Every Day Is Special: July 22 - Hooray for Maria Elena Salinas

Posted on July 22, 2020

July 22, 2019 - Maria Elena Salinas joined CBS News as a contributor.

That's just one step in a major career - a career that caused The New York Times to declare Salinas "the voice of Hispanic America." Just check out a few of her accomplishments:

Co-anchor of Noticiero Univision (the evening news broadcast on Univision)

Co-host of the news magazine program Aquí y Ahora

Interviewed many important people, from Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to dictator Manuel Noriega, from Jennifer Lopez to Ricky Martin

Covered important events such as the Mexican presidential inauguration

One of the first female journalists in Baghdad, capital of Iraq

Co-host of a presidential candidate forum and participant in a presidential candidate debate

Author of a column in English and Spanish and of an autobiography

Creator of a true-crime series on TV

Co-founder of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists

Winner of a Peabody Award and a Broadcast Legend Award, among many others

Honored by many organizations, from National Organization for Women to Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute

Maria Elena Salinas was born in Los Angeles in 1954. She lived in Mexico for seven years of her childhood but was largely raised in L.A. and graduated from UCLA. She now lives in Miami, Florida.