The news of Pinky’s death, this December 8, at the age of 87, it shook the tranquility of the holiday and saddened its huge legion of radio listeners and television viewers. In addition to having been a key figure in the media, she was chosen to usher in color television 42 years ago.
At that point, the necessary technology arrived much later than in many countries, but just like it has been experienced here as a huge national landmark-, Lidia Elsa Satragno has had a solid career as a communicator. And she, as host, she played the one who painted a palette of colors on good old black and white TV.
In light of his death, let’s review what that meant that transcendental step in Argentine broadcasting, given on May 1, 1980.
The danger of “moiré”
Moiré, according to the definitions of the Oxford Languages: “Fabric that is given a finish that produces a water effect, especially silk”.
Consulted last year, on the 41st anniversary of that event, he explained to Gustavo Yankelevich clarion how that historic moment was experienced from within. He shared, from his role as producer at the time, an order that had to be strictly adhered to: “We should not, by any means, allow any actor or actress to wear something in your wardrobe that could produce the moiré effect”.
Of course, he came from the dominated sphere of the broad gray range, premiered on October 17 ’51 -date of the official start of Argentine TV-, and suddenly switched to the so-called “chromatic screen”, as polychromatic was colloquially called, in addition to black and white. With all the enthusiasm, but also with all the doubts.
Y with red being the most dangerous color, because given to escape from the edges.
The story indicates May 1, 1980 as the day that uninterrupted color broadcasts began in Argentina. Before a voice seems to say “But how? If I could see the ’78 World Cup final at full speed”let’s clarify the dates.
Is that, before the new system could be implemented, there were experimental broadcasts, to be able to adapt the image and contents to the advanced universe. TV, like a chiche born to compete with radio, was no longer a novelty. I had to go more.
It was that long way before some, if they had compatible televisions, you could see, for example, the Argentina-Netherlands final in 1978. Even those who had bought the ticket for the cinemas that had bought it to project it on the big screen had this possibility.
Major League Television
As if to understand the qualitative and quantitative leap represented by the transition from gray to all the possible shades of a palette that seemed utopian you have to stop in the country of that year, crossed in all respects by the military dictatorship.
Of Of the 4 million households that had at least one television in their home, only about 250,000 have had the opportunity to receive. And, moreover, they had to be able to access the Pal-N standard, which Argentina had acquired. The television crack of that time was Pal-N versus NTSC. If we have familiarized ourselves with those acronyms (those of us who were born long before 80).
Also, not all devices purchased overseas (most had been imported) fitted easily. Access to one was around $500. The chronicles of that time speak of a 20-inch color television equaled three refrigerators.
It was not necessary to let go of the more than three million who continued to see the old way. And, at the same time, it was necessary to ride the wave of the outpost.
The era of “see it all”
Gone were the old tricks so that everything looked beautiful in black and white times. He had to stop using a red band for make-up that has been put on the chin by some, so that the ceiling light does not darken the pearfor instance.
What was TV glory to the viewer, internally it was experienced as an infinite front of challenges. That same distance of states occurred by celebrating colour: why that May 1st 42 years ago was fundamental for the public -except those few who had been able to see some things- who discovered the chromatic life behind the usual greys.
However, for those who were working on it, that feeling was already an old acquaintance.
Apart from the fact that some testimonies of the time highlighted the possible danger of color emission in people who were less than one and a half meters from the screenthose who were part of that milestone rule out that it was a health threat. Color, with all that it meant, was approved by the Law: in the figure 21,895 the Pal-N system for color is adopted.
The truth is, on Labor Day, after seeing the blue and white of the Argentine flagATC and Canal 13, with Fernando Bravo on one signal and Pinky on the other, Argentinian TV, to paraphrase Louis Sandrini in the movie When elves hunt partridges, seen the colors.
pinky is welcome
“And how do I control the emotion, if I’m here to say hello to an old friend? I have to say goodbye to black and white television (…) Ladies and gentlemen, here is color television.he said that day Lydia Satragno in a speech that aroused emotions and colors, while the flag waved between one situation and another.
Channel 9 only joined the polychromatic movement on 9 May, and later, Channel 11.
“We had to pay attention to a lot of things that we had naturalized before. For example, continuity in the locker room. Or the pros and cons of some colors,” said Yankelevich, essential piece of the history of Argentine television. It’s in your DNA.
In this sense, your traffic light was composed of “the Redwhich had to be used with caution because it tended to leak. The target It was also a subject, it had to be avoided in certain clothes because very light clothes burned the lights, and also the greenbecause it could merge with the chroma (the background used in TV to project images). You had to know whether or not he made stripes”.
In 1979, when he was producing at ATC, that hit called Lopez’s children, the color was already used in the recordings. And, looking back on all that time, “I feel like we walked our way. E The word moiré stuck in me like a flash from all that learning”.
In the early 80s, a phrase that emerged right in the kidney of TV played with the risks of change: “Color television will kill you”. Word of Eleonora, with long straight hair, a wonderful character from Ana Maria Campoywhich frightened many at the beginning of “television truth”, as the newest color television was called.
Source: Clarin
