Cristina Saralegui Quotations

To realize the American dream, the most important thing to understand is that it belongs to everybody. It's a human dream. If you understand this and work very hard, it is possible.

America was the place that said, 'It doesn't matter where you come from, it doesn't matter what your last name is, it doesn't matter if you drink cortaditos, or lattes, or coffee with milk. Here, if you work hard, anything is possible.

The world is not ideal, and the only weapon we can give our children is information. Information which is not pretty, but honest.

I'm very, very Spanish. I have fat cheeks on both ends. I'm sitting on my Spanish part. And it's my heart, the way I am, the way I speak. It has nothing to do with the way I look.

Like most Latinas, I'm not afraid to speak my mind.

We Latin women are liberated from the neck up, not the neck down.

My hope is to see Tom Cruise jumping on my couch.

You have to eat right. That does not mean that I don't drink Cuban coffee. That does not mean that I do not have two cigarettes a day - that's what I'm down to. I drink wine - you know, I'm normal. But I do eat well.

I want to make sure I'm not a dilettante. Decorating has been a passion all my life. I love it.

The common denominator all Latinos have is that we want some respect. That's what we're all fighting for.

I have gotten into a lot of trouble in my life for being brutally honest. Sometimes I put both my feet in my mouth. But like Elton John, I'm still standing.

Being a professional woman, I function the best when I don't distinguish between work and play.

On the television planet, where men make up the tribe, the law of the caveman rules. So, for a woman coming from another world, without experience or cunning, to succeed gradually in gaining control over what is to be taped, what goes out over the air, what is said without censorship, is an epic feat.

I'll never retire from working; I'll keep my life interesting until I drop dead.

You need to put easy, nice, tranquil thoughts in your head before you go to bed. You know what I do? I read metaphysical books. The good stuff stays in your brain once you go under.

President Obama is a principled man who has worked hard to put healthcare and a good education in the reach of millions of Americans and believes that everyone who works hard and plays by the rules, should have a fair shot at the American dream.

For me, the American promise isn't just an idea or a theory - it's my life story.

I love beating the men. When I beat 'em in the ratings, when I beat 'em in the salary, I always say, 'One more for the girls.

I'm one of the highest-paid television people in the world. I feel like I've made a difference in my viewers' lives, that I've been influential.

If I have to be compared to somebody, it is to Martha Stewart.

Latin life is rich with warmth, family values and history. I want to bring that beauty into American homes.

People would write me hate letters. How dare I try to represent Hispanics when I was so white? I tried to make them see it was racism.

How proud I am to be compared to Oprah. I really admire her. She's a minority woman and she's done all this by herself... I'm very happy to be Oprah with salsa and not Donahue in drag.

The talk show, as a genre, has been in decline for a while. It started with Jerry Springer, when the talk shows suffered a metamorphosis, going from the real and social issues to the hair-raising.

The difference between Oprah Winfrey and me is about $200 million.

I'm a royal pain in the behind.

In my house, we speak Spanglish to the dogs, to the grandchildren, to the kids.

If you stay on the air for 18 years, people know you.

I came to this country when I was 12 years old because my parents wanted to give me new opportunities to succeed. President Obama wants everyone to have the chances I had.

People look at you and see that you've made it, but sometimes they forget that it took you years of being a human being.

The difference between Oprah Winfrey and me is about $200 million.