The secret of Puente Viejo is finally revealed: final chapter

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When Michelle Bachelet visited Spain in 2014, the Kings Felipe and Letizia offered her a gala dinner which, at the express wish of the President of Chile, was attended by María Bouzas , the villain of The Secret of Puente Viejo . Nine years after its premiere, back in February 2011 on Antena 3, having broadcast 2,323 episodes and in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, the longest-running series on Spanish television bids farewell, becoming a hit with audiences worldwide.

Broadcast in more than 60 countries, and a phenomenon in Italy and Latin America, Puente Viejo has brought together an average of 1.6 million viewers per chapter in our country, with a desktop screen share of over 15% . Along the way, he has catapulted actors such as Álvaro Morte and Jaime Lorente, both performers from La Casa de Papel , Álex Gadea and Megan Montaner. But the definitive challenge was to put the finishing touch to a fiction whose filming was stopped due to the state of alarm.

“It was quite complex, but when the shoot was cut we had the end practically recorded. We had five days, three and a half days of shooting. So in post-production we took all the gross and the material that we had, we went back the last chapters until we hit the key of closure, and last week we shot the fringes that we had in the air, "says Luis Santamaría , executive producer of the Boomerang and Atresmedia fiction.

Although their operations center is in Leganés, they moved to Guadalajara , already in phase 1 of the de-escalation, to finish off the outcome of this novel, expanding the security measures they had already adopted in the last days of recording. “At that time, work was done to avoid crowds in the common areas and with a mask, although there was no obligation. Now there is an official filming security protocol for all fiction, ”says the producer.

“Apart from the fact that the choral sequences are reduced, there is less technical equipment on each of the sets, continuous days to prevent people from coinciding in specific dining rooms, exit and entry points, foot disinfection when entering, complete equipment almost as if we were surgeons. And the same happens to the artistic team: they are covered with a mask, screen and gloves during rehearsals until the moment of the action. It is a new routine that we will all have to adapt to and we have done it in record time, "explains Santamaría. Accustomed, it must be said, that this almost perfect machinery works with the accuracy of a Swiss watch. And if something fails, adjust it so fast that it is imperceptible.

Screenwriters have traveled 35 years of the history of Spain

“We have 24 fixed actors who practically shoot in double units every day, so that any unforeseen event can change the filming plan. From the time an interpreter falls ill to falling asleep. That's what all production design is for. For example, we have a screenwriter on set in case a scene needs to be rewritten. We have never stopped broadcasting, not even in summer. And that forces you to be very effective in solving unforeseen events, "he says.

The Puente Viejo team is made up of almost 160 people. Almost 800 actors and nearly 24,000 extras have passed through their sets , having worn around 3,500 costume changes. In addition, they have built a total of 700 sets and created nearly 400 fictional newspapers. The scriptwriters have written some 39,000 sequences, covering 35 years of the History of Spain: from 1896 to 1931 . In this time there have been 20 weddings, 37 deaths and 15 births.

The Academy of Television Sciences and Arts recognized the series by granting it in October 2016 the Iris Jury Prize "for contributing to the promotion, development and strengthening of the Spanish audiovisual industry by creating a content factory that generates more than one chapter to the day and for being a quarry of professional talent that has already crossed borders, also becoming an international success. "

Today, at 10:45 pm and therefore in prime time , the long-awaited goodbye will be broadcast on Antena 3, "a very powerful and very exciting finale at the height of the series that is sure to speak," says Santamaria. The aforementioned Bouzas, Doña Francisca and the only actress present in practically the entire series, assures for her part: «I think there could be no other ending. And it is a great event ».

A very powerful and very exciting finale awaits us at the height of the series that is sure to speak.

Sandra Cervera , another of the actresses who rose to fame with Puente Viejo, shares these opinions saying: «I think Puente Viejo would not be faithful to its essence if it really did not leave the viewer on edge. I have an intuition with this series and it is that, artistically, it is impossible to close it ».

However, there will be as many questions as answers: "Now I know what Emilia had to return for, " she concludes enigmatically.

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