Rafael Araneda faced criticism from Francisca García-Huidobro following a live broadcast dispute with Tita Ureta during the Teletón campaign.
The Teletón Broadcast Dispute
The tension unfolded on the morning of Saturday, November 7, 2026, when Ureta stepped in to read a progress update on the telethon’s fundraising efforts.
Stepping up to announce the tally for the first time as a campaign host, Ureta expressed her excitement to viewers.
“Oh! It’s my first time, a tremendous tally, hands up, we’re at $7,825,743,820. Let’s go, Chileans!” she said, according to reporting from El Observatodo.
Araneda immediately interjected to lower expectations, arguing that the tally lagged far behind what the charity needed at that hour of the broadcast.
“Let’s see, let’s see, it’s 10 in the morning, but I don’t think this is a tally to celebrate,” Araneda told her on air, as detailed by Cooperativa.
Ureta asked if her optimistic tone was out of line.
Araneda replied that optimism was fine, but banks had been open for two hours and donations remained critically low across branches.
Francisca García-Huidobro Attacks Araneda
The exchange drew sharp condemnation on Monday, November 10, 2026, when García-Huidobro addressed the incident on the Chilevisión program Plan Perfecto.
García-Huidobro took direct aim at Araneda’s handling of his younger co-host, according to Cooperativa.
Rafael Araneda, why do you treat a 30-year-old girl who just joined a major network to host a prime-time show poorly, just because in her youth she’s celebrating a fundraising tally? What do you take yourself for? Who put you up to this, to put it in plain Spanish?
Fran García-Huidobro, via Cooperativa
García-Huidobro also criticized Araneda for acting as “the arbiter of truth and of the Chilean television industry” and told him to stop being so paternalistic on the broadcast, Cooperativa reported.
Marcela Vacarezza Defends Her Husband
Marcela Vacarezza stepped into the public debate during an appearance on Canal 13’s Alfombra Roja, defending Araneda’s actions and pushing back against García-Huidobro.
Vacarezza argued that García-Huidobro lacked a full understanding of the broadcast because she had never completed the full 27 hours of the charity event.
“People who have gone to the Teletón for many years know how it is; Fran García-Huidobro has never been there for the full 27 hours, therefore she doesn’t know that tallies aren’t given out very frequently,” Vacarezza explained, according to Canal 13.
Vacarezza maintained that Araneda did not scold Ureta, but rather pointed out the harsh reality of the numbers to prompt viewers to donate.
Escalation and Warnings on Television
The war of words intensified further when García-Huidobro responded directly to Vacarezza’s television defense on the next installment of Plan Perfecto.
The host told Vacarezza that her defense of Araneda was misplaced, before issuing a pointed warning about additional off-camera footage from the telethon.
García-Huidobro asserted that many people in television shared her view but remained silent out of fear that Araneda could use his influence with network management to cost them their jobs.
Ureta Missed the Incident Initially
Amid the growing controversy, Ureta told Canal 13 that she initially failed to notice anything amiss during the live transmission.
“The truth is I didn’t realize when this happened; I know Rafa, I’ve worked with him at the Viña Festival and I didn’t see it that way until I found out about it later through social networks and started watching videos,” Ureta said, as reported by Radio Agricultura.
While acknowledging that such interactions should not happen in a space dedicated to joy, she said that Araneda had reached out to her after the event and that she preferred to focus on the positive outcome of the campaign.
Contacted from Mexico, where he was working on production commitments for Televisa Univision, Araneda declined to engage with the criticisms levied by García-Huidobro.
“The goal was met, which is what really matters to me, and that’s why I work on whatever they ask of me,” Araneda told a reporter from Que te lo digo.
