In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Maldonado and the second or maternal family name is Arena. Patricia MaldonadoMaldonado in 2011BornClorinda Érika Patricia Maldonado Arena (1950-09-17) 17 September 1950 (age 75)Santiago, ChileOccupationsSinger and TV hostSpouseJorge Pino (m. 1986)
Clorinda Érika Patricia Maldonado Arena[1] (born 17 September 1950) is a Chilean singer and television presenter. In the 1970s to the late 1990s, she was active as a singer and political activist. Maldonado is widely known in the Chilean media for her strong personality and political controversy.
Artistic career[edit]Maldonado began her career as a performer of boleros and ballads during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1979, she gained stardom with the song "La quintralada", written by Florcita Motuda.[2] That same year, she represented Chile at the OTI Festival 1979 with the song "La música", written by Scottie Scott [es].[3]
In 1982 she debuted as an actor in the telenovela De cara al Mañana on TVN. At the same time, she was the host of the program Pare, mire y escuche and participated as a comedian in Jappening con Ja, replacing Maitén Montenegro. During late 1983, she settled in the United States to develop her singing career, and although she managed to release several singles on Latin music charts, she later returned to Chile.
In 1989, she presented Anímese on Channel 11. However, her public support for the military dictatorship caused most television channels to veto it during the 1990s. At the time, she had several ventures with his spouse, such as a pub called "Confetti's”and a restaurant called “El Vozarrón de la Maldo”.[4]
In the 2000s, she turned away from music and onto television, as a panelist for pink press programs and celebrity shows, including the morning Mucho gusto and Yo soy... (on Mega), Locos por el baile, and Cantando por un sueño (Canal 13).
After the start of the 2019-20 Chilean protests, Maldonado's participation in Mucho gusto was suspended, and her program Sin límites - which she presented with Raquel Argandoña - was canceled by Radio Agricultura.[5] In 2020, the Chilean television channel Mega did not renew their contract with Maldonado, officially ending her 17-year-long career at said channel.[6]
Political career[edit] Maldonado with Augusto PinochetA supporter of then-president Eduardo Frei Montalva, she was a member of the Christian Democratic Party at the age of 15 and was contrary to Salvador Allende's Popular Unity government.[7]
She was an open supporter of the military dictatorship from its beginnings. She refers to Augusto Pinochet as her "compadre", as he was the baptismal godfather of her daughter Patricia, and they shared several political ideals. She also publicly supported the pro-Pinochet "Yes" option for the 1988 plebiscite.[8]
She was an independent candidate for deputy in the 1989 parliamentary elections, but supported by the ultra-right for the 28th electoral district of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, where she obtained 15.38% of the votes, which made her a third individual majority, but not enough to be elected. In 1990, she was one of the founders of the small right-wing party Democracia Nacional de Centro, where she became vice president.[9]
She was again a candidate for deputy in 1997, this time as part of the ultra-right conservative Independent Democratic Union party, in order to represent the 18th electoral district of the Santiago Metropolitan Region. She obtained 11.43% of the votes. Although it constituted the second personal majority, she was not elected. After said election, she stopped participating in party politics. However, she treled repeatedly to London in 1998, on the occasion of the arrest of then senator for life Augusto Pinochet.
In 2025, she joined National Libertarian Party led by Johannes Kaiser, endorsing him.[10]
Filmography[edit] Television programs[edit] 1979 - OTI 1979 1980-1983 - Pare, mire y escuche 1983 - Jappening con Ja 1988-1990 - Cordialmente 1989-1990 - ¡Anímese! 2003 - Con ustedes 2003-2019 - Mucho gusto 2006 - Locos por el baile 2007 - Cantando por un sueño 2009 - La Noche: el reality Conductora 2010 - Sábado por la Noche 2011 - Vive USA 2011-2012 - Yo soy... 2012 - Las Argandoña 2013 - Vértigo Telenovela[edit] 1982 - De cara al mañana Discography[edit] Year Title Type 1973 Desde Hace Tiempo / Eres Lo Que Nunca Quise Ser Single 1974 Dedicado A / Sin Adios Single 1978 Patricia Maldonado Album 1981 A Mi / No Quiero Ser Tu Amante Single 1985 Patricia Maldonado Album 1990 1973-1990 Muchas Gracias Album 2018 Grandes Éxitos Compilation References[edit] ^ "Lucho Jara reveló el verdadero nombre de Patricia Maldonado en "Mucho Gusto"". Pagina 7 (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. ^ "Florcita Motuda habla de sus duetos con Patricia Maldonado". Bush in Action (in Spanish). 20 August 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2020. ^ "Biografía" [Biography]. Last.fm (in Spanish). Last FM. Retrieved 25 November 2020. ^ "Locuaz". La Nación (in Spanish). 14 September 2003. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2020. ^ "La radical decisión de Patricia Maldonado tras el estallido social en Chile". FMDOS (in Spanish). 14 November 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2020. ^ "Mega no renueva contrato a Patricia Maldonado". La Prensa Austral (in Spanish). 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020. ^ Maldonado, Patricia (4 March 2016). "Aprendí a usar armas en la DC". El Periodista (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2020. ^ "Los 100 rostros del Sí". The Clinic (in Spanish). 5 October 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2020. ^ "Resolución 461 Exenta". Biblioteca Nacional del Congreso de Chile (in Spanish). 4 June 1990. Retrieved 25 November 2020. ^ "Desde Paty Maldonado a Claudio Crespo: los embajadores de Kaiser y lo que no se vio de su polémico lanzamiento de campaña". La Tercera. 14 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025. External links[edit] Patricia Maldonado on Instagram Patricia Maldonado on YouTube vteChile in the OTI FestivalParticipation 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 2000 Songs "Agualuna" "Amor, volveré" "Canción contra la tristeza" "Chocando paredes" "Cuando tú vuelvas" "Desde las nubes" "Era sólo un chiquillo" "Es mi libertad" "Fin de siglo, éste es el tiempo de inflamarse, deprimirse o transformarse" "Haciendo música" "La misma vida, el mismo modo" "La movida" "La música" "La vida va" "Las puertas del mundo" "María y Manuel" "Nunca sabrás cuánto te amo" "Oda a mi guitarra" "Para poder vivir" "Pobrecito mortal, si quieres ver menos televisión, descubrirás qué aburrido estarás por la tarde" "Si hoy tenemos que cantar a tanta gente, pensémoslo" "Si no hubieras estado tú" "Si no te tuviera a ti" "Sin razón" "Te confieso" "Te prometo" "Tú, naturaleza" "Una vez, otra vez" Performers Guillermo Basterrechea Capri Cecilia Castro Osvaldo Díaz Juan Carlos Duque Claudio Escobar José Alfredo Fuentes Nino García Pablo Herrera Patricia Maldonado Magdalena Matthey Juan Pablo Méndez Florcita Motuda José Luis Moya María Inés Neillán Alberto Plaza Pancho Puelma Rachel Catalina Telias Fernando Ubiergo Eduardo Valenzuela Wildo Keko Yunge Antonio Zabaleta