I don’t speak Spanish, but I went to YouTube to watch some of your show. You were discussing celebrities in bikinis with a fellow wearing a jaunty red hat.
It depends on the segment you watched. And some of the most popular segments have been on the internet longer. The show that just debuted nationally is more focused on celebrity interviews. We do have lifestyle and fashion and entertainment. I have covered the Latin Grammys. But also we did a special on being gay and Latino that was nominated to the GLAAD Media Awards.
I pitched the show with a PowerPoint. I didn’t have any idea that I needed a pilot episode or a publicist or anything.
2001 was a year of social and economic collapse for Argentina. Imagine 2008 in the United States, but times 100. The president fled what would be the White House in Argentina in a helicopter. I was finishing my master’s degree in journalism, which is where I met my husband. The unemployment rate was 18 percent. I went to an interview, and the editor told me, “I’m sorry. I’m firing half of my staff today.” I wound up doing translating work for some professors at George Washington University. That turned into some research assignments and eventually a job in Washington, D.C. That led to a job with Univision, and I reported on immigration from the U.S.-Mexico border. I applied three times for my green card. It was a long, long process. When I got my green card, I said, “Okay, what do I really want to do now?” My husband and I started a company together to produce our own show. We started in Odessa, in a place where they stored carpets in a mall. I pitched the show with a PowerPoint. I didn’t have any idea that I needed a pilot episode or a publicist or anything. We got our own sponsors and did our own distribution. We got picked up by other cities, and in 2009, the Telemundo station here in Dallas said yes. Then we moved to TV Azteca. Then came Vme, which is public television in Spanish, the sister network to PBS. We debuted in July, and now we’re in 43 markets across the USA and Puerto Rico. I don’t know how much shorter I could have done that answer. There were a lot of steps.
You own the show and your own studio. That makes me think of
another broadcaster in North Texas. You’re like the Latina Glenn Beck.
I feel like I’m in love sometimes with some stories. When you really want to do a story and your news director won’t let you, it can be frustrating. I wanted to have more creative control. And if you’re putting all that time and effort in that story, it makes sense that you own it, syndicate it, and profit from it.
Do you ever watch Glenn Beck? That was a bad joke, because I don’t really think you’re anything like Glenn Beck.
I didn’t want to say anything mean about him. When you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, just don’t say anything. That’s what I did. [laughs]
What’s the worst interview you’ve ever done?
The worst interview was last year with my celebrity crush, Maravilla Martinez. He is a boxing champion from my country. You always like to be in the moment during an interview, but with a celebrity crush, you are more distracted in the conversation. It might have happened to you if you’ve ever interviewed a celebrity.
Gaby, it’s happening to me right now.
Oh, come on! No, no, no.
