María Joséfa Laria Hernández (born May 7, 1959, inHavana, Cuba)[1] is a Cuban-American journalist, musician, novelist and television personality. A pianist, she is better known by United States audiences as the presenter of theTelemundo Internacional television talk-show, "Cara a Cara con María Laria", which was shown for many years.[2]
Laria is the daughter of Amaro Lauria and Ofelia Hernández. Born in Cuba, Laria was exposed to multiple cultures from a young age, as she and her family moved around a lot, first toNew Mexico when she was 5 years old,[3] and then toMiami, Florida, before setting inPuerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, Laria studied music, as she was a student at theConservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico.
In October 1990, Laria's show, "Cara a Cara con María Laria" ("Face to Face with María Laria") debuted on Telemundo's U.S.A. network. Initially, magazines such asEntertainment Weekly compared Laria toOprah Winfrey.[4] The show lasted a number of seasons.
Among her show's best known episodes were one where she interviewed Mexican actress and singerLucia Mendez,[5] and one where she interviewed Antonio Pedro, a Mexican man who claimed to be legendary singerPedro Infante.[6]
During that time, Laria earned various honors by the United States' government, including the declaring of "María Laria day" byLos Angeles mayorTom Bradley.[7] Her show, which was initially recorded from Los Angeles, was moved by Telemundo from that city to Miami, Florida, and it was considered a competitor toCristina Saralegui'sUnivision's "Show de Cristina". But, after "Cara a Cara con María Laria" was cancelled by Telemundo, Laria moved toSpain, where she began hosting a series of new television talk shows.[7]
Later, during the late 2000s, Laria hosted a television show named "Arrebatados" ("Snatched Away Ones", but which literally translates better to "Crazed Ones") on theAmerica TV television channel; the show was cancelled in 2018 after a decade on the air.[8] That year (2018) was a bad year personally for Laria (see below).
A trained musician as a pianist, Laria has released one album in both vinyl and CD formats, the piano music album "Pianissimo" (1998), which was re-released in 2010 as "Pianissimo...live from Jordan Hall".[9]
In 2015, Laria became a novelist, releasing a book named "Fear of Love",[10] about a male pianist named "Jean Claude", who experiences fame and success but feels lonely until he meets ballet dancer "Paulina".[11]
Since 2018, Laria has hosted a radio show named "María Laria: Bajo el Sol" ("María Laria: Under the Sun") on a radio station namedLa Poderosa FM.[12]
Laria marriedVietnam War veteran Carlos Ceballos late in the 1970s. In 2018, after a 40-year marriage, Laria lost her husband to an unspecified disease. After his passing, she set up aGofundme account to cover funeral costs. In it, she called the moment the worst of her life.[13]
2018 was a very bad year for Laria: not only did her husband die, but so did her mom, and her television show, "Arrebatados", was cancelled after being transmitted for ten years.[14]
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