Yo Soy la Hija de Mi Padre: Una Vida Sin Secretos

by María Elena Salinas, Liz Balmaseda

La galardonada periodista y presentadora de noticias María Elena Salinas cuenta la fascinante historia de su vida, su trabajo, su familia y los secretos que en últimas constituyen nuestras vidas Cinco noches por semana, María Elena Salinas presenta las noticias a millones de televidentes hispanos en todo el país. Pero cuando se apagan las cámaras es, como tantas otras mujeres, una esposa y una madre que lucha por encontrar un equilibrio entre su vida personal y su vida profesional. Un día descubrió que su adorado padre había sido sacerdote católico, y su vida dio un todo lo que creía saber, y en lo que había basado su vida, había sido puesto en duda. En Yo Soy la Hija de Mi Padre , María Elena Salinas cuenta la increíble historia de su exitosa carrera y la de su lucha por descubrir y aceptar los secretos que envolvían su vida familiar. Desde su infancia en un barrio pobre de Los Ángeles, a sus años de adolescencia pasados trabajando en una fábrica de ropa en el sur de California, a su extraordinario debut en el mundo de la televisión y su cobertura de algunos de los sucesos y desastres más significativos de las últimas décadas, María Elena cuenta su propia historia y la de su padre en el tono cálido y directo que la caracteriza.

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Mélina LeBe]

Assez facile à lire avec un niveau d'Espagnol intermédiaire/avancé. je croyais que ce serait écrit sous forme d'histoire mais c'est plus des bouts de vie mis un après l'autre donc c'est un peu spécial à lire... Les passages où elle parle de ses aventures en tant que journaliste sont vraiment supers, les autres... m'ont fait pratiquer mon Espagnol!

[Suzanne Ray]

Good Spanish practice but weakly written story of the famous univision news reporter seeking why her father left the priesthood.

[Sonia]

So I could sit here and say this is your average memoir of a famous personality - and it is. Except to me, it isn't. It's a memoir of a person like me and that makes a difference. Hearing the story of another Latina of immigrant parents resonates deep within me. She gives a voice to my story. It's something that many don't understand. It's important to be exposed to successful Latino/a faces to show it can be done - more than si se puede - si se pudo and to know that there are others like you out there.

In her memoirs, Maria Elena Salinas recounts her childhood, her search for her father's history, her rise as a journalist at a time when Spanish media was in it's infancy, her glimpse into the stories she reported on that touched her heart, her interviews with world leaders - but it's her letter to her daughters - Julia and Gaby - that I believe are the biggest impact of this book. If you read nothing else in this book, read the letter opening Chapter nine. It's nothing short of amazing.

[Alma Garcia]

A box given to the author after her fathers death reveals his secret: he had been a priest. She spends years searching for the details, finding his family in Mexico and finding herself. In the end she is comsummed with finding out if her father left the priesthood for her mother... She is given a letter in Latin from the vatican; she ends up asking other priest in Miami to translate the letter among them Father Albert Cutié how it turns out has just recenlty left the priesthood.



What I found hard to believe is that a journalis couild live her hole life and not know when her parents were married. In the end she realised that her sister has her mothers wedding band on a necklace. Inside is their wedding date, which is only three day after the last mass he said.



Valgame Dios!

[Hilda]

I enjoyed the book. It was well-written and easy to read. Salinas has had an interesting, eventful life. Her story of how she - practically accidentally - became the television personality she is today, intertwined with her personal sotry and parents' love story keep it from being like the usual journalist's memoir.

[Monica]

Such an intelligent dedicated hard working Latina role model ...loved this book.