.”
This scene gained widespread notoriety in the media during the spring of 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, under the name Merlos Place. During an intervention by video call by journalist Alfonso Merlos, at that time paired with the program’s collaborator Marta López, a woman in a bikini appeared in the background of the image. Later it would be discovered that that person was Alexia Rivas, at that time a reporter for Socialité.
“There are programs where suddenly everything comes together to make it magical. That night the bride was upset. Many situations occurred, it had a political component because there was a train crash between very right-wing people,” Vázquez expressed. Although he did not specify which specific program he was referring to, the newspaper archive reflects the Sábado Deluxe of April 25, 2020, which reached a 20% screen share and featured interventions such as Javier Negre.
Likewise, Jorge Javier also recalled several discomforts about the Campos family during the Tomate era: “When I was presenting it I was terrified of meeting Teresa Campos. She had a big impact on me because she could tell that she was one of my people. Finding a woman like her at that time, who talked about sex, divorce, our collective, abortion, was something unheard of. She was an activist, a lady who talked about everything that was not talked about. For me, working with her was like working with an icon.”
He himself admitted feeling somewhat uncomfortable during that stage, “having a hard time” talking about Terelu Campos and facing the beginning of television forums on the Internet. “One time I remember I was at home and I got into one and I saw what people thought about me and the show and it was like, ‘Holy shit.’ In the end, this is what happens if you make a controversial, controversial, transgressive program,” said the native of Badalona.
