Las 24 horas de las Malvinas ("The 24 Hours of the Malvinas/Falklands") was a 24-hour television program broadcast in 1982 to raise funds for the Argentine armed forces who went to fight in the Falklands War.
The program attracted scrutiny over how the money raised was handled; although the destination of the money raised could not be clearly established, it is generally believed from the statements of people involved that either the whole sum or a large part of it never reached its destination.
The program was hosted for a continuous 24-hour period by presenters Lidia Elsa Satragno, better known as "Pinky," and Jorge "Cacho" Fontana. The program, produced by Argentina Televisora Color (ATC), exalted the patriotic spirit of the audience, and brought together dozens of actors who donated personal belongings, and donations from viewers were received that were used to raise funds for the men who had gone to fight in the Falkland Islands.
Among the figures who participated in the broadcast were Arturo Puig, Andrea del Boca, Susana Giménez, Diego Maradona, Daniel Passarella, Mariano Mores, Mirtha Legrand, Libertad Lamarque, Norma Aleandro, Haydée Padilla, Jorge Porcel, Santiago Gómez Cou, Pierina Dealessi and Ricardo DarÃÂn, among others.
As detailed in her work by Mirta Varela, researcher at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET):
Soccer player Diego Maradona donated a check for $L100,000,000 (US$7,117 at the time), which was delivered by his then-representative Jorge Cyterszpiler. In addition, jewelry, coats, and other items were collected. At the end of the program, a total of $22,874,769,000 pesos ley (equivalent to US$ 1,628,097 at the time) was delivered, which â integrated into the Fondo Patriótico Malvinas Argentinas ("Argentine Malvinas Patriotic Fund") which had been created by Decree No. 759â the majority of the press and the public believe never reached its destination, based on interviews with people involved in the broadcast.
In an interview in 2005, Vice Commodore Juan Carlos Rogani, in charge of managing donations for the war, acknowledged that objects that were considered "of no commercial value", mostly those that were tokens of affection from the Argentine population towards the soldiers fighting in the war, were discarded. He stated: