A Live Wire
By Ana Figueroa

Cristina Online

If pure life force had a name, it would be "Cristina Saralegui." The renowned talk-show host seems like energy incarnate as she sweeps into the lobby of the Coronado Bay Resort in San Diego, California. She is here for a brief but special visit, to receive an award from a community services agency that helps needy families along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Resplendent in a gold knit suit, her trademark blonde hair immaculately coifed, Saralegui appears much softer and prettier in person than on television. Despite a tight schedule, a concurrent photo shoot, and a crowd of well-wishers surrounding her, she is charming, funny, and animated as she talks about family, philanthropy, and life after menopause. Her husband and manager, Juan Marcos Avila, a founding member of the band Miami Sound Machine, stands nearby, keeping fans at bay for our interview.

"2004 is going to be a huge year for us. My husband and I celebrate our 20th anniversary. The [television talk show] Cristina Show celebrates its 15th year on the air. And we're marrying off our oldest daughter, Titi," says Saralegui in her trademark rapid-fire Spanish.

'I’m too old to do things other people make me do… I only do the things that I believe in'

To add to her already hectic year, Saralegui recently announced a development deal with Touchstone Television to star in an English-language sitcom about her life. She and Avila will co-executive produce the series, and hope to have a pilot ready by spring. If a network picks up the pilot, the show will air in fall 2004, making Saralegui the first woman in history to have television shows in English and Spanish at the same time.

Of course, Saralegui's story is already the stuff of legend. Born in Cuba and into a prominent publishing dynasty, she fled to Miami with her family in 1960, when she was 12. After attending the University of Miami, she interned at Vanidades, the venerable women's magazine that her grandfather founded and later sold. She worked her way up the ranks in the publishing business, eventually becoming editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan en español in 1979.

Says Sarelegui, "As a child, my role model was my dad [Francisco Saralegui passed away in 2003]. He was bigger than life. He was very entrepreneurial and was always creating new business ventures. I always called him my "Pirate Love". He had such energy. Later, I had the opportunity to work alongside many good editors who taught me a lot. My biggest role model was Helen Gurley-Brown, Cosmopolitan's editor-in-chief emerita. She's a great friend and feminist. I call her my "Professional Mama," and she still is a great inspiration.

After ten years as editor of Cosmopolitan en español, Saralegui ventured into the world of television. She executive-produced and starred in her own daytime talk show on Univisión network stations. The rest, as they say, is media history.

The Cristina Show quickly became Spanish-language television's top-rated daily talk show, with more than 100 million viewers in the U.S. and Latin America. A year ago, the show switched from the grueling daily format to a weekly format, airing each Monday at 10 p.m. It remains the number one Spanish-language television talk show in the United States and has earned ten Emmys in its long run.

"What I like most about our show is its variety. One day you may tune in and find a very funny show, and the next you may hear us tackling a very difficult subject or featuring a celebrity. I think this mix makes us unique and quite entertaining," Saralegui says.

After 15 years, does she ever worry about running out of topics?

Saralegui responds, "Ever ask why newspapers never run out of ideas? Well, a television show is the same. As long as people continue to be people, ideas or topics for new shows will continue to flow."

In addition to the incredible success of the Cristina Show, Saralegui and Avila have created a media empire, Cristina Saralegui Enterprises, Inc. Their base of operations is Blue Dolphin Studios, a 50,000-square-foot Miami facility that the couple opened in 2001. Blue Dolphin houses a modern television production center, where the Cristina Show is taped, as well as editing facilities and three sound stages. Two other Saralegui ventures are headquartered there: Cristina, la Revista, the monthly magazine co-published by Saralegui and distributed throughout the U.S. and Latin America, and CristinaOnline.com, a bilingual website that keeps fans updated on all of Saralegui's projects. The site also provides highlights from her 1998 autobiography, Cristina!: My Life as a Blonde. Saralegui also has a daily radio program on ABC Radio International, called Cristina Opina, in which she gives opinions and motivational messages about various social topics.

With Spanish-language media clearly conquered, Saralegui has shrewdly set her sights on its English-language counterparts. Over the years, she's made increasing headway. She's appeared on the NBC soap opera Passions and is a popular celebrity contestant on Hollywood Squares. For the past two seasons, she has made guest appearances on the George Lopez show as Lopez's stepmother, Lydia. Saralegui believes the key to seeing more Latinos on English-language television is to have "a good product that everyone, Latinos and non-Latinos, can relate to." Clearly, that is what she is hoping to provide in her new sitcom, which she describes as a "dream come true."

One gets the feeling, however, that Saralegui's true gift is her ability to motivate and empower people. "People don't want to take responsibility for their lives. As I say, it is not God's fault. It is not Fidel Castro's fault. It's not your teacher's fault. It's you. It's your attitude. Your life is you," says Saralegui emphatically.

A glance at Saralegui's schedule of appearances demonstrates that in addition to motivating people, helping others is a huge part of her life. She travels frequently, making appearances at benefits and accepting awards from charities and social service agencies across the country that she and Avila have supported. Saralegui looks around at the crowd attending the benefit in the San Diego hotel. "I'm a Cuban from Miami, but I'm here because [California Lt. Governor] Cruz Bustamante, who is a Mexican American, is a friend of mine, and he asked me to come. I think we all need to help bring about positive changes in the lives of Latinos wherever we can."

She adds, "We don't do it for other people. We do it because we want a life in the U.S. that is beautiful. And we have to fight for it. People who protest, 'Oh my God, they're going to raise my taxes.' well, who the hell is going to pay for your stuff? You're here. You've got to pay for it. You're the one who lives here."

Saralegui's obvious passion about the lives of fellow Hispanics is most evident in her work with the HIV and AIDS crisis.

"When I started on television, it was April 1989. That first week, I taped a show tackling the HIV/AIDS issue, and I was surprised at my total ignorance about this very important health issue. That show motivated me to learn more about HIV/AIDS, and that's how I became more involved and finally an activist," recalls Saralegui.

She and Avila established a charitable foundation, Arriba la Vida, in 1996, to help people affected by HIV and AIDS on a grassroots level. "Even though I understand that my biggest contributions have been in the awareness and communications field, helping my people understand how important it is to get tested and protect themselves is vital," notes Saralegui.

Each December 1, World AIDS Day, Arriba La Vida hosts a unique fundraising event at Blue Dolphin Studios. Saralegui and Avila commission a large installation artwork that is auctioned off in sections, with all proceeds going to the foundation. "The first year, the artwork was a 16-foot by 7-foot mural made up of 1-foot panels. It was called The Wall of Hope. The second year, the work was a Virgin Mary made out of 1-foot wooden panels," she says, adding, "I can honestly say that both works of art were awesome."

At 55, Saralegui says, "I'm too old to do things other people make me do. I used to do that, when I was young, and I had a little kid. But I don't do that anymore. I only do the things that I believe in."

When she finds time to relax, Saralegui loves to watch scary movies. "It takes my mind off all the work and responsibilities," she says. She and Avila also like to unwind at Little Palm Island in the Florida Keys. But the busy needs of their blended family have always come first for the couple. In addition to bank economist Titi, 25, Saralegui's daughter from her first marriage, there is Stephanie, 21, Avila's daughter from his first marriage, now a student at Parsons School of Design in New York City. The couple's son, Jon Marcos, 17, is in high school.

Says Saralegui, "We have three kids, his, mine, and ours. What is so important is that they love each other like they were from the same parents. And it had nothing to do with me. It had to do with my husband, because the guy is the one that cooks. When the kids needed to go to the pediatrician, he would do that, because I had to be working. My husband, by being such a nurturing man, taught me how to be a macho woman."

Now the family is busy planning Titi's upcoming wedding. "I love my son-in-law to-be. He's Italian. he's six-foot-three, so we finally have someone who can reach the cupboards," laughs Saralegui.

She adds, "All of my girlfriends are grandmothers, except me. I'm dying of envy. I tell Titi, 'Let's get going with this.' She says, 'Mami, I'm only 25. I'm barely getting married right now.' She doesn't want to rush into anything. So I guess I have to wait."

Being around Saralegui, one gets the feeling that the word wait is one she doesn't like to hear. She says, "Let me tell you something. When you go through your 40s, you go through something very bizarre called menopause. In this country, they treat it like a disease. They medicate it. They teach people that there is something wrong with them, and that they are less attractive. It's like when you first get your menstruation, and you are 12, as I was. You go over the hump and you've got this second wind. It's like, 'Wait a minute, because here I come.' "

She adds, "I'm going through that second-wind part of my life right now. Boy, am I loving it."

Return to Top