(Spanish CNN) – Santiago Maratea uses the power of social networks to promote solidarity campaigns. In his latest achievement, the young Argentinian helped raise $ 2 million to treat Emma, a baby with a rare neurodegenerative disease. In an interview “In Dialogue with Longobardi”, he told how he did to involve brands in his collections, he spoke about the differences between the different social networks and recalled the anecdote of the time when his admiration for Ellen DeGeneres got him into trouble.
Marcelo Longobardi: In your Instagram bio, you say “what I do is not charity”. I am referring to various solidarity campaigns, among which the case of mothers of victims of human trafficking, that of the Wichi community in the province of Salta and that of Emmita, which is surely the one that has done you the most. know in Argentina. If what you have accomplished is not charity, what is it?
Santiago Maratea: I started many years ago with this branded business that gave me gifts. So I decided that I had started asking twice as much to give half. But other than that, he offered stocks to companies so that they could have more sales. I intend that in addition to helping, it is to generate productivity. It’s a way of involving brands, of integrating them into a campaign. But what happened with the cases that you mention is that people started to invest money. The decision to help or not was his, no more marks in the middle.
Marcelo Longobardi: How was Omar from the Wichi community? An indigenous people who are found in the north of Argentina and who are also present in Bolivia.
Santiago Maratea: Omar is a friend I met during a show at Circo del Sol. In the midst of the pandemic, he lost his job and called me. He wanted me to help him find a job, but it was impossible. So I asked him for his contact details and posted the bank account on my Instagram. We raised US $ 8,536 (800,000 Argentinian pesos) so that he, his family and his neighbors could live on until the end of the year. Then they needed an ambulance and we were able to get two vans for the community.
Marcelo Longobardi: I found the story of the Mothers Victims of Trafficking association very surprising, which is an extremely painful subject.
Santiago Maratea: This case was great. It helped me understand a situation in my country that I was not aware of. He taught me the downsides of patriarchal status and sexist consumption. We helped them secure US $ 85,357 (8 million Argentinian pesos) to rent a cultural center.
Marcelo Longobardi: Tell me about the case of Emmita. She has spinal muscular atrophy, which is a very complicated disease.
Santiago Maratea: Yes, it is a very serious problem and the drug costs $ 2 million.
Marcelo Longobardi: How long did it take to get them back?
Santiago Maratea: In reality, I was to raise 1.6 million US dollars. They already had $ 500,000. Emmita’s family and I gathered the rest in 10 days. It was over $ 100,000 a day. Something without explanation. It was a bit more extreme, because it took a lot more people to contribute. This is why different celebrities joined to tell their followers (…) It was stressful, but it showed the power of social networks and also that Argentina wants to see beautiful things happen.
Contrasts between networks
How are influencers similar to journalists? 1:21
Marcelo Longobardi: So that my generation can understand, explain to me what differences do you find between Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube?
Santiago Maratea: Instagram is the most popular and therefore the most boring today. It is a network which is today confronted with the sale. By advertising to promote your content. On the other hand, on TikTok you find a lot more profiles that are good for what they do and not because they paid for you to see it.
Marcelo Longobardi: While for me Instagram is the future, for you it is already the past. TikTok is the present, and Twitter?
Santiago Maratea: Twitter is the devil that we all carry on the inside. The day everything falls on the Internet, this is what will continue to work. If I see something and want to know it, I go to Twitter. There is a lot of information, although at the same time it can be a drain.
Marcelo Longobardi: What about Facebook and Snapchat?
Santiago Maratea: Facebook is the total past. But at the same time it’s the social network that works the most or the one with the most users… Snapchat seems to me the best social network to send nude photos.
Marcelo Longobardi: My favorite is YouTube…
Santiago Maratea: YouTube is like television. Everyone is there: Alberto Fernández, Biden, the Pope. If there is a live conference, it is also on the Vatican channel on YouTube.
Influencer explains why Instagram got boring 1:14
A Brush with the Law by Ellen DeGeneres
Marcelo Longobardi: I know your very interesting story. I admit that I identify with myself, because when I was young I did the same thing, but with less success. I also went to the chain gate to meet people. How come you were caught by the police meeting Ellen DeGeneres herself at Warner Bros. Studios?
Santiago Maratea: I’ve always been drawn to Hollywood, so I took a plane and went there. He was a boy, he had a different face, he was more delirious than now. One day I went to Warner’s door and stood there for 10 minutes, three policemen came out and told me to leave. I was sad, but the next week I came back. I looked at the famous tank, I got closer, I crossed the barrier and no one stopped me. I continued to walk. I was in there for 45 minutes, one of the best experiences of my life. Now I’m old enough to break the rules like this.
Marcelo Longobardi: Did the police catch you again and end up in front of a judge?
Santiago Maratea: Yes, the police did an assessment of the places where I was. I was there for 5 hours, they checked if I had a file and they checked that I did not have any. They released me later, but with a life restriction order. So I explained to the judge that I needed an exception, what if Ellen DeGeneres invited me to her show? I told him my story, how I got there and he found it fascinating. He said, “Well, give me a second.” He went and changed the document. Now he said he could come in “in case she invites him publicly or via social media.” There the spell was broken. So if that ever happens, I can come in.
Editor’s Note: The program “In dialogue with Longobardi” is broadcast every Sunday at 9 p.m. in Miami (10 p.m. in Buenos Aires) on CNN on the Spanish screen. In addition, their broadcasts can be heard on different platforms.
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