The coven of the ‘on-line’ era in Oviedo | Culture | EUROtoday

The sound of a sword clashing towards a defend, the flash of a wig of not possible colours and the fixed murmur of lots of of exchanged conversations: that is how the primary version of FanMedia Con begins on the Oviedo Conference Center. “Look, it’s Dani Fez, let’s ask him for a photo,” Marcos tells Fernando, they’re two younger individuals dressed as characters from the anime One Piece.

That assembly within the hallways between content material creators and followers is exactly what FanMedia proposes: transferring a tradition that till just lately was purely digital to the bodily world. Thus, for 3 days (March 20 to 22), greater than 100 content material creators — totaling greater than 102 million followers on social networks — flip Oviedo into the epicenter of a brand new method of understanding leisure the place video video games, social and scientific dissemination, music, cinema and gastronomy coexist. The occasion is the primary occasion of its sort in Spain, a sort of Comic-Con of the period of social media, however starring not Hollywood stars, however slightly those that right this moment set the heartbeat of popular culture from YouTube, TikTok or Instagram.

Behind this concept is the Asturian Julio Fernández, identified on the web as The Corvus Clan (4.6 million followers on YouTube), promoter of a mission that, as he acknowledges, is born extra from ardour than from calculation. “I wanted to set up an event in which there were different areas of digital culture and take them to a physical space, put fans and creators in contact,” he explains to EL PAÍS. There was no earlier mannequin in Spain to have a look at, so the wager was whole, even personally: he has invested his personal financial savings in one thing that, he admits, shouldn’t be executed to make cash. “We do this because we share a passion and because it was necessary,” he summarizes. The being pregnant was not fast. It was essential to translate an thought born within the digital ecosystem right into a language comprehensible by establishments, bridge that “generational gap” and persuade that this new kind of tradition additionally deserves its personal house.

Local establishments joined in and the mission doesn’t finish right here: this occasion is simply the primary stone of one thing greater, a model (FanMedia) that might broaden to different codecs sooner or later (awards, contests). For now, the vital factor is to display that the tradition that tens of millions eat day by day on the display screen can be skilled nose to nose.

That have to see one another in individual is without doubt one of the concepts that’s most repeated amongst creators. Daniel Fez (1.4 million followers on Instagram), probably the most recognizable faces of the occasion and grasp of ceremonies, sums it up: “This does not usually happen in Spain.” Accustomed to performing in cities like Madrid, he acknowledges that doing so in Asturias (he’s Asturian) has an added emotional element, but in addition a symbolic one: it reveals that digital expertise shouldn’t be concentrated in a single place. For Fez, all of the creators who come by way of FanMedia share the power to speak and join. “Everyone can have a viral video; the difficult thing is to maintain it,” he explains, in a mirrored image that’s repeated in several corners of the venue.

Pablo Cabezali (Cenando con Pablo, 800,000 followers on Instagram) describes the occasion as one thing “very disruptive” that enables “bringing together people that you only see on the screen.” Something additionally vital for them, as a result of the creators themselves can generate networking and uncover profiles that till now have been unknown. Claudia López (Chicle de Fresa, 360,000 followers on YouTube) highlights the significance of getting a bodily house in a context the place spontaneous conferences of influencers They are now not viable: “It was necessary.” In his opinion, an occasion like this additionally has an area accent: as a result of it serves to attach a neighborhood that, even inside Asturias, was fragmented. “The media landscape has changed a lot; today your neighbor can have 600,000 followers and you don’t know who he is, and many collaborations can come from this meeting,” he explains.

They all draw the identical thought: the content material creator is now not an remoted determine in entrance of a digital camera, however is a part of an ecosystem below building that’s starting to acknowledge itself. FanMedia (which expects about 12,000 guests in whole) exemplifies a mannequin of media fame that’s not possible to disclaim, and arrives the identical week as information that reveals the load of the brand new media ecosystem: YouTube surpassed Disney in income in 2025, turning into the biggest audiovisual consumption platform on this planet.

Perhaps the important thing on this universe is eclecticism: for every individual and for every area there’s a content material creator. This may be seen in Oviedo, the place dissemination performs a central function, with names reminiscent of Doctor Fisión, Lechero Fett or El Cubil de Peter. He gaming It is one other of the good axes, with creators like Nexxuz or teams like Los Arkeanos (with tournaments, immersive experiences and retro zones).

Gastronomy additionally finds its place with profiles reminiscent of Sandra Gómez Yugueros or Denis Diazzzz10, whereas the audiovisual space brings collectively professionals who work within the worldwide business, reminiscent of Pepe Mora (make-up artist with an Emmy) or Carolina Jiménez (who works in particular results in Hollywood). There are additionally live shows, workshops for kids, instructional talks on social networks and areas devoted to board video games, role-playing or wargames. The variety of actions is spectacular, however what’s related is the combo: the identical house the place science, leisure and neighborhood coexist.

Among the attendees was additionally the president of the Principality, Adrián Barbón (PSOE), who needed to “have a direct impression” of the phenomenon and who has not hidden his “affinity with geek culture”, recalling his fondness for sagas reminiscent of Star Wars o Star Trek (not in useless does he have a few reproductions of the ship Enterprise in his workplace). Its presence, past the anecdotal, indicators the rising institutional curiosity in such a occasions; In truth, the mayor of Oviedo, Alfredo Canteli (PP), additionally joined the assembly.

At the top of the day, when the lights go down and the hallways start to empty, there’s the sensation of getting witnessed one thing that’s starting to take form. Julio Fernández sums it up with a mixture of pleasure and reduction: seeing creators and followers sharing house, speaking, taking photographs and producing that “good vibe” that he had imagined. “It is a very special project,” he insists, even remembering the private burden that finishing up such an initiative in Asturias has for him. Symptom of the cultural change, one of many attendees finishes the final photographs and plans the subsequent day, earlier than leaving a phrase within the air: “This does not end here, it has only just begun.”