Lucy Pereda: Tailored Smarts
By Ana Figueroa

It's hard to put a label on Lucy Pereda. As host of the long-running home magazine show, En Casa de Lucy, she dispenses advice on topics ranging from interior decorating to low-fat cooking. The wildly popular show airs on Galavision in the United States and is seen in 18 South American and Caribbean countries. "Lucy is a true Latina lifestyle expert and we are thrilled to have her on our network," a Galavision spokesperson says. "She inspires, informs, and entertains Hispanic America with her useful tips and creative ideas on cooking, gardening, home decorating, housecleaning, arts and crafts, and much more."

‘When I believe in something, I don’t let go. That’s the best advice I have for any woman who wants to do something’

But Pereda's success goes far beyond her talents as a "lifestyle expert." In the past three decades, Pereda has become a one-woman industry, reinventing herself several times over: fashion model, designer, television personality, producer, author, and entrepreneur. She became the ultimate multitasker. 

Pereda, who admits to being in her late 50s, is one of the Hispanic world's most recognized personalities, enjoying the greatest success of her career. "This is a fabulous time for her, without question," says Pereda's personal manager and former husband, Rafael Fusaro. "There are lots of new opportunities coming her way." One of the most exciting of those recent opportunities is a new apparel line, The Lucy Pereda collection, launched last fall at Sears stores across the country.

The peripatetic Pereda has so many other projects in the works that even her daughter, Lucia Bartscher, 29, finds it hard to keep up. Bartscher, who lives in Portland, Oregon, speaks by phone with Pereda a few times a week. "She's so busy with the show, with the new clothing line, yet she calls to ask what's been going on with me. My brothers [Danny, 32, and Carlos, 33] and I have always felt that we're at the top of the list with her," she says.

The ebullient Pereda, who is based in Miami, recently discussed her storied career path, the importance of family, and how she views Hispanic women.

Q: You are creator, executive producer, and on-camera talent for En Casa de Lucy. Yet, not many people realize you got your first big break as a weather girl in Puerto Rico. Tell us about that.

A: Well, when I was very young, my father moved us from Cuba to the United States. He later moved the family to Puerto Rico. I worked as a fashion model and got a job at a television station. I was cute and young, and stood behind a Plexiglas screen with a map on it. I would write the temperatures backwards, so the audience would see them correctly. The public really loved that. It seems funny to me now that I made a name for myself by writing backwards.

Q: What happened after your successful weather girl stint?

A: I moved on to news anchor, then produced several television specials that were very well received. I eventually got my own lifestyle show in Puerto Rico, La Primera Tanda con Lucy, which ran for about 10 years.

Q: While in Puerto Rico, you married Rafael Fusaro and had three children. Your daughter Lucia says she remembers visiting you often at the studio and also at the clothing boutiques you owned.

A: Yes, I've always had an interest in design, painting, and decorating, ever since I attended design school in Baltimore. Once I became a household name in Puerto Rico, I decided to start my own pret-a-porter and haute couture lines. So I opened a boutique in Plaza Las Americas, which was and is still the biggest shopping center on the island.

Q: You were enjoying quite a bit of success in Puerto Rico. What made you decide to move to Miami?

A: It was in the early 1980s, and my husband's business was expanding. We decided to come to Miami, where I had to start all over again. I got a job at a local news station and then at Univision. I hosted El Mundo Latino with Jorge Ramos, as well as a myriad of festivals and awards shows. After that, I had a national daily radio talk show, El Show de Lucy Pereda.

Q: I believe you traveled quite a bit after that?

A: Yes. For a year, I did a variety show in Mexico called En Vivo. Then I went back to Puerto Rico after I was asked to help revamp the image of a magazine called Imagen.

Q: This was when you started the En Casa de Lucy show?

A: Yes, we started it in Puerto Rico, and it was a huge hit. The cable channel that carried the show asked if I wanted to move the show to Miami. So, I returned [to Miami] in 1997.

Q: Cooking segments are a big part of En Casa de Lucy, and you recently published a recipe book. You're trying to promote healthy cooking, correct?

A: Yes. The book is called De Mi Cocina..There is so much interest in Latino cuisine right now. My goal is to maintain the flavor of our classic dishes while taking out as much of the fat and calories as possible.

Q: Tell us about launching the Lucy Pereda collection.

A: It's something I'm really happy and proud about.. The clothes are sophisticated and elegant, with a little Latino flair, such as embroidery and laces that Latino women like. But it has a universal appeal, and that is very important.

Q: You're introducing a women's guayabera in the line. That sounds pretty bold.

A: It's one of my biggest dreams coming true. Men have been wearing this garment for years, and it's become trendy in the Miami area for women to wear them. I want to offer them to women nationwide. We'll have a variety of styles and colors in pure linen. The fit is perfect and they're so cute. You can use them instead of a blazer or shirt.

Q: Where do you get the inspiration to design a clothing line?

A: My inspiration comes from being associated with the fashion world for many years. I've dedicated my work, whether on television or my design, to Latino women all my life. There's also an important philosophy in the Lucy Pereda Collection that I call "body over trend." By that, I mean that no matter how cute a trend might be at a certain point, if it isn't flattering, we won't have it.

Q: Do you feel that you are still drawing upon your early years in the fashion industry?

A: Oh yes. You know, we sold the boutiques in Puerto Rico shortly after we moved to the United States. Last fall, I returned for a fashion show there, to honor past and present designers. It was a very emotional event. I was very touched because I saw the people I started to work with when I was very young. I was given the Golden Needle award and had the chance to present my new Lucy Pereda Collection for the first time.

Q: Your daughter, Lucia, says you were an involved and supportive parent, although you weren't exactly "class mom." What was it like to be a working mother at a time when many Latinas were stay-at-home moms?

A: I've always had my priorities set very clearly. Over the years, I've said no to engagements and job offers because they would take me away from my kids. Kids need to be the first priority when they are young and when they are teenagers. When my kids went to college, my career helped me not to have the empty nest syndrome. My children are grown now, but we are all very close.

Q: Do you have grandchildren?

A: No grandkids yet, but I have to plan my life so that I have some time left for them. I want to enjoy them.

Q: You divorced shortly after you moved back to the United States in the early 1980s. But you still have a close relationship with your ex-husband, Rafael Fusaro.

A: Rafael is my personal agent and will be for life. We have a great relationship. He's helped me a lot in my career. We're family.

Q: You're Cuban-born, and you've lived both in Puerto Rico and Miami. That's a lot of different Hispanic influences all rolled up into one person. How do you describe yourself?

A: I call myself a Cuban American, but I have a great fondness in my heart for the places that have nurtured me. I am very proud of my Cuban roots and happy to live in a place like Miami, where I can share that culture. I also lived many years in Puerto Rico. That's where I became a professional, where I was married, and where my children were born. And the United States has given me the opportunity, home, and freedom to express myself and choose the path in life that I wanted to follow.

Q: Your career seems to have been a series of one dream job after another. Fashion model, boutique owner, television star, clothing designer. Surely, it hasn't all been as effortless as it seems.

A: It hasn't always been easy. I've faced many challenges in my life, both personal and professional. Being a woman and Latino, you could say that is a double minority. I have had to overcome many challenges. When I started in the news many years ago, I couldn't get hard news. That was reserved for men. We women as a whole have been hammering away until we found opportunities and equality in our way of life.

Q: Is there a core philosophy that has kept you focused all these years?

A: I've always believed that today is the most important thing. Not what's ahead, but today. That way, I can appreciate that the process itself is part of the adventure. I'm also a very positive person, a workaholic, and very tenacious. When I believe in something, I don't let go. That's the best advice I have for any woman who wants to do something.

Q: What about a beauty philosophy? You are still quite a striking woman. What advice do you have for the rest of us as we age?

A: Never go to bed with makeup on. Seriously. Cleansing and hydrating are the most important things you can do for your skin.

Q: What kind of schedule do you keep these days?

A: We usually shoot En Casa de Lucy four or five months per year, starting in the middle of the summer. I divide my time between the show and overseeing the design directors of my clothing line. In the past, I've traveled in Central and South America giving seminars on women's issues, health, and beauty. Right now I'm so busy I don't think I'll have time to do that for some time.

Q: Do you have any goals you haven't achieved yet?

A: It's one of my goals to make a crossover from the Spanish market to the mainstream market.

Q: With your schedule, how do you ever relax?

A: I work out when I have a chance. I walk. I love to watch movies. I entertain at home occasionally, but mostly, I go out with my friends. I try to keep a good balance. It's important to shut off every once in a while. 

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