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"President Hugo Chavez from Venezuela is quite a ‘headache' for the present administration. He has organized major protests in Latin America to condemn U. S. foreign policy and constantly points out what he considers to be double standards in the Bush administration concerning terrorism and international trade deals. Washington has attempted to brand him as a crazy man, like his good friend Fidel Castro, but crazy or not, backstage they take him seriously because his country is the third biggest exporter of oil in the world. To President Bush, Chavez is the proverbial thorn in his side, a nuisance that he can live with but not ignore, because it's a constant bother.

I have been a contributor for NBC's Dateline and The Today Show. I also hosted Democratic Presidential debates for MSNBC, and I was a guest on The Maury Povich Show as well as in two episodes of the daytime soap Passions (playing myself). Also, believe it or not, a lot of people watch my show to learn Spanish, and others just know my face from flipping through the channels. My show Al Rojo Vivo is a news paella. In one hour, we cover different subjects from all over the world, dealing with every topic you can imagine. We have sports, entertainment, scandals, investigations, amazing videos, health, inventions . . . you name it! We have close to 40 stories daily. It's quite a challenge to produce the show every day. There are many gorgeous Latinas in this business, but beauty can be a handicap as well. People usually associate beauty with lack of brains, and that's not always true. Also, I find that extreme beauty can be distracting, because the viewer tends to focus on the person reading the news, rather than in the content of the story. The opposite is also true-if the person is completely unappealing the audience is going to wonder why he or she is doing in front of the camera. Television is a visual medium, so the ideal is to have someone with decent looks with an attractive personality. That's why I feel incredibly flattered when [someone] describes me as ‘incredibly alluring.' After a while, you get bored with perfect beauty, but someone attractive has a more lasting effect. You feel that there's always something new to be discovered. It was years ago, when I was just starting my career and had the opportunity to interview Jacques Cousteau. The French marine biologist was my idol. I grew up watching his programs about his travels in the ‘Calypso,' and thanks to him I developed a great appreciation for his cause, preserving the oceans that are so important for the health of the whole planet.

When you replace somebody, you always get compared, for better or worse with your predecessor. That's why I've always carved my own niche in the industry and it has worked for me. I have great admiration for Cristina, because she is a strong woman and she tells it like it is. But we have different styles on camera and different career approaches. Honestly I don't like comparisons. A lot of people in the Anglo market describe me as the ‘Hispanic Katie Couric;' you don't know how many times I've heard that! I know it's meant as a compliment, because she is talented and successful and

I also have great admiration for her. But I feel it minimizes the importance of our Latino audience and takes away from your essence. I'm sure she would feel the same way if they branded her as the ‘Anglo Maria Celeste.' I started as a journalist and my passion is writing, but somewhere along the line I became a ‘television personality.' So I guess nowadays I'm a combination of both."