Lidia Elsa Satragno
Encyclopedia
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, where she's popularly known as "Pinky."
Life and times
Lidia Elsa Satragno was born in the western Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
suburb of San Justo
San Justo, Buenos Aires
San Justo is a city and the seat of government of La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.On the initiative of Judge Lino Lagos, the settlement was founded on December 25th, 1858 on land requisitioned from Justo Villegas, a prominent landowner...
in 1935. She debuted on Argentine television in a 1956 vinegar
Vinegar
Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
advertisement and, by 1957, appeared on as many as 22 television ads on any given day. This success led to her own talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
on Argentine Public Television
Canal 7 Argentina
Canal Siete, TV Pública or TV Pública Digital is an Argentine television network founded on October 17, 1951. Between 1979 and 1999, the network was known as Argentina Televisora Color . During the 1978 World Cup, it was known as A78TV.Owned, financed and operated by the Argentine State, Canal 7 is...
, Buenos Días Pinky, during which she was invited as a guest of honor by German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Adenauer
Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
. The show also earned renown for its screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, María Elena Walsh
María Elena Walsh
María Elena Walsh was an Argentine poet, novelist, musician, dramaturge, writer and composer, mainly known for her songs and books for children.-Biography:...
, and helped pave the way for women in Argentine television, generally. Cast by noted period piece
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
Director Leopoldo Torre Nilsson
Leopoldo Torre Nilsson
Leopoldo Torre Nilsson , also known as Leo Towers and as Babsy, was an Argentine film director, producer and screenwriter....
in La caída
La Caída
La caída is a 1959 Argentine drama film directed by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson. It was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival.-Cast:* Elsa Daniel - Albertina* Duilio Marzio - José María* Lautaro Murúa - Uncle Lucas* Lydia Lamaison - Marta...
(The Fall) in 1959, in 1961 she was offered a co-anchorship in news anchorman Bernardo Neustadt's Nosotros (Us), becoming the first Argentine woman on television so honored. Co-hosting Incomunicados with Neustadt in 1963, the show became memorable for an interview held with Arturo Frondizi
Arturo Frondizi
Arturo Frondizi Ercoli was the President of Argentina between May 1, 1958, and March 29, 1962, for the Intransigent Radical Civic Union.-Early life:Frondizi was born in Paso de los Libres, Corrientes Province...
, the first granted by a former President on Argentine television. Her work with Neustadt and introduction to the world of politics led to a frienship with a young UCR
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
strategist, Rodolfo Terragno
Rodolfo Terragno
Rodolfo Terragno is an Argentine politician and lawyer, former Senator and journalist.-Life and times:Terragno was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1943 and obtained a Law Degree from the University of Buenos Aires in 1967, founding the law firm of Terragno & Associates. He married Sonia...
, that she maintains to the present day.
Pinky hosted or co-hosted a number of other talk and variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
s during the 1960s and 1970s, the most successful of which were Feminísima, El pueblo quiere saber (People Want to Know), Pinky y la noticia (Pinky and the News) and La década del '60. She set time aside for other projects, as well, cast by Argentine and Mexican
Mexican cinema
The history of Mexican cinema goes back to the ending of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, when several enthusiasts of the new medium documented historical events – most particularly the Mexican Revolution – and produced some movies that have only recently been rediscovered...
directors in a number of film roles in the 1960s. One of her interview guests in 1962, a rising figure in Argentine tango
Argentine tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre of simple quadruple metre and binary musical form, and the social dance that accompanies it. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments including the bandoneon. Originated at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of...
named Raúl Lavié
Raúl Lavié
Raúl Lavié is an Argentine entertainer prominent in the Tango genre.-Life and work:Raúl Alberto Peralta was born in Rosario, Argentina in 1937. He first sang on a local radio station in 1955 and was subsequently invited to perform on Radio Belgrano and Radio El Mundo in Buenos Aires...
, had recently been separated and quickly developed a relationship with the avuncular hostess; the two were married in 1965.
Enjoying a stellar career, she soon became known as "Ms. Television" in Argentina, though her private life entered a difficult phase. She and Lavié had two sons, but soon grew apart and were separated and reunited a number of times before parting ways in 1974, something Pinky has attributed to infidelity on his part. She was diagnosed with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
in 1970, but recovered a few years later. Pinky was among the stars on hand to inaugurate Argentine color television broadcasting in 1978 but soon fell out of favor with the prevailing dictatorship
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
, however, after agreeing to interview Norma Aleandro
Norma Aleandro
Norma Aleandro Robledo is an Argentine actress and screenwriter, born in Buenos Aires to Pedro Aleandro and María Luisa Robledo, both actors. Her sister, María Vaner, was a famous actress in Argentina.- Life and career :...
, a renowned actress and dissident. This led her to turn to Argentina's vibrant theatre scene, where she accepted leading roles in local productions of Two Women
Two Women
Two Women is a 1960 Italian film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of a woman trying to protect her young daughter from the horrors of war. The film stars Sophia Loren, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Eleonora Brown, Carlo Ninchi and Andrea Checchi...
, The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
and The Prisoner of Second Avenue
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
The Prisoner of Second Avenue is an American black comedy play by Neil Simon, later made into a film released in 1975.The play ran on Broadway from November 1971 until September 1973, with Peter Falk and Lee Grant starring as Mel and Edna Edison, and Vincent Gardenia as Mel's brother Harry. The...
, among others. Pinky produced a successful Buenos Aires presentation of Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
, as well.
Her decision to cohost a 1982 television fundraiser devoted to the ongoing Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
cost the hostess professional clout following the advent of democracy
Argentine general election, 1983
The Argentine general election of 1983 was held on 30 October and marked the return of Democracy after the 1976's dictatorship self-known as National Reorganization Process...
in 1983, whose victorious UCR she supported, ironically. Continuing to host a number of radio and television shows, she relocated to Azul
Azul, Buenos Aires
Azul is the head city of the Azul Partido, located at the center of the Buenos Aires Province in Argentina, 300 km south of Buenos Aires. It has 63,000 inhabitants as per the ....
, where she hosted the nationally-broadcast La década del '80. Pinky became officially affiliated to the struggling, centrist Radical Civic Union
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
following that party's 1995 election of Rodolfo Terragno
Rodolfo Terragno
Rodolfo Terragno is an Argentine politician and lawyer, former Senator and journalist.-Life and times:Terragno was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1943 and obtained a Law Degree from the University of Buenos Aires in 1967, founding the law firm of Terragno & Associates. He married Sonia...
as its President and, in 1999, she ran on the UCR-led Alliance
Alliance for Work, Justice and Education
The Alliance for Work, Justice and Education was a party coalition in Argentina around the turn of the third millennium...
for Supervisor of La Matanza County
La Matanza Partido
La Matanza is a partido located in the Greater Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires Province in Argentina....
, the most populous in the Province of Buenos Aires. Claiming victory after early returns on election night put her narrowly ahead, she was forced to concede defeat later in the evening after a complete tally gave the Justicialist (Peronist) Party candidate, Alberto Balestrini
Alberto Balestrini
Alberto Balestrini is an Argentine fencer. He competed at the 1960 and 1968 Summer Olympics.-References:...
, a narrow edge.
Buenos Aires Mayor Enrique Olivera named her Secretary of Social Policy Promotion for the city in 2000, where she earned plaudits for her efforts against domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
. She returned to television to host Pinky y la conversación in 2001 and was awarded the prestigious Martín Fierro
Martín Fierro
Martín Fierro is a 2,316 line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, El Gaucho Martín Fierro and La Vuelta de Martín Fierro . The poem is, in part, a protest against the modernist tendencies of Argentine president Domingo Faustino Sarmiento...
Award for Broadcasting Excellence in 2006. Having appeared for over 30,000 hours on Argentine television, she announced her intention to run for a seat in the Argentine Lower House of Congress to represent the San Justo area she was raised in and continued to live in. Running on the center-right Republican Proposal
Republican Proposal
Republican Proposal is a right-wing political party in Argentina. It is usually referred to as PRO. PRO was formed as an electoral alliance in 2005, but was transformed into a unitary party on 3 June 2010....
ticket founded by businessman (and current Buenos Aires Mayor) Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri is an Argentine businessman turned politician, and Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Son of Francisco Macri, a businessman of Italian origin prominent in the industrial and construction sectors, he represented the City of Buenos Aires in the Lower House of...
, Pinky was elected to Congress in October 2007. Her two sons, Leonardo and Gastón Satragno, formed Ultratango in 2003, a musical group performing in the Nuevo tango
Nuevo tango
Tango Nuevo - either a form of music in which new elements are incorporated into traditional Argentine tango, or an evolution of tango dance that began to develop in the 1980s...
genre.
Following the 2009 mid-term elections
Argentine legislative election, 2009
Legislative elections were held in Argentina for half the seats in the Chamber of Deputies and a third of the seats in the Senate on 28 June 2009, as well as for the legislature of the City of Buenos Aires and other municipalities.-Background:...
, and at 74 years of age, Pinky became the dean of the Lower House of Congress, presiding over the December 4 session that elected the body's new leadership.