The Martín Fierro Awards (Spanish: Premios Martín Fierro) is the name of the most prominent awards for Argentine radio and television, granted by APTRA, the Association of Argentine Television and Radio Journalists. The awards were first given in 1959, limited to television. The next year, the awards adopted its current name, after José Hernández' epic poem Martín Fierro (considered by some as the national epic of Argentina). It was embodied on a statuette of a gaucho, by sculptor Luis Perlotti, weighing over 2 kilograms (4 lb). When the award began, the sole television station in the country was Channel 7. As the media outlets grew, the awards expanded to incorporate media from throughout the country. In 1967, radio productions were included in the awards for the first time. Nowaday there