Chile ayuda a Chile (Chile helps Chile[1]) was a charitytelethon being held from March 5 to March 6, 2010. The event was broadcast from Teatro Teletón in Santiago, Chile.[2]
The telethon's aim was to raise money to help those affected by the 2010 Chile earthquake that struck the central-southern Chile on 27 February of that year.[3] The event was organized by the Telethon Foundation and the Government of Chile, in coordination with Hogar de Cristo, Un Techo para Chile, the Fundación para la Superación de la Pobreza and Caritas, and was broadcast by all television stations affiliated with National Association of Television (Anatel) on national TV. The goal of the charity was to raise $15,000,000,000 for the construction of 30,000 emergency homes ("mediaguas") in the disaster area. Donations were to be deposited in account N° 2702 at Banco de Chile and Banco Santander.[4]
During the event, over 46 billion pesos (90 million US dollars) were collected,[5] and on March 9, 2010, Mario Kreutzberger said the event raised in total cash and goods over $50,000,000,000 (96.5 million dollars), thus surpassing the money raised by the Hope for Haiti Now event held in the United States in relief of the also earthquake-struck Caribbean country earlier that year.[6]
Background
TV host Mario Kreutzberger, better known as Don Francisco, has hosted a series of television campaigns since 1978, when he organized the first version of the Telethon. In 1985, during the earthquake that hit Chile on 3 March that year, Kreutzberger organized a campaign, broadcast on Canal 13 called Chile helps Chile, which, after 30 hours of non-stop broadcasting, managed to fund hundreds of trucks with supplies for victims. The event was repeated in later years, after other natural disasters such as flash floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and others.
On February 27, 2010, the earthquake devastated central and southern Chile, with its epicentre in Cobquecura, Biobío Region, with a magnitude of 8.8 MW.[7] The earthquake triggered a tsunami that affected a number of coastal towns from Valparaíso to the region of Araucania. The most affected communities were Dichato, Tomé, Pelluhue, Constitucion, Duao, Iloca and Pichilemu, among others.[8][9] At the time of the earthquake, Kreutzberger was in South Africa, recording a new program (in the style of his classic "The camera passenger services Sabado Gigante) for Canal 13. From South Africa, he began to organize the telethon, and on 1 March, the Government of Chile met with the Telethon Foundation to formally organize the new edition.
On March 2, 2010, at a press conference, Pilar Armanet, Minister Secretary General of the Government of Chile, officially announced the relaunched campaign, along with representatives of organizations to be involved in the event: Ximena Casarejos (Telethon Foundation), Felipe Berrios SJ (Un Techo para Chile), Benito Baranda (Hogar de Cristo), Rodrigo Tupper (Caritas), Rodrigo Jordan (Foundation for Overcoming Poverty) and Bernardo Donoso (Anatel).[10]
In Argentina, the then trainer of Argentinos JuniorsClaudio Borghi led the charity campaign with the rest of the technical team, where he collected the aid donated by the soccer team's fans,[15] and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs along with Gustavo Cerati leads a festival for Chile in Argentina, called "Argentina abraza a Chile",[16] the event brought over 100,000 people, grossing more than 60 tons of donations.[17]
Oscar winnerJorge Drexler wrote a poem with Chilean musician Nano Stern, titled "Quien en Chile un día vibró, tiembla cuando Chile tiembla", dedicated to the country in response to the earthquake. Ricardo Arjona, whose participation in the event was later cancelled, decided to send a letter to the Chilean people.[21] Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters also sent a letter to the country to pledge his solidarity and his support.[21]The Killers donated their drumsticks to be auctioned during the event, while David Beckham donated his soccer team T-shirt, such as Fernando González and Nicolas Massú did.
Unlike the traditional Chilean Telethon events, the organization decided not to include comedian segments, adult strip known as "Vedettón", and massive closure in National Stadium.[22]
The blocks in which transmission will be split:[20]
Music performances of Los Truqueros, Las Capitalinas, Los Quincheros and 3X7 Veintiuna.
News block (08:00 — 10:00)
Chile en familia (10:00 — 13:00)
Kids motivate their parents in "Chile en familia" and guest performances by La Banda Corazón Rebelde, María José Quintanilla, Magic Twins, BKN and Natalino.
Young block (13:00 — 18:00)
Presented by television shows Yingo and Calle 7, with musical performances by Rigeo and Francisca Valenzuela.
At 20:30 (UTC-4) a pre-event transmission via Internet in the official site has held, hosted by TV journalist Juan Manuel Astorga, TV news anchorman Fernando Paulsen, and media personality Nicolás Copano.[30]