'The VIP crossing': are the celebrities of Catalonia prepared to survive an expedition to the Serra de Tramuntana?

BarcelonaAfter three editions with anonymous contestants, La travessa, the 3Cat adventure reality show, takes a turn in its format and incorporates famous participants. This fourth season, which will be available on the platform tomorrow, features eight pairs of well-known figures who must overcome different challenges in the Tramuntana mountain range, in Mallorca. Continuing at the helm of the program is Laura Escanes, who on this occasion had an additional challenge beyond presenting: some of the contestants, such as the singer Miki Núñez or the influencer Jessica Goicoechea, are her friends, a relationship that could not affect her impartiality. "At some point, it has been complicated. This season I was much more nervous than the previous ones because I felt more judged. Suddenly, there were people who knew me, even if it was just by sight, or people who have been working in television for many years and I felt that perhaps they would judge me more. But in the end, I am the presenter and they have to listen to me," Escanes explained today during the presentation of the season at the Maritime Museum of Barcelona.

One of the strong points of this edition's casting is the variety. Among the contestants there are well-known faces from music, sports, communication, or social media: the singer Miki Núñez and the journalist Raquel Sans; The Tyets; the communicators Jair Domínguez and Neus Rossell; Mario Casas' siblings, Sheila and Christian; the influencer Jessica Goicoechea and the former gymnast Natalia García Timofeeva; the athletes Víctor Sada and Laia Palau; the journalists Carolina Ferre and Nerea Sanfe, and the environmental activists Gádor Muntaner and Carlota Bruna.

The program's managers assure that at no time have they given special treatment to the contestants for being well-known and emphasize that the tests they have had to undergo – abseiling, sea jumps, kayaking, and many others – have been just as tough as when the participants are anonymous. During the time the program lasted, the contestants have had to travel more than 150 kilometers, crossing Mallorca from the Formentor lighthouse to the island of sa Dragonera.

Unexpected unions

One of the most surprising pairs is the one formed by Miki Núñez and Raquel Sans, who did not know each other personally before participating together in La travessa. "The first day we were introduced we were a bit nervous, but we spoke the same language from minute zero. This happens very rarely. There is a chemical or emotional thing that you see works from the beginning. We were that lucky, but it could not have happened," explains Sans. The presenter of the Telenotícies vespre weekend news admits that, although she exercises, she would have liked to have more time to prepare for the reality show, but the fact that she was one of the last contestants to join the program made it impossible. "Age shouldn't be a limit, but when you reach 50 you see that things are different. It's an evolution, it's fine, but you have to help your body a little more in terms of strength. The mind has no fear, but the body has to keep up," she reflects.

At the other extreme from Núñez and Sans are the Casas siblings, who, besides their family bond, work together managing the career of their brother, the actor Mario Casas. "It is very different working together than competing together, because when you work you don't reach your limit or high peaks of tension," points out the lawyer and businesswoman. The siblings lived part of their childhood and adolescence in Esparreguera and Collbató and have recovered the Catalan language, which they hadn't spoken for a long time, for the program.

Among the media faces of this edition are also Jair Domínguez and Neus Rossell, and the Valencians Carolina Ferre and Nerea Sanfe. "I think we were the two couples who had the lowest expectations because we were going to see what the others did," admits Jair Domínguez. Although he and Neus Rossell are used to doing mountain sports, they admit that they arrived at the contest without having trained because just before the program began they were in the process of moving. On the other hand, Ferre and Sanfe assure that they did try to get in shape, although, at the moment of truth, it perhaps did not serve for much. "I thought that, more or less, everyone would be in poor shape like us and it turns out that they weren't. In the first program, the director already told us that they would not sacrifice the format because we were little celebrities Then I understood that I would be gasping for breath," details Ferre with humor. Both couples confess that the contestants who surprised them the most were Oriol de Ramon and Xavier Coca, members of The Tyets. "We thought that the Tyets were about parties and nightlife and then it turns out that they are athletes," explains the Valencian presenter.

From 3Cat they ensure that La travessa is one of the formats that works best on the platform and they remark that it manages to seduce one of their priority audiences: almost half of the program's audience is under 45 years old. "For us, it is an unprecedented success," stated Cristian Trepat, head of content at 3Cat.