Milá calls Cortés an animal, compares Hermoso to Agustina

Milá brands Cortés an animal, equates Hermoso with Agustina

During the premiere of TVE's *El mejor de la historia* on February 16, 2024, Mercedes Milá called Hernán Cortés an "animal" and declared footballer Jenni Hermoso a 21st-century hero. The journalist, part of the list of 50 candidates, attacked the Extremaduran conqueror immediately upon starting the show. "He was an impressive killer. How can he be a hero? Villain, villain, very villain," she stated. The program seeks Spain's most relevant historical figure from a selection of 50 names, divided into five groups of ten, chosen via a survey of 2,500 people based on a prior list of 150 created by an unidentified expert committee.

The candidate selection already revealed uncomfortable data: only 10 women versus 40 men, with regions like Valencia left without representation. The first group included Agustina de Aragón, Andrés Iniesta, Emilio Aragón, Federico García Lorca, Fernando Alonso, Francisco de Goya, Hernán Cortés, Ferran Adrià, Lola Flores, and Rosalía de Castro. The night's winner, receiving 62% of the vote, was Lorca, who advances to the final.

Jenni Hermoso as the new Agustina de Aragón

When Agustina de Aragón finished eighth, host Silvia Intxaurrondo asked who her modern equivalent would be. Milá did not hesitate: "Today's Agustina is Jenni Hermoso." The studio audience reacted coldly, which the journalist criticized minutes later: "When I said Jenni Hermoso, you all went absolutely silent. I don't understand it." Santiago Segura replied ironically: "The director forgot to ask for applause."

The comparison between the footballer and the heroine of the Siege of Zaragoza is not innocent. Agustina de Aragón became famous for firing a cannon at Napoleonic troops. According to Milá's narrative, Jenni Hermoso became a symbol of a different battle: that of consent and the scandal surrounding Luis Rubiales' non-consensual kiss after the 2023 World Cup. However, the parallel mixes two centuries, two wars, and two types of heroism that have little in common.

Hernán Cortés, between military genius and villain

The night's hardest clash was between Milá and José Manuel García-Margallo. The former minister defended Cortés as a "military genius" capable of defeating the Aztec Empire, home to 7.5 million people. "You cannot judge the 16th century as the 20th," he argued. Milá responded that Cortés was "an animal" and that all conquerors were alike: "To kill, to kill, to kill. Look at what the Aztecs were, what the Mayans were... To wipe them all out."

Margallo insisted there is a Black Legend about Cortés and claimed he founded Mexico. "If we judge with 21st-century eyes, he was a beast," interjected Santiago Segura, attempting to make peace without success. When Luz Sánchez Mellado asked if Spain had apologized for Cortés' actions, Margallo was blunt: "Let López Obrador apologize." The former minister even said that if Cortés had been French, he would have appeared first on the list.

The ghost of Franco and lack of parity

The program aired a video asking university students about the 50 selected figures. One young man missed Francisco Franco. Milá dismissed the youth with contempt: "That one with that look? With that haircut he wore?" Intxaurrondo revealed that 1,189 people had answered on the program's website that Franco was missing. "Let them eat their bread," Milá concluded sharply.

The list of 50 has an evident bias: 40 men and 10 women. Valencia is one of the regions without representation. The expert committee that made the preliminary selection of 150 was never identified during the program. Parity, therefore, was not a criterion. Nor was territorial diversity.

Emilio Aragón, Opus Dei, and his mother

Emilio Aragón finished tenth. In a video, he proclaimed that the most important person in his life was his mother, Rita. Milá blurted out: "Is this guy from Opus Dei?" Margallo asked if that influenced the ranking. Segura replied: "I am not from Opus Dei and I assure you the most important person in the world is my mother." The gaffe remained one of the night's anecdotes.

Ferran Adrià was ninth, Agustina de Aragón eighth, Lola Flores seventh, Rosalía de Castro sixth, Hernán Cortés fifth, Iniesta fourth, and Fernando Alonso third. The final between Goya and Lorca was resolved with 62% for the poet. Margallo recalled that Lorca was a "contradictory man" who in his later years desired a military dictatorship, according to his biographer Ian Gibson. Neither Milá nor Intxaurrondo rebutted the fact.

What does TVE seek with this program?

TVE seeks Friday-night viewership with a format mixing history, spectacle, and controversy. The choice of 50 candidates, with only 10 women, already anticipates the type of debate generated. The program aired live, although it switched to pre-recorded segments to broadcast the student video. The audience will decide Spain's most relevant historical figure among the five finalists.

The result of the first night leaves clear data: Lorca, with 62%, swept past Goya. Four more finalists remain to be chosen in subsequent programs. And then, only one of the five will be proclaimed by the audience. The question is whether the format will withstand the wear of controversies or if, conversely, these will become its main draw.