Cristina Saralegui, the Latina Oprah breaks her silence
After taking a four-year hiatus from television, Cristina Saralegui –known as the “Latina Oprah”– made an appearance on Univision and broke her silence on her whereabouts. Some…
After a four-year break, Cristina Saralegui returned to her home of 21-years, Univision, to talk about her life after television , her new book and her many struggles in a morning show interview. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
After taking a four-year hiatus from television, Cristina Saralegui –known as the “Latina Oprah”– made an appearance on Univision and broke her silence on her whereabouts. Some of the stuff she revealed isn’t pretty.
From 1989 to 2010, the Cuban-American TV host ruled Hispanic television with her signature thumbs-up and program “El Show de Cristina,” where she touched upon family topics, interviewed telenovela stars and opened the doors to many Latino celebrities.
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After 21-years of being a favorite among Hispanics, her show was abruptly cancelled. She later found refuge in rival Telemundo network with her 2011 show, “Pa’lante con Cristina.” The program would end its run in 2012.
“I felt the size of an ant, but maybe this was God’s way of telling me not to be arrogant,” Saralegui said about her feelings when her show was terminated at Univision.
Cristina Saralegui, who has ruled Hispanic television since the late eighties, is considered the Spanish Oprah. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
As she currently promotes her latest book, “¡Parriba y Palante!,” Saralegui visited “Despierta America,” to talk more about her life after television and her struggles.
“I get depressed, normal things happen to me. Now that I’m older I’m living a normal lifestyle than when I was in the most aggressive stage of my career,” she said.
She went on to say that she is a happier as a less competitive person now.
The 66-year-old recalled how self-absorbed she was during her years with “El Show de Cristina.”
“If I didn’t win ratings one week, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I am very confident, but it took me a lot of time to become mature.”
Saralegui’s life went downhill after her television show was cancelled and the TV personality admitted she even had an alcohol problem, but decided to quit for her husband and her children.
“It was hard to quit, I never thought I was an alcoholic person –for me an alcoholic is someone who cannot work, has no life,” she said. “I wasn’t like that, I had five jobs.”
And though she made the cameo on Univision only to reveal what you can find in her book, the journalist who was born in Havana, Cuba revealed that she would love to return to show business.
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“My main goal is to continue working. I don’t want my whole life to pass by,” she said. “The day you don’t have goals, you have no life. I have a lot of dreams to achieve.”
