Millions of Latinos know Cristina Saralegui as a popular talk-show host, but she's also a business mogul.

She produces her weekly TV show, owns a production studio in Miami and runs a media and licensing company that includes several collections of home furnishings and accessories under the Casa Cristina brand that was launched five years ago. Her media ventures have included a monthly magazine, a radio show and for 12 years, both a daily and weekly talk show.

Her father often told her not to put all her eggs in one basket -- and she took his advice, expanding her well-known brand outside the media world.

On Sunday, the 61-year-old Cuban-born media star will be honored for her media and business success with the 2009 ADCOLOR All-Star Award, given out by the ADCOLOR Industry Coalition, which promotes increased diversity in advertising, marketing and media.

``She really exemplifies someone who has done outstanding [work] in the media, marketing and advertising worlds, not only done that for herself, but also brought along with her a whole cadre of young people,'' says Chiqui Cartagena, author of Latino Boom: Everything You Need to Know to Grow Your Business in the U.S. Hispanic Market.

She chaired the ADCOLOR All-Star award selection committee.

``Cristina is a role model of the next generation of Hispanics in the United States,'' says Emilio Estefan, head of Estefan Enterprises, a long-time friend and role model for Saralegui.

Estefan and his wife, singer Gloria Estefan, also have branched out beyond recording. Their business ventures include a recording and production studio, hotel and restaurant management and a minority interest in the Miami Dolphins football team.

Saralegui's path from journalist -- she was appointed editor of Cosmopolitan en Español in 1979 by Helen Gurley Brown -- to talk show host 10 years later to launching the Casa Cristina line reflects her passions and interests.

Working with Kohl's, the national retailer, to produce various lines of home accessories, for instance, was the right move.

``It's something I know,'' says Saralegui, who confesses she would be an interior decorator if the media world hadn't drawn her in.

Inspiration for colors and designs come from her travels in Europe and Latin American and her Hispanic background. Images and colors absorbed during a trip through southern Spain and Morocco, for example, influenced some of the lamps designs and colors in her lighting collection.

A popular bedding set sold at Kohl's, called Tesoro, captures the deep brick red color seen throughout the Mediterranean.

Starting out with furniture, Casa Cristina today includes bedding, tableware, table linens, home decor accessories, mattresses, lamps and rugs. She works with a designer in New York City to refresh the lines about twice a year.

Her interest in design and decorating seeps into her weekly TV talk show, which airs at 10 p.m. Mondays on Univisión. Saralegui says segments on stars' homes are popular with viewers of the show, now in its 20th year.

For telecasts in November, she toured the homes of Jenni Rivera in Los Angeles and Joan Sebastian in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Both are popular Mexican recording artists.

In 2000, Blue Dolphin Studios was set up. Owning the studio allows Saralegui to set her own production schedule. At the time, she was producing both a daily and weekly show. At Univisión's studios, she was sharing a soundstage with Mario Kreutzberger, the Don Francisco of Sabado Gigante, a variety show.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@