Sabado Gigante: TV’s longest-running variety show ends

By Suzan Colόn | for USA TODAY Hispanic Living magazine

"Qué, Qué?” The repeated cry of “why?” over social media was all that could be said in light of the news: Sábado Gigante, the TV variety show that has been an institution in Latin and North American homes for 53 years, is going off the air.

The announcement stunned the show’s millions of fans. After all, Sábado Gigante (Gigantic Saturday) is the longest-running variety show in television history, certified by Guinness World Records. During the show’s 2,600 consecutive weeks on the air, or 16,000 hours of programming, there has never been a single rerun. Fresh episodes have been airing every weekend since the show premiered in Chile in 1962.

“Did I know, that first night, that the show would go this far? Never,” says Gigante creator Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld. “It was an idea born under modest circumstances.”

In fact, the juggernaut that has at times reached an estimated 90 million homes was part of Chile’s baby steps into the broadcasting world, thanks to a young man’s love of American television — and lack of interest in tailoring.

Kreutzberger, 74, was born in Talca, Chile, where his Jewish parents fled after escaping Nazi Germany.

His classically trained mother’s singing lessons sparked a desire in him to perform, and he had some early success with acting and character-driven stand-up comedy. His father, probably thinking in more practical terms, sent Kreutzberger to New York in 1959 to follow in his footsteps and become a tailor.

While in New York, Kreutzberger fell in love with American TV — not zoning out in front of it, but getting inspiration. Chilean television was in its infancy when he returned home in the early 1960s, bringing with him some very big ideas about a variety show. He put together a program packed with comedy and news, singing and dancing, parodies and serious interviews. To host the show, Kreutzberger created a funny, flirtatious alter ego with an easier-to-remember name: Don Francisco.

Early versions of the show ran on Sunday, lasted eight hours and were canceled twice. The third time —along with a Saturday-evening time slot and a downsizing to around three hours — was the charm.

Sábado Gigante became a hit in Chile, then in Latin America, Europe and beyond. In more than 40 countries, every Saturday night, generations of families, from abuelos to grandkids, gathered around the tube to watch together.

The show began airing in Miami in 1986 on the Spanish International Network (SIN). The following year the network was relaunched as Spanish-language U.S. network Univision, and the show became a ratings monster as millions of immigrants reconnected with a family tradition.

The show’s reputation for wildly over-the-top comedy skits and cheeky contests made it popular with non-Spanish-speaking viewers, too. You didn’t have to understand the language to be joyfully transfixed by El Chacal de la Trompeta, a singing competition featuring a hooded judge whose name translates to Trumpet Jackal.

When appropriate, the show took a serious tone. Viewers met presidential candidates through Don Francisco’s direct, news-anchor-like interviews, and were invited to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at the White House in 2001. They processed the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks and were riveted by the 2010 rescue of the Chilean miners in reports that were by turns straightforward and emotional.

Sábado Gigante’s 40th year of programming in 2002 was cause for celebration, as well as contemplation.

As Sábado continued to beat English-language programming on the big networks, Kreutzberger, who missed only one show, when his mother passed away in 1974, may have been the only one thinking about the end. “I spent a lot of sleepless nights consulting my pillow, as well as my wife (Teresa “Temmy” Muchnik), my kids (Vivi, Francisco and Patricio), and of course my colleagues on the Gigante team,” he says. “For the past 13 years, I’ve been preparing to stop doing what has been the love of my life.”

Univision president of programming and content Alberto Ciurana admits, “There is no replacing Sábado Gigante,” but says the plan is to fill the time slot with Sabadazo, another variety show, and a Saturday edition of celebrity news show Sal y Pimienta (Salt and Pepper), which will also keep its regular Sunday time slot.

The final episode of Sábado Gigante airs live Sept. 19 and will be “full of adrenaline,” Kreutzberger promises. “The last show should be a faithful reflection of what it has always been: humble, vibrant, exciting, full of human warmth.” As Antonio Arias predicts, “It will be a historic moment in television.”