Viswa Vanapalli
In HBO Max’s ‘Menudo: Forever Young,’ the creators delve into the popular boy band with an ever-changing lineup. Over two decades, more than 30 teenage boys were a part of the band, with Edgardo Diaz managing it. But through the years, there have been several allegations of abuse, sexual and physical, against him. The docuseries delved into a TV interview from mid-1991 when Ralphy Rodriguez went on air with his father, alleging Edgardo of physical abuse. The whole thing was hosted by Cristina Saralegui, one of the most prominent women in TV back in the day. So, if you’re wondering what she’s been up to these days, here’s what we know.
Where is Cristina Saralegui Now?
Cristina was born in Cuba as one of five children. Her family left Cuba for Miami, Florida, sometime in the 1960s, and she was raised by conservative and strict parents. A fiercely independent woman, Cristina studied at the University of Miami and eventually worked as an editor for Cosmopolitan in Spanish. By 1989, she had her own talk show on Univision called ‘El Show de Cristina,’ which became a huge hit, garnering millions of viewers.
Cristina tackled topics like AIDS, homosexuality, and teen sex at a time when they were considered taboo. She said, “People told me, ‘Hispanics are not ready for this. They won’t talk about this. [Do] you know what I found out? They were wrong; they had never had a forum.” The controversial and provocative nature of the show was, unsurprisingly, a hit with the audience.
After more than two decades, ‘El Show de Cristina’ ended on Univision in November 2010. By then, Cristina had already set up a film and TV studio in addition to her own AIDS foundation, a cause she was passionate about. In January 2012, Cristina’s radio show went on air and launched on SiriusXM. Cristina has been married to Marcos Avila, a musician, since 1982. Together, they’ve raised three children. This includes one kid each from their previous relationships, and a son of their own.
The couple currently lives in Miami, and for now, Cristina seems to be enjoying retirement. She was also recently diagnosed with ataxia, a medical condition that causes impaired coordination. In a recent interview, Cristina talked about now having more time to read apart from taking care of her grandchildren in Miami and Connecticut. She also makes jewelry. Cristina also mentioned that over the years, she did receive quite a few job offers but nothing that convinced her to come out of retirement.
In the same interview, Cristina talked about her initial hesitance to get the COVID-19 vaccine before her friend, Emilio Estefan, convinced her to go through with it. Since then, she has been vocal about pushing others to get the vaccine and advocating for people to listen to their doctors. For now, Cristina has been spending time with her family and pets. She has talked about doing television before writing. However, Cristina has maintained that she is not too keen on returning to work, choosing to spend time with family instead.
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