Published by Team Maitino | Jul 1, 2021
Almost a year has passed since the couple formed by Maite (Ylenia Baglietto) and Camino (Aria Bedmar) left Acacias 38. They set off for Paris looking to live their love in freedom, or as "freely" as the society of the early 20th century allowed. With this, the transmission of a podcast began, which tried to give continuity to the radio soap opera format. Its 12 chapters, of no more than 10 minutes each, were the last content on this plot. A story that by itself crossed the borders of Spain to generate an international stir.
However, the lack of content has not stopped the fans, nicknamed "Maitiners", from continuing to demand that Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) continue the story in audiovisual format.
Perhaps those watching this from the outside will not understand the reason for so much passion and so much effort, but we assure you that this fictional couple shows relevant values that should be made visible. Every action, every campaign, every weekly meeting on the social network Twitter, dedicated to continue asking for their return, has been worth the effort. This is what we have learned from Maite and Camino when they had to battle against all odds to live their love freely. They did not lose heart despite the adverse circumstances. On the contrary, they went against the values of the time to defend their ideals of equality and freedom.
We are not going to dwell on their story because the text would be too long and we want to focus on the fight for the Spin-Off. However, it is important to highlight the depth and power of its dialogue, the construction and evolution of each character, and the perfect acting and chemistry of the actresses. These factors make Maitino something unique and special.
The couple was born as one of the many plots that developed in the daily series throughout its six years. However, it gradually became a phenomenon with thousands of followers in every corner of the planet. The repercussion was such that while its story was being broadcast, interactions with the official Acacias account increased ostensibly and Maitino was trending on Twitter on multiple occasions, both spontaneously and as part of a collective campaign:
The struggle to continue seeing Maite and Camino on screen has already gone a long way. The claim that began in the networks under the #SpinOffMaitinoTv, was taken to physical actions as a search for a more direct channel to the directive of the corporation. In December last year, physical letters were sent from more than 30 countries to the editorial staff of RTVE asking them to support their story. Along with the letters, hundreds of forms were also sent to the Audience Ombudsman, advocating for its responsibility as a public broadcaster for equality and diversity.
As a result of this campaign, the Director of Contents declared on "RTVE responde" that they were studying the possibility of continuing the story in linear or digital format, as it was a subject they did not want to abandon.
But if we thought that, after that statement, it would be a matter of days before the spin-off was confirmed, we couldn't have been more wrong. More than five months have already passed since that moment, RTVE had a change of directors and continued to give the green light to other series, without making a statement regarding Maitino.
Due to the lack of response, a group of Maitiners decided to undertake new activities. The aim was for RTVE to see that the Spin-Off petition was still present and awaiting a response. A billboard appeared as a good possibility. To pay for it, the group managed to raise the necessary funds through a "Crowdfunding" thanks to the solidarity, commitment and empathy of followers from many countries. Among them Colombia, Puerto Rico, United States, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, France, Germany, Norway, Russia, Thailand and Spain. The necessary funds were raised in just a few days and new ideas materialised to continue asking for Maitino to return to the screen.
A huge billboard was placed in the vicinity of the RTVE facilities. The action was so surprising that it shocked the actresses themselves, who approached the place to take pictures, showing their support and gratitude to the fans, but also causing an impact on renowned media in Spain and Italy who echoed this action on their websites, thus vindicating the need for the Spin-Off Maitino to become a reality.
The second action generated by the union of the fandom consisted of flooding the streets of Madrid with posters. The aim was to bring their story to more people and make it known to a public that empathises and popularises the struggle. The posters were strategically placed in the most emblematic places in Madrid such as Gran Vía, Plaza de España, Chueca and Malasaña among others. These spaces are highly frequented in the Spanish capital and others are well known for hosting the "Pride" festivities during the month of June.
The posters refer to the essence of Maitino, "love, freedom, visibility, feminism". They are accompanied by a QR code that, when scanned, redirects to the You Tube channel of "Se Interpone" with a selection of all their scenes. It also redirects to the hashtag used on Twitter for the fight and to Team Maitino's website. There you can see a summary of their story and the campaign. As with the billboard, this action was recognised by the actresses and the scriptwriter Verónica Sáenz, who motivated national and international fans with a "challenge" and to pose in front of the posters.
In addition to these physical actions, there is a third dissemination action. A virtual advertisement was created on Facebook and Instagram for Spain and several countries in America. It invites the public to get to know and be part of this movement. The advert takes you to the most relevant information about this struggle. So far it has more than 950 entries.
Thanks to these actions, many national and international media have echoed this movement, generating public visibility and interest. In the last month, Maitino seems to be on everyone's lips again, but RTVE still has not made a statement.
A tangible project:
It should be noted that behind all this movement is the commitment and involvement of both the actresses and the director and scriptwriter Verónica Sáenz. RTVE has received the proposal of two Spin-Off projects from Sáenz. These have been called "El Lazo Invisible" (a continuation of the podcast produced by RTVE and Grupo Boomerang and broadcast by RNE) and "La Librería" (a modern version of the Maitino story). Therefore, the Spin-Off is not a project that is "in the air".
As you can see, it has a tangible project, with the commitment and will of a working team and a loyal audience that ensures audience and success. All of this, after demonstrating how far we can go to see our favourite couple on screen again. So we ask ourselves, what more does RTVE need to give a space to this story?
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