Sunday, December 31, 2023, 1:04 p.m
The Santa Clauses, Father Christmases or Papanoeles? José Manuel Leiva, a contestant on El Cazador, has challenged that television show’s decision for not allowing the answer he gave to refer to the plural of the magical creature, also known as Santa Claus. According to the program, the correct answer was either “Santa Claus” or “Papanoeles”, while the contestant chose “The Santa Clauses”, which prevented him from being declared the winner in the final with just two seconds left.
Upon completion of the program, I submitted a written complaint regarding this issue within the written deadline set forth in the signed contract. They based their answer on this article by @Fundeu https://t.co/4BHnFOvzV2
— Jose Manuel Leiva (@joseleiva37) December 29, 2023
Leiva was dissatisfied with what happened and, after the competition ended, submitted a written challenge to the issue, which was confirmed by the production company. But his defense did not stop and he even attended the Royal Spanish Academy. “I make an official request via #dudaRAE and they clarify that ‘if it were an occasional use of the proper name in the plural, the capital letter would be retained and the first element could remain plural or unchanged: “There are just as many Santa Clauses.” “Clauses / Santa Claus, how there are children who dream of him”. “The RAE distinguishes between correct (more or less recommended),” he published on his social networks. Consequently, the answer to “the Santa Clauses” would be “correct and less recommended”.
The participant also assured that the chosen expression was “common in parts of Andalusia, the Canary Islands and Latin America”. “I think it’s great that (the program) welcomes Galician, Catalan, Basque or Valencian participants in their native language, but on the other hand it does not recognize Andalusian variants like this one of Santa Claus, although, as the RAE has shown, they have been approved. “, he declared publicly. .
The Andalusian concluded by criticizing “the unity of the legal advice” provided by the production company. “For my freedom of expression and scrupulous respect for the Treaty, I deplore this terrible policy financed with public money from Spanish radio and television,” he concluded.
