In May 2025, the television program Beatus Ille, broadcast on TV2, came to Tuixent during the Trementinaires Fair. I was invited to take part in the episode and share my story: how I ended up living in this small mountain village, and how my work as an artist and yoga teacher has grown from this place.
Being filmed for television is not something I do often, and certainly not something that feels natural to me. My work usually happens quietly, without cameras, without scripts. So when the team arrived in Tuixent, I felt both grateful and nervous. I knew they weren’t coming to stage anything, but to observe real life as it unfolds. Even so, allowing that process to happen took trust.
The Trementinaires Fair is a very special moment in Tuixent. It honours the memory of the women who travelled across the country selling medicinal herbs and remedies, carrying ancestral knowledge rooted in nature and care. Having Beatus Ille filmed during this fair felt meaningful. It placed the episode within a context of tradition, territory and lived knowledge.
Part of the filming happened outdoors. One of the scenes shows me painting en plein air, accompanied by my dog Mylo. This is how I often work, especially when the weather allows it. Being outside helps me stay connected to what I’m painting. The light changes, the wind moves things, animals pass by. Painting outdoors is not about control; it’s about responding.
Mylo’s presence is natural. He’s part of my daily rhythm, and it felt right that he was there. I don’t separate my work from my life, and the program captured that quite honestly.
Another part of the episode was filmed inside my art studio. At that moment, I was working on a painting of an owl. Owls have appeared in my work at different times, often connected to ideas of stillness, observation and quiet strength. Painting this piece while being filmed was strange at first. I’m used to silence when I paint, to being alone with the work. But the filming crew was respectful as they allowed space and didn’t interrupt the process. That made it possible for me to continue painting almost as if they weren’t there.
One of my paintings that also appears in the program is Love, which is one of my favourite pieces. Seeing it included felt intimate. That painting holds a lot of emotion for me, and I didn’t expect it to be shown on television. But I’m glad it was as it felt honest.
During the interview, I spoke about how I arrived in Tuixent. It wasn’t something planned in a strategic way. It happened gradually, through listening, through feeling where I needed to be. Living here has shaped my life deeply, not just my work.
Tuixent is not a backdrop. It’s an active presence. The mountains, the weather, the pace of the days, the people. All of it influences how I create, how I teach yoga, and how I move through the world. Speaking about this on camera was vulnerable. It required putting words to things I usually experience without naming.
I also talked about my work as a yoga teacher, which is an essential part of my practice. Teaching yoga and making art are not separate for me. Both are about attention, listening, and presence. Both require patience and humility.
I’ll be honest: I was very nervous about how the interview would turn out. Being filmed means giving up control over how things are edited and presented. When the program was broadcast in October 2025, I watched it with a knot in my stomach. And I was very happy with the outcome. The episode felt respectful, calm and true. It didn’t exaggerate or dramatise anything. It showed fragments of real life in Tuixent, of my work, of the environment I’m part of. That’s all I could have hoped for.
Watching yourself on television is a strange experience. You see gestures you didn’t know you had, hear your own voice differently. But it can also be a moment of reflection. Seeing myself painting outdoors, in the studio, speaking about this place, made me realise how deeply rooted my life has become here.
The program didn’t just document what I do. It reflected back a way of living and that felt valuable.
If you’d like to watch the full episode of Beatus Ille filmed in Tuixent, you can find it on RTVE Play at the following link:
https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/beatus-ille/tuixent/16767522/
Beatus Ille is a television program broadcast on TV2 that explores rural life, culture, creativity and the relationship between people and their environment.
The episode was filmed in May 2025 during the Trementinaires Fair in Tuixent and was broadcast in October 2025.
You can see me painting en plein air with my dog Mylo, working in my studio on a painting of an owl, and one of my artworks titled Love.
If you’d like to see more of my recent work, you can visit my online gallery or follow me on Instagram @valentina_abadia_art, where I share process, studio moments and new pieces.
You can see the full interview here: https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/beatus-ille/tuixent/16767522
