| El conquistador del fin del mundo | |
|---|---|
 Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse, also known as The lighthouse of the end of the world. | |
| Genre | Reality show |
| Directed by | Joxan Goñi Patxi Alonso |
| Presented by | Julian Iantzi Patxi Alonso (debate) |
| Country of origin | Spain |
| Original language | Spanish |
| No. of seasons | 18 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Patxi Alonso Gonzalo Honigblum |
| Producers | Víctor Martín Beronike López Idoia Gainberri |
| Editor | Verónica Vañek |
| Running time | 150 minutes approx |
| Original release | |
| Network | EITB |
| Release | January 3, 2005 |
El conquistador del fin del mundo (The end of the world conqueror, often shortened to "El Conquis") is an adventure reality TV show created by Euskal Telebista (ETB).
Its contestants are divided into teams that fight not only against the roughness of the land and the climate but also against the different events which they encounter. The living conditions are difficult, having to deal with the cold, heat, rain, insects, hunger and thirst. Physical endurance as well as the capacity to live with strangers are essential to survive this adventure.
Program characteristics
Its contestants are divided in groups that compete between them with different events apart from the climate, hunger, thirst and so on. The physical condition and the capability to live with strangers are also very important in order to win this competition.
This program is based on other previous ones like Basetxea and Conquistadores del fin del mundo.
In its first edition in 2005, twelve out of its sixteen contestants where from the Basque Country and the other four from Argentina, but with Basque roots. The goal was to bring the ikurriña (Basque flag), to the Les Éclaireus lighthouse in the Beagle Channel. Early in the year 2008, an Argentinian version was produced. Since the seventh edition (2011), the final's emplacement changed. In 2011, the final was held on the Perito Moreno Glacier, place which would be repeated in 2014 (10th edition). In 2012 (8th edition) and 2013 (9th edition), it was held at Iguazu Falls, and in 2015 (11th edition), in the Pacific Ocean, at the mouth of the Palena River.
After that, the program's production changed place, and it has never returned to Argentina ever since. In 2016 it took part in Colombia, in the Amazonas rainforest. For this reason, the name of the program itself was changed to "El conquistador del Amazonas." Ever since, the program's name has been "El conquistador del Caribe" (The conqueror of the Caribbean), with the exception of the fifteenth edition (2019), in which it was called "El conquistador del Pacífico" (The conqueror of the Pacific). From the 12th to the 14th editions (2016-2018), the program was shot in Colombia, in the 15th edition (2019) it was shot in Panama, in the Pearl Islands, and ever since, the last three editions have been shot in the Dominican Republic, in the Los Haitises National Park.
The program does not only count with the participation of anonymous people; professional athletes have also participated, as in the case of David Seco and Zuriñe Rodríguez. In the early editions, prominent Basque sportspeople (such as José Luis Korta and Juanito Oiarzabal) have acted as team captains, but in the last editions, successful or notorious ex-participants have been called as captains more often.
Reception
It was awarded as the Best Entertainment Autonomic Program of 2008 by the Academy of Spanish Television. It is usually considered one of the most extreme shows on television because of the combination of extreme events, survival and cohabitation, and also because of the format of the reality, that changes every year surprising the contestants and the audience. For all of that, each edition gathers more followers, not only in the Basque Country, but also in other provinces, achieving assessments 25% higher than the average of the channel.
Controversies
Some groups pro animal rights reported that the program encourages animal mistreatment in some of its events by killing chickens, frogs, worms and fish or even for feeding an animal until it threw up. The Aranzadi Science Society has also reported that an inoffensive protected species of snake was killed, as well as some other animals under the same circumstances.
Previous editions
For a more extensive review on every season, check the Spanish Wikipedia annex: "El Conquis" editions.
| Edition | Date | Edition review | Winner | Finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ECDFDM I |
2005 | Two teams of 8 participants, Corona Austral and Cruz Azul, fought until merging. |  Eneko Van Horenbeke |
Javier Goikoetxea, Goiko Ignacio Cebolla, Natxo |
| ECDFDM II |
2006 | Two teams of 8 participants, Pumas (capt'd by José Luis Korta) and Cóndores (capt'd by Julen Madina), fought until merging. | Raúl Arribas |
Azucena Díez Patxi Hernández |
| ECDFDM III |
2007 | Two teams of 9 participants, Pumas (capt'd by Mikel Goñi) and Cóndores (capt'd by Juanito Oiarzabal), fought until merging. Mikel Goñi had to be replaced by Korta for medical reasons. | Lourdes Zuriarrain |
María José Sardón Josu Rus, Ruso Silvia Sánchez |
| ECDFDM IV |
2008 | Two teams of 10 participants, Pumas (capt'd by Juanito and Marta López) and Cóndores (capt'd by Virginia Berasategui and Juan Cuyami), fought until merging. | Gorka Toraño |
Iosu Vázquez Eguzki Garmendia |
| ECDFDM V |
2009 | Two teams of 10 participants, Pumas (capt'd by Korta and Juanito) and Cóndores (capt'd by Eneritz Iturriaga and Yahaira Aguirre), fought until merging. | Gotzon Mantuliz |
Josu Abrego Ndiaga Ngom José Vicente, Alonso |
| ECDFDM VI |
2010 | The 25 participants began their adventure under the scrutiny of ex-boxer Manu Maritxalar. Then, the remaining 19 participants were divided in two teams, Pumas (capt'd by Korta) and Cóndores (capt'd by Juanito), fought until merging. | Egoitz Ríos |
Oihane Jiménez Koldo Pozueta Ekaitz Ríos |
| ECDFDM VII |
2011 | Three teams, Guanacos (capt'd by Korta, made out of 8 men), Cóndores (capt'd by Irati Anda, made out of 8 women) and Pumas (capt'd by Juanito, made out of 8 people from immigrants living in the Basque Country), fought until merging. | Nakor Márquez |
Lur Ibarra Helenka Gómez Maider Otegi |
 ECDFDM VIII |
2012 | The 24 participants began in a single group being captained by four different captains. After the fourth immunity game, the 4 captains had to vote one out, and Manu Maritxalar was chosen out. The other three captains were given a team made out of the remaining 19 participants (Guanacos, capt'd by Korta; Cóndores, capt'd by Juan Mari Lujambio; and Pumas, capt'd by Mikel Goñi. After the fifteenth game, the merge occurred. | David Seco |
 Javier Adell, Lobo Yeray González Ibon Urrutia |
| ECDFDM IX |
2013 | Four teams of 7 participants, Pumas (capt'd by Blanca Fernández Ochoa), Cóndores (capt'd by Juanito), Guanacos (capt'd by Korta) and Piches (capt'd by Manu Maritxalar) fought in a first phase. After the seventh episode, the grey Piche team became extinct, and the remaining four participants were divided between the other three teams. After the 12th episode, the green Guanaco team also became extinct, and the remaining four participants were divided between the other two teams. The merge finally occurred in the 17th episode. | Óskar Sanz |
Iñaki Larrasolo Diana Cantero Karen Odriozola José Mari San José, Joxe |
| ECDFDM X |
2014 | 28 participants were divided in three teams: Coatíes (capt's by David Seco), Yaguaretés (capt'd by Korta and Juanito) and Yacarés (capt's by Manu Maritxalar, made out of participants from previous seasons). The green Yacaré team became extinct, and the remaining two participants were divided between the two teams. The merge occurred after the 12th game. | Eneko Van Horenbeke |
Irene Muruzábal Sandra Barea |
 ECDFDM XI |
2015 | 26 participants began in two teams divided by gender. The men's team was capt'd by Eneko Van Horenbeke and Roberto Laiseka, and the women's team was capt'd by David Seco and Manu Maritxalar. The first four games were made to decide which two captains would go on to the next phase of the competition. The women's team won, so Laiseka and Eneko were eliminated. The remaining 22 participants (in addition to three late entrants) were divided in three teams: Pumas (capt'd by Manu Maritxalar), Cóndores (capt'd by David Seco), and Guanacos (capt'd by Korta and Juanito). The blue Cóndor team became extinct, and the 3 remaining participants were divided between the other two teams. The merge finally occurred in the 18th episode, only one episode before the final. This edition remains very controversial, as the last 6 participants were caught cheating just before the final, which made it impossible for the program to set a punishment similar to others applied in similar situations in past editions. | Eritz Egaña Beristain, Maixa |
Sergio López Andeka Rico Iker Santxo |
 El conquistador del Amazonas |
2016 | Three teams (Pirañas, capt'd by Pello Ruiz Cabestany, made up by 10 people under 30 years; Anacondas, capt'd by Patxi Salinas, made up by 11 people over 30 years; and Jaguares, no captain, made up by 8 people with previous experience in different Basque and Spanish reality shows) began the adventure in the Amazon forest. After only 4 games, the red Jaguar team became extinct, and the 2 remaining participants were divided between the other two teams. The merge occurred in the 12th episode, and the two captains were given the option to remain as regular participants. Only Salinas chose to keep going. In the 16th episode, when 9 participants remained, two of them were caught cheating, and they were given an ultimatum: one of them had to be expelled immediately. Some participants thought the punishment to be too harsh, and as protest, 4 of the 9 remaining participants (5, including the expelled one) decided to go home. | Olga Erkuden Sola, Erku |
Iñaki Lekuona, Leku Nerea Arriaga, Txirrita |
| El conquistador del Caribe I |
2017 | Three teams of 11 participants, Wüis (capt'd by David Seco), Puyuiis (capt'd by previous edition winner Erku) and Samulus (capt'd by Marcelo Ferreira), began the adventure. Ferreira was expelled from the program after supposedly pushing one participant from his team. After a massive 6-people walkout, the red Puyuii team became extinct, and the 2 remaining participants were divided between the other two teams. The merge occurred in the 15th episode. | Andoni Iruretagoyena, Izeta |
Aiskander Jauregi Isma Pereira Aitor Barrio Carolina Calvo |
| El conquistador del Caribe II |
2018 | Three teams of 10 participants, Wüis (capt'd by Eneko Van Horenbeke), Puyuiis (capt'd by Ismael Mateo and previous edition participant Gorrotxa) and Samulus (capt'd by Telmo Aldaz de la Quadra Salcedo), began the adventure. The blue Samulu team became extinct, and the 4 remaining participants were divided between the other two teams. The merge occurred in the 15th episode. | Eider Alonso |
Gotzon Burgos Aiora Armendáriz Xabier Garate, Seleta Zuriñe Rodríguez |
 El conquistador del Pacífico |
2019 | Three teams of 11 participants, Jé (capt'd by Patri Espinar and Nagore Osoro), Beda-Kayirua (capt'd by Manu Maritxalar and ex-participant Seleta) and Angoso (capt'd by Eneko Van Horenbeke and David Seco), began the adventure. The blue Angoso team became extinct, and the 4 remaining participants were divided between the other two teams. The merge occurred in the 17th episode. | Iker Babio |
Ibai Vidal Luisito Angulo Krasimir Dariev, Krasi Ianire Cortés Jontxu Beristain |
 El conquistador del Caribe III |
2020 | Three teams of 12 participants, Maja (capt'd by Patri Espinar, made up by women), Guaraguao (capt'd by ex-participant Gotzon Burgos, made up by men) and Caguama (capt'd by Eneko Van Horenbeke, made up by men and women older than 35 years), began the adventure. After the 14th episode, the teams were mixed up and two new captains replaced the previous three. The new teams were called Guaraguao and Caguama, capt'd by Seleta and Manu Maritxalar, respectively, and were chosen by the captains themselves. The merge occurred in the 23rd episode, only one before the final. | Mikel Pérez |
Jon Quel Sola Isma Mateo Lander Sánchez Jon Erro Eider García, Durana |
| El conquistador del Caribe IV |
2021 | Three teams of 12 participants, Atabey (capt'd by ex-participant Durana, made up by women), Yocahu (capt'd by Manu Maritxalar (who had to abandon for medical reasons just after arriving), made up by men) and Corocote (capt'd by Seleta, made up by 7 men and 5 women), began the adventure. After the 11th episode, the teams were mixed up and two new captains replaced the previous three. The new teams were called Cacata and Cuyaya, capt'd by Eneko Van Horenbeke and David Seco, respectively, and were chosen by the captains themselves. The merge occurred in the 21st episode. The final had to be delayed 4 months due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the participants and crew. | Nahia Valencia |
Aitor Acebo Jon Zabaleta, Beko Mikel Yanci Asier Urzelai, Binbi |
| El conquistador del Caribe V |
2022 | A team of 19 women and a team of 20 men began the adventure competing against those within their teams and then all-against-all. After the third episode, three teams formed: Atabey (made up by women), Yocahu (made up by men) and Corocote (mixed gender). They were captained by ex-participants Nahia Valencia, Andrea Azkune and Bego Alday, respectively. From the 10th to the 12th episodes, ex-participants Binbi, Arantxa Iparragirre and Lobo were co-captains of the teams respectively, and from the 13th to the merge, former winner Nakor Marquez, pro aizkolari Aitzol Atutxa and Seleta replaced them. The green Atabey team became extinct in the beginning of the 18th episode, and the 4 remaining participants were divided between the other two teams. The merge occurred in the 21st episode. For the first time in the show's history, there was a draw in the final, and, therefore, two winners. | Jokin Ramos Ainize Lizarralde |
Mikel Arruti Line Regis |
| El conquistador del Caribe VI |
2023 | Four teams competed in the beginning: a team of 9 women (Atabey), another of 9 men (Yocahu), another of 10 picturesque characters (Corocote) and finally a team of 9 young contestants, from age 19 to 24 ( Guaban), these last two of mixed gender. In the third episode, the captains were introduced , and the teams were able to select them in order after a special challenge. The captains were, respectively, Jokin, Seleta, Izeta and Aini, all ex-participans and winners of previous editions. In the 8th episode, the Atabey team became extinct, and the remaining participants were incorporated into the Corocote team. After that, the Yocahu became extinct as well, and its participants were divided in the other two teams. Shortly after, the merge occurred. | Alejandro López de Silanes, Locuras |
Aitor Etxebarria, Etxe Jokin Leiba, Txoskin Olaia Ventura |