From Eduardo Mendoza to Guitarricadelafuente: ‘Sukha’, the open space seeking its place in evening television

“Sukha” is a Sanskrit term that means happiness and well-being, although it literally translates as “open space.” And that is exactly what the new cultural magazine on La 2 aims to be, which has just celebrated two months on air. “It’s not about consuming something beautiful; culture has to serve to move you and also to discover, to make you better,” says one of its presenters, Susana Castañón, to EL PAÍS at the RTVE headquarters in Prado del Rey, minutes before starting a new live broadcast in early April.

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The program, directed by an RTVE veteran, Miguel Ángel Hoyos, is also presented by Pablo González Batista. It airs on La 2 from Monday to Friday from 19:35 to 20:30, between the current affairs program Malas lenguas and the quiz show Trivial Pursuit.

Although it remains within the orbit of its predecessors as cultural programs on TVE’s second channel, such as Miradas 2 and Culturas 2, Sukha tries to be more vibrant, thanks to the live format, and accessible, with topics that interest the entire population. This open space is in constant evolution. “We talked about it on the first day, that the first program would have nothing to do with the following month. Indeed, it has happened. We are still searching for our identity,” says Castañón. “The guests also develop their own personality, they find their role in the program,” adds González Batista.

Sukha avoids getting stuck in the static nature of promotional interviews. One way to achieve this is through its daily roundtable, where a creator sits with one of its presenters and two of its regular collaborators, including Edu Galán and the visual artist Coco Dávez, to discuss a timeless topic. Two members of the band Miss Caffeina appeared on the program a few days ago to debate heartbreak, the theme of their latest album, as artistic inspiration. And the pianist and composer Miriam Méndez, one of the program’s discoveries, known for combining flamenco with classical music, jazz, and other styles, attended the discussion on International Romani Day.

Just before the broadcast begins, the Prado del Rey set from which Sukha is aired is filled with a mix of personalities connected to the world of culture and well-being, as the other identity of the show inherits the content of the long-standing brand of the channel Saber vivir. Miguel Ángel Hoyos especially enjoys this moment. “Around seven in the evening, just before the program starts, very different people come together, among collaborators, editorial staff, and guests,” he says. There are wonderful conversations that don’t make it on air, comments its director. On the first day, actor and theater director Sergio Peris-Mencheta warmly greeted neuroscientist and science communicator Nazareth Castellanos because his physiotherapist was a great admirer of hers, he recalls.

The live outdoor connection is another of Sukha’s bets to differentiate itself from its predecessors. It coincides with one of the current director of TVE’s, Sergio Calderón’s, goals: to avoid the channel seeming canned, even when live. “For a long time, it happened on La 2 and also on Radio 3, for example, that it didn’t matter when you tuned in, it could be any day of the year,” says Batista, who left Todo es mentira (Cuatro) at the end of January to return to RTVE, where he worked as a host and writer on Radio 3 and as a writer during the first era of Cachitos de hierro y cromo on La 2.

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“In my last stage, on Todo es mentira, I learned to survive in the Roman circus. Being seated between Pilar Rahola and Esperanza Aguirre for three hours and being told to survive live gives you a lot of experience and instantly removes the impostor syndrome,” he confesses. Sukha is a completely different challenge for the journalist. “The change of register was important to me for many reasons. First, for mental health. And also, to be a bit more coherent with what I think this country needs, which is this haven, this alternative perspective,” he defends.

Susana Castañón comes from covering cultural news in TVE newscasts. “There is little time for Culture in the News, so in the end you always lean towards covering the topic that is current, but many others are left out,” she explains. Current events help the small but versatile Sukha team to feed the daily content of the program. Although they still struggle with one of the endemic problems of cultural journalism, which is that artists agree to collaborate with the media only when they are promoting new work.

“Many appreciate that a program like this exists, but the opposite also happens. Some find it hard to understand, we do significant research work in that regard and we are grateful for the generosity of those who understand it, people like the musician Xoel López, San Xoel López,” confesses Miguel Ángel Hoyos.

The program also explores new formats to show live music, something that is not just a simple performance. “You have to create an event. On Culturas 2, we had live music almost every day and it was an effort that went completely unnoticed. La revuelta has done well by turning performances into an event. We aspire to that, although our resources are more modest,” continues its director.

So far in April, Sukha remains above a 2% average audience share and aims to approach the channel’s average, which exceeds 3%. The cultural program coincides in broadcast with the second part of Malas lenguas, in its move to La 1, with the end of Y ahora, Sonsoles and the start of Pasapalabra on Antena 3, with the start of the late news on Cuatro and La Sexta, and with the change from El diario de Jorge to the quiz show ¡Allá tú! on Telecinco.

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