Saralegui, Cristina (1948–)

Cristina Saralegui is widely known as the "Latina Oprah." Her family left Cuba, as did many upperclass families in the early waves of exile migrations, and moved to Miami, Florida, in 1960. In Cuba her family had been well established in the publishing business and owned and operated several Cuban magazines. Saralegui attended the University of Miami and majored in communications, with intentions of following in the family business. After college she worked for women's magazines and eventually became editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan en Español. In 1989 she became the executive producer and host of her own talk show, "El Show de Cristina." The show has become known for dealing with controversial subjects, and early on it received criticism from sectors of the Latino population in the United States and Latin America. Despite her critics, the show has become an entertainment success, ranking among the top Spanish-language programs in the United States and winning an Emmy award in 1991. The popularity of the show spiked in the 1990s, and it has drawn many famous Latino guests. Overall, Saralegui is considered an important figure within the Latino community, and she sees her role as helping to address and deal with the problems of the Latino population in the United States.

See alsoHispanics in the United States; Radio and Television.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Telgen, Diane, and Jim Kamp, eds. Latinas! Women of Achievement. Detroit, MI: Visible Ink Press, 1996.

                                    Andrea Vicente