I'm writing these lines while watching the snow fall on the vineyards. The resulting backdrop (we won't call it a "picture" anymore) is breathtakingly beautiful. Some newly planted vines, like mine, are seeing snow for the first time this year. Others, the older ones, have survived the brutal drought of recent years. The cabbages and flowers are covered today in snow as fluffy as a Jordi Roca dessert.

The New Year's Eve ratings don't come in until January 2nd, but social media has already delivered its first verdict. In the case of Cristina Pedroche, who for some years now has managed to generate buzz around her dress—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say "the lack thereof"—it's hard to find anyone who approves of the double option chosen by the presenter this year. She began the gala wearing a kind of coat that paid homage to the dozen or so outfits she's worn in every year she's hosted the New Year's Eve broadcast. The result was an impossible layering of disconnected and heterogeneous cutouts that looked more like a flea market stall than an outfit. Within minutes, social media was flooded with ironic comments and memes.

Christmas is coming, and many television networks are starting to make changes to their programming, including the Catalan public broadcaster. There's a difference, however: while many networks are keeping their daily shows and using the time to give opportunities to substitute presenters and up-and-coming talent, TV3 has opted to forgo live broadcasts and rely on pre-recorded programming. These changes will begin this Monday and will last until after the Three Kings' Day on January 7th. The special schedule features music, film, comedy, theater, and some classic Christmas programs.

When Christmas arrives, people take out their Tió de Nadal (a traditional Catalan Christmas log) and Christmas tree. On Antena 3, however, they showcase Cristina Pedroche to promote the New Year's Eve broadcast. It's not an innocent tradition, because the message it hides is increasingly harmful.

Andreu Buenafuente and Sílvia Abril will not be presenting after all. The New Year's Eve countdown on RTVEThe news comes after the Catalan comic I would take sick leave due to work-related stress. Three weeks ago. And this, in fact, has been the trigger for everything. "This is a bit slow; if we want to do it right, it will take a little more time," the Catalan comedian says in a video statement published this morning by RTVE on its X profile. "It won't be possible to broadcast the New Year's Eve countdown," he adds. For the moment, RTVE has not announced who will replace the duo for the New Year's Eve broadcast, which is two and a half weeks away. Buenafuente justifies his decision by saying he doesn't want to "speed up" his recovery: "I don't see anything good in forcing myself to do a job one day. You have to come back healthy and be on the right track, with the serenity to get back to doing what I love," he says. He admits that "it's not easy" to stop a running "machine" like the show's to ring in the new year, but insists that he is still not well and appreciates the understanding he says he has received from RTVE.