| Cristina Saralegui | |
|---|---|
Saralegui in 1992 |
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| Born | Cristina Saralegui January 29, 1948 Havana, Cuba |
| Occupation | Journalist, actress, talk show host |
| Spouse(s) | Marcos Avila (1982-present) |
| Years active | 1973-present |
| Website | |
| http://www.cristinaonline.com/ | |
Cristina Saralegui (born January 29, 1948, Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban American journalist, actress and talk show host of the Spanish-language eponymous show, Cristina. She also has her own fashion line of accessories and comforters for bed and bath.
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Following the Cuban Revolution, Saralegui fled with her family to Miami in 1960 at the age of 12. Saralegui and her family lived on Key Biscayne, where she also attended school.
After graduating from Academy of the Assumption in 1966, Saralegui was a student at the University of Miami. In 1973 she began an internship at the magazine Vanidades, where she taught herself to write Spanish, as she had nearly all of her formal schooling in the United States and only functioned in Spanish at the oral level. Saralegui eventually worked her way up to editor of the Spanish version of Cosmopolitan magazine in 1979. She led Spanish Cosmopolitan through most of the 1980s.
In 1989, Saralegui decided to transfer her journalism success to television, launching a Miami-based Spanish-language talk show, El Show de Cristina (The Cristina Show) to Univisión.
During the 1990s, Saralegui's show increased in popularity. Prominent guests included Shakira, Don Francisco, the former members of Menudo, Selena, Celia Cruz, Thalía, Julio Iglesias, Alejandro Fernández, Enrique Iglesias, Pitbull, Sussan Taunton, Jorge Ramos, Gloria Estefan and her husband Emilio Estefan, Jr., Gloria Trevi, Chayanne, Ricky Martin, RBD, Niurka, Noelia, Anaís, George Lopez, Jennifer Lopez, Alexandra Cheron, Amelia Vega, Angélica Vale, Angélica María and others. In one of her most widely viewed shows, she put Edgardo Díaz face-to-face with one of the former members of Menudo, Ralphy Rodríguez, so they could confront each other over allegations of abuse that Rodríguez had made against Díaz. On another show, Gloria Trevi spent a large amount of time as she spoke about her life.
Saralegui went on to publish her own magazine, Cristina: La Revista (Cristina: The Magazine) and several books. She is often referred to as "the Spanish Oprah".[1][2]
She also had a short lived English-language talk show in 1992, Cristina, which was carried on the CBS owned-and-operated stations in major markets, but was cancelled after half a season.
On March 1, 2010, the song Somos El Mundo premiered during Saralegui's show with an appeal to help the Haiti relief effort. It was translated by Gloria Estefan, produced by her husband Emilio Estefan and approved by Quincy Jones.[3]
The last show aired on November 1, 2010 after 21 years. Hosted by Mexican actor, Fernando Colunga, Cristina was celebrated by her colleagues Daniela Romo, Cesar Evora, Thalia, Shakira, Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan, Angelica Maria, Carmen Salinas, Don Francisco, Jorge Ramos, and more. Some of her Univision colleagues were sitted in the audience from where they interacted with Cristina herself, sharing anectotes and messages of hope and admiration. The week before on Monday, October 25, 2010, Cristina shared a look back on her career, compartamentalizing her most memorable shows and guests. Saralegui concluded each and every episode with her signature double thumbs-up signature salute and the Cuban expression "Pa'lante, pa'lante, pa'tras ni pa' coger impulso" which translates loosely as "Forward, forward; don't step back, not even to pick up the pace."[2]
On her final minutes in Univision, Saralegui said "Cristina no se retira, jamas dejaría esto... aquí hay Cristina y ¡para rato!" which roughly translates into "Cristina does not retire, I would never leave this... there is (still) Cristina and for a (good) while!". Saralegui remains under contract with Univision until December 31, 2010. It was previously stated that she would have remained on Univision as a collaborator for special programs and interview. It is has been unofficially claimed that the new Cristina show would debut on March, 2011.[4] This did not happen.
In an interview, she said to Graciela Mori that she had offers from Telemundo and from Mexico.
In an interview to Estrella TV in Los Angeles, California Cristina said she will return during the summer of 2011. She also said she didn't accept Univision's offer of making a special show once a year.
Cristina has offers from Telemundo, Televisa, Azteca America and CNN en Español.
On February 18, 2011, The Spanish Network Azteca America presented a one-hour special titled "Cristina Breaks the Silence" where for the first time since her retirement from Univision, Saralegui was interviewed on television. The interview, hosted by Frank Cairo, a former producer and creator of the Cristina show, touched on many issues, from guests who were considered "difficult", to the unexpected announcement from the executives of Univision that her show was being canceled, as well as reactions, emotions, and responses to the news. Saralegui declared during the interview that she suspects that the network (Univision) in an attempt to modernize their image and cater to younger audiences decided to slowly phase out the TV personalities that did not fit that image.
Saralegui also plugged her new fashion line "Casa Cristina" and declared that she will return, but made no mention to specific plans or networks affiliated with her future work.
It was announced on May 17, 2011 that Telemundo had hired Cristina for a weekly variety show entitled Pa'lante con Cristina, beginning in the fall of 2011.[5] She debuted on Telemundo on May 31, 2011 hosting a one-hour special retrospective featuring the stars of the just-completed telenovela La Reina del Sur.
Cristina Saralegui debuted as an actress on Nickelodeon's Taina with Ernesto Espinoza as the school's principal. In 2001, she began a recurring role as tía (aunt) Cristina Lopez on the American soap opera Passions, in two episodes. In 2003, she appeared on The George Lopez Show, where she played Lidia. Saralegui has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Saralegui has been married since 1982 to Marcos Avila, a former member of the Miami Sound Machine music band. She has three children: Cristina Amalia (nicknamed "Titi", from Saralegui's first marriage to Tony Menendez), Jon Marcos, and Stephanie (Marco's daughter from a previous marriage).
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | George Lopez (TV series) | Lydia | 2 episodes:George Has Two Mommies & Would You Like a Drumstick or a Kidney? |
Currently, Saralegui has joined forces with AARP to help bring awareness within the Latino community about the benefits AARP has to offer. They have created ¡Amigos Live!,[6] an online interactive video.