Don Francisco had big plans for 2020, however, the Covid-19 pandemic forced him to close and marked a change of course, which led him to a deep process of self-reflection that currently produced a 400-page book. and a new show for CNN en Español.
At 80 years and 59 years of experience, the Chilean communicator maintains a vital conversation and the enthusiasm of a beginner. Being away from the room and without contact with his audience is not an option for the animator, who set up a virtual studio in an office near his residence in Miami, from where he will reconnect with his audience on February 15-26, at 10 am: 00 pm (Puerto Rico time), with Don Francisco: Reflections 2021.
“I never left. I’ve been in quarantine for a year because of my age. I had many dreams in 2020, for me it was a very special year, a holiday here, a holiday in Chile … I wanted to go through my life, I wanted to invite my friends and, finally, everything it became nothing. “, said without hesitation the holder of a Guinness record for the longest-running variety show in the history of television, Sabado Gigante, from 1962 to 2015.
During the barracks he unfolded his traditional Teleton, although the first virtually, made a special for older adults and finished his third book, With the desire to live, which he will publish in May, along with audiobook, read aloud.
“It was an impact to stop working on TV regularly and to be quarantined to such an extent that I was finally advised by a psychiatrist who will help me, offering explanations and improving the areas where I can improve ”, revealed the presenter in an interview with Spokesman.
He added that “just as the world has shown the great inequality that exists and how quickly people start to get over their needs and hunger, it left me as a reflection that I still have many areas for personal improvement, areas in which I need to know myself. better., areas where I am indebted to my family, my children, my grandchildren, my wife (Teresa Muchnik Rosenblum), because I have dedicated a lot to this passion in my life, which is to communicate “, he admitted.
Exactly the physical distance with his family, which he has not embraced for about a year, is one of the greatest desires. The father of four and the grandfather of nine, he extended the process of reflection to his ailments.
“I had a conversation with my children and grandchildren on this topic. This taught me many lessons. For my children, who are half a century old, this has been a severe flu that needs to be taken care of and will leave a lot of poverty. For my grandchildren, who are between 22 and 34 years old, this is a fight that will happen and the world will continue as always, there will be no change. I was a little stuck with the idea of young people. I would like to think differently, but I think the world will continue to be the way it has always been, “he added.
A similar dynamic will be the one he will present in Reflexiones 2021, which will occupy Camilo’s program on CNN in Spanish for two weeks.
Without revealing his name, he announced that among the 30 interviewees are “many Puerto Ricans, many celebrities that everyone knows, important professionals who will accompany us in different areas of life. I hope it’s fun, interesting and that people like it. “
Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld, his first name, hopes that the project will open the way for others.
To grow on the internet
“Then we want to do something on the internet and little by little we want to grow,” he said of the plans his wife did not like.
“My wife is mad at me because she tells me ‘you’re back to the same thing,'” he said between humor and resignation.
About the book With the desire to live, includes “what happened the next day after 53 years away only once, which ends Giant Saturday. Talk about my weight loss – I was born 12 kilograms – and how I struggled all my weight. He talks about the interviews I did with Presidents (Bill) Clinton, (George) Bush, Bush Senior, (Barak) Obama, in the United States; he talks about the social outbreak in Chile, he talks about some anecdotes that have happened to me all over the world, he talks about my passion for communicating, he talks about my condition when I turn 80, “he said.
Don Francisco claims that he feels very well, with 22 kilograms less and wants to visit Puerto Rico, one of his most loyal audiences.
“I want to live. I know I have to die, of course, and I know I won’t always be able to do that, but while I can … I think I can communicate, which is my passion,” he reiterated.