Online forum debates TVE New Year's Eve bells and Spain's decline
A social media thread mixes criticism of the TVE presenter's appearance with theories regarding Spain's national decay since 1700.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Online forum debates TVE New Year's Eve bells and Spain's decline
Are six years really enough to completely destroy a country? That is the question hovering over a discussion that begins with the TVE (Spanish public broadcaster) New Year's Eve bells and ends as a reckoning over Spain's decline. The trigger: the selection of Lalachus and Chicote to ring in the new year on the public channel, a casting choice that some see as a revolution and others as yet another sign that something is breaking.
The controversy is not new. Even last year, there was murmuring about the presence of 'piquitos' (a term used for certain body types) on the same set. But this time the issue escalates: accusations of fatphobia are exchanged, white privilege is invoked, and some even call for the bells to be reported for "promoting hatred against minorities." Ultimately, no one is talking about the grapes.
From the bells to national decline
The thematic leap is dizzying. In just a few messages, the conversation shifts from criticizing a presenter's physique to discussing whether Spain has been cooking its own downfall for three centuries. Some place the start of the decline in 1998-1999, with the first property bubble and the arrival of the first immigrant contingents; others go back to 2004, with the arrival of Zapatero and the gender violence law; the most ambitious place the starting point at the Treaty of Utrecht in 1700 or the Treaty of Paris in 1898.
The discussion on social media adds another layer. It is argued that these did not start gaining popularity until 2009 with Facebook, and that Twitter did not become mainstream until 2012. The YouTuber phenomenon arrived later, and the first influencers in 2014. With TikTok, everything has become mass-marketed in a way described as anything but spontaneous. The circulating thesis: we have gone from being citizens to consumers, and from there to mere vote-suppliers for political parties that are all the same.
Non-canonical bodies as a battlefield
The choice of Lalachus has made her physique the center of the debate. One side maintains that it is the first time a woman with a non-canonical body has hosted the bells, celebrating it as big news. Another side responds that Chicote and Pedroche have been in the same role for years without anyone commenting on their bodies, and that people are now crying foul over what used to be a joke.
The most common argument: they can make jokes about their bellies, about guys, about drugs or drunkenness, and say that men are all idiots. Also about old people, bald people, or ugly people. And they are always hilarious. The asymmetry, it is said, is the real issue.
Some go further and propose reporting the bells for "promoting white privilege" and thereby hatred toward minorities, hoping the presenters lose their contracts and are replaced by other profiles. The proposal is made with irony, but it summarizes the climate well.
Ramón García, the cape, and nostalgia
There is no shortage of lamenting for the past. It is remembered that when Ramón García (a Spanish TV presenter) hosted the bells with his Spanish cape and Igartiburu, Spain was a paradise. The former is singled out as a traitor for not having asked for a 'pico' (a type of grape) from Jenny after the bells, in one of the most repeated anecdotes.
Nostalgia works as an economic argument: with the internet, one can watch the New Year's bells of other countries sharing the same time zone, and the comparison does not favor TVE. The end-of-year show is described as a space for grateful stomachs, neither the most harmful nor the most expensive.
The political trench
The debate drifts toward the political framework. There is discussion on whether the country, the nation, and the state are different concepts, and if any are truly at risk of disappearing. The prevailing conclusion: the Spanish nation is an artificial construct of powerful minorities looking out for their own interests, and if it disappears, it will be because it suits those minorities or because they are defeated by others.
References appear to the 1978 Constitution and its supposed fall, with responsibility shared between Zapatero and the King Emeritus. The 11M bombings, structural bankruptcy, the liquidation of rights, and a suicidal economic model financed through mass access to the interbank market are also mentioned. The diagnosis is relentless: rights heading toward the fourth world, a third world maintained with grandma's inheritance.
The closing: the final firework display
The conversation ends where it began: with the certainty that this is the final firework display of something that has been brewing throughout the entire democracy. It is suggested that instead of eating grapes, the presenter should devour a hamburger with every bell. It is predicted that even semaglutide won't fix it.
And meanwhile, the initial question remains unanswered. Six years, three centuries, or the entire democracy: no one agrees on when the disaster began. The only thing that is clear is that the bells are no longer what they used to be, and neither is the country watching them.
Are six years really enough to completely destroy a country? That is the question hovering over a discussion that begins with the TVE (Spanish public broadcaster) New Year's Eve bells and ends as a reckoning over Spain's decline. The trigger: the selection of Lalachus and Chicote to ring in the new year on the public channel, a casting choice that some see as a revolution and others as yet another sign that something is breaking.
The controversy is not new. Even last year, there was murmuring about the presence of 'piquitos' (a term used for certain body types) on the same set. But this time the issue escalates: accusations of fatphobia are exchanged, white privilege is invoked, and some even call for the bells to be reported for "promoting hatred against minorities." Ultimately, no one is talking about the grapes.
From the bells to national decline
The thematic leap is dizzying. In just a few messages, the conversation shifts from criticizing a presenter's physique to discussing whether Spain has been cooking its own downfall for three centuries. Some place the start of the decline in 1998-1999, with the first property bubble and the arrival of the first immigrant contingents; others go back to 2004, with the arrival of Zapatero and the gender violence law; the most ambitious place the starting point at the Treaty of Utrecht in 1700 or the Treaty of Paris in 1898.
The discussion on social media adds another layer. It is argued that these did not start gaining popularity until 2009 with Facebook, and that Twitter did not become mainstream until 2012. The YouTuber phenomenon arrived later, and the first influencers in 2014. With TikTok, everything has become mass-marketed in a way described as anything but spontaneous. The circulating thesis: we have gone from being citizens to consumers, and from there to mere vote-suppliers for political parties that are all the same.
Non-canonical bodies as a battlefield
The choice of Lalachus has made her physique the center of the debate. One side maintains that it is the first time a woman with a non-canonical body has hosted the bells, celebrating it as big news. Another side responds that Chicote and Pedroche have been in the same role for years without anyone commenting on their bodies, and that people are now crying foul over what used to be a joke.
The most common argument: they can make jokes about their bellies, about guys, about drugs or drunkenness, and say that men are all idiots. Also about old people, bald people, or ugly people. And they are always hilarious. The asymmetry, it is said, is the real issue.
Some go further and propose reporting the bells for "promoting white privilege" and thereby hatred toward minorities, hoping the presenters lose their contracts and are replaced by other profiles. The proposal is made with irony, but it summarizes the climate well.
Ramón García, the cape, and nostalgia
There is no shortage of lamenting for the past. It is remembered that when Ramón García (a Spanish TV presenter) hosted the bells with his Spanish cape and Igartiburu, Spain was a paradise. The former is singled out as a traitor for not having asked for a 'pico' (a type of grape) from Jenny after the bells, in one of the most repeated anecdotes.
Nostalgia works as an economic argument: with the internet, one can watch the New Year's bells of other countries sharing the same time zone, and the comparison does not favor TVE. The end-of-year show is described as a space for grateful stomachs, neither the most harmful nor the most expensive.
The political trench
The debate drifts toward the political framework. There is discussion on whether the country, the nation, and the state are different concepts, and if any are truly at risk of disappearing. The prevailing conclusion: the Spanish nation is an artificial construct of powerful minorities looking out for their own interests, and if it disappears, it will be because it suits those minorities or because they are defeated by others.
References appear to the 1978 Constitution and its supposed fall, with responsibility shared between Zapatero and the King Emeritus. The 11M bombings, structural bankruptcy, the liquidation of rights, and a suicidal economic model financed through mass access to the interbank market are also mentioned. The diagnosis is relentless: rights heading toward the fourth world, a third world maintained with grandma's inheritance.
The closing: the final firework display
The conversation ends where it began: with the certainty that this is the final firework display of something that has been brewing throughout the entire democracy. It is suggested that instead of eating grapes, the presenter should devour a hamburger with every bell. It is predicted that even semaglutide won't fix it.
And meanwhile, the initial question remains unanswered. Six years, three centuries, or the entire democracy: no one agrees on when the disaster began. The only thing that is clear is that the bells are no longer what they used to be, and neither is the country watching them.
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (100 replies).
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