Juan Baena, the internationally well-known if elusive Spanish TV executive who was a staple at all international TV markets, died in Madrid, Spain on Monday, January 31, 2022. Born in Alcazar de San Juan, Spain, he was 97 years old.
He became famous for having introduced Venezuelan telenovelas into Spain, such as Topacio in 1984 (produced by RCTV) and Cristal in 1985 (also by RCTV). Baena started his career in 1949 as a director of film photography credited with 26 films before moving into content acquisition for RTVE. Before RTVE, Baena became a professor of cinematography in the period 1956-1975.
In the early 1980s, he moved into distribution with Coral Europa (part of RCTV), and in the early 1990s, he was lured by Venevision to form his Vision Europe, both located in Madrid.
At TV markets he was often seen walking the convention aisles holding his tiny Chihuahua. He was always affable, but overly reserved with the press guarding his privacy and background.
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