Lujan is back. Forget the dating shows for unredeemed or mother-dominated singles. This time the presenter directs an enlightened command that aims to reduce the digital gap that keeps many of our elders from the present. Brigada Tech premieres this Friday the 17th on TVE 1 at 10:15 p.m. Three grandmothers, Victoria, Charo and Pilar, will try to deepen and explain to the senior public, above all, how to function on the Internet, solve daily questions, defend against cyberattacks or even learn digital commerce. They will be guided by a cast of mentors and influencers made up of @sencillo, @lalachus3, @gersanc_, @rickygarcia and @cocinaconchia.
This brigade of 'cyber-grandmothers' will tour Spain in 13 45-minute episodes, filling local theaters and connecting with people their own age to become trusted instructors. The how and why is explained to us by Luján Argüelles herself.
Who are Victoria, Charo and Pilar, the three veteran "agents" who star in the show?
When we imagined the project we took into account all the older people of the Spanish population, which is a lot, and we wanted them to feel identified with the people they were going to see on TV. The story of The Golden Girls seemed wonderful to us and we know that in Mediterranean cultures wisdom passes largely through the figure of the grandmother. Everything matched.
Along with them, a cast of influencers with millions of followers. Because?
We understood that the program must be intergenerational and overcoming the digital divide is a matter for society as a whole; Thus, the kids had to see through those people whom they admire on social networks who also have a responsibility for Spain to get on the digital bandwagon. And it is that our economy presents some obstacles, such as that we are a country that is based on small and medium-sized companies (SMEs).
What subjects will you deal with to inform the public that is watching you?
On the one hand, the senior population, on which we focus. That the public feel safe and become familiar with digital, which is already part of our daily reality. It is important that SMEs, not multinationals or IBEX 35 companies, see on TV examples of small companies from Albacete, Córdoba or Logroño that have entered the international market thanks to the internet. And that they are doing well in countries like the US. In Spain there are many entrepreneurs who are leaders in the digital world and win international awards and are not given the visibility they deserve.
How is the format? Because you are going on tour in theaters all over the country…
We figured out how to do it. In a dish? If it's about waking up a society, you have to knock on the door. Too many things happen in big cities, so we go to small towns. And we will see stories of young people who are computer engineers and that after the pandemic, the family business was entering an important 'mayday' and they have started to digitize it. People who have started working with their parents and are achieving 75% of sales online: this is the concrete example of a butcher shop. They have rescued the family business.
I notice you exultant. Is it possible that you are more proud of Brigada Tech than many other previous works?
Since 2008 I have done things in which I have had a blast and I have discovered wonderful people. I have done entertainment and the public has also had a lot of fun, they have told me, I know. It is very important to live with enthusiasm, without it, you have many ballots to fail. Here we talk about stories of improvement, of the future, of building a society, of believing what we are and it is true, it covers many of the needs that I now have.
Do certain prejudices bother you? I mean if some believe that it will be a dating program or extreme profiles.
For a long time and it is a personal thing of mine, I refer to my book, I have worried about being a person who eliminates limiting beliefs from his head because they castrate and weigh down the human being. I would like all of us to work on this, but it is a matter of personal work and responsibility for each one. We propose to entertain with purpose, to entertain leaving a mark. The function of a public television is social, that is the main thing.
The last time we spoke, on the occasion of your book, Learning to Live Again, you opened up. Have you ever regretted being so honest?
No, nothing; maybe in some first interview but since I took action to explain exactly the purpose of what I had written and why, no. If I have to tell people how I see life or saw it before and the change I have experienced, I do it without hindrance.
You also told in the book how your separation process was and how it influenced you. Are you more stable in that sense? I don't know if you get me...
Are you asking me if I have a boyfriend? (laughs).
That's how it is. Do you have a boyfriend?
Well, the answer, to my regret, is no.
Going back to this previous phase of yours on television and what you said in your book, did you feel dependent on men?
Yes. It was another time, other realities, I internalized the beliefs of others and yes, there were times when I left my life in the hands of others. But anyway, that's how I decided and when you do that, even if it's your mother, you're allowing someone else's criteria to prevail and you'll most likely suffer frustration.
Finally, will your daughter be watching you at the premiere this Friday?
I hope so, that she is sitting next to me! She has met the grandmothers, she is a fan of Charo and the digital prescribers. Although she is still very young: she adores Lola Indigo and in ten minutes she is interested in something else.
