by Armando Garcia
Are audiences eager for an educational and inspiring Spanish language television show? The answer is a big “YES”. Media experts, students, community members and Hispanic leaders have analyzed the unquestionable growth of the Hispanic community, all unconditionally support an initiative being impelled by the former National Reporter of Aztec America in the United States, the internationally recognized journalist Jackeline Cacho, that continuous working arduously so that someday million of Hispanics can tune in their televisions her program “En Familia con Jackeline Cacho.”
National leaders like Jorge Mursuli who is the director and founder of Democracy USA, the Board Member of the League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Reform Immigration for America and other fully endorse her initiative.
“Our community not only continues growing in numbers, but also in purchasing and political power. This is the right time to offer a program that more than entertaining also would encourage them to do something better in their lives, “said Mursuli.
For the last six years, Jackeline has fought very hard and continues doing so to provide millions of Hispanic viewers with “En Familia con Jackeline Cacho”. This is a historical opportunity for television networks to offer viewers programming that not only entertains, but also educates on family values.
According to Jackeline, this type of program does not exist at this time. She will produce a program that can show culture diversity, the contributions of the Hispanic community to America to dignify them. “En Familia con Jackeline Cacho” is a unique opportunity to change the erroneous perceptions of Hispanics demonstrating that they are multidimensional.
“Jackeline, who has created this talk show format, has dedicated a good part of her life to produce, to search, to meet and form a unity with all needed organizations to make a reality this show. Once the program is in the air, it will get the necessary support to offer real and inspiring life issues for the community,” said Mursuli.
Federico Subervi, professor of journalism at San Marcos Texas State University , is conducting an in-depth study on the lack of positive content towards young people in the programming of Hispanic television.
“Hopefully, Jackeline will have sufficient support so that En Familia can offer entertainment and education content to our youth," Subervi said. “Young people are the future of our society and what we see on television screens are stereotypes.”
“There is not much offered by programming," explains Subervi. “We do not see well-educated models that youth can follow. There are millions out there that are not gang members and whose stories En Familia must be told."
Furthermore Subervi said that it is very necessary from the educational point of view to support and applaud this program.
“Jackeline has worked arduously for the last two years in contacting national educational organizations, associations representing Hispanics,” he said. “There is no doubt in my mind that she will get the support she deserves.”
With a Spanish format, independently produced by Jackeline and her team, this program promises to be something new, something dynamic, something unique that hardly is seen on Spanish language television. It will be inspirational with a combination of educational content as well as entertainment. “En Familia con Jackeline Cacho” will serve like a connection between Hispanics families in this country and their counterparts in Latin American. In addition, it intends to reflect the reality of the Spanish market in the United States . Jackeline says that her program wants to give life options to the Hispanic community.
“When people watch ‘En Familia’ they will say, ‘its good somebody thought to produce this kind of program,” said Jackeline. “That after watching it, they can also say, ‘my son left drugs’ or ‘my daughter got an education’.”
“‘En Familia’ aims to make people thinks and analyze our families and in return provide the rooted values of our community,” explained Jackeline.
With this program, Jackeline is expanding her career which began in her native Peru 17 years ago.
The program’s format will be based upon what it is known in the Anglo market as ‘edutainment’. It is a combination of education and entertainment, which has produced great results in the American market making huge corporations to reach the family oriented middle class consumer.
For almost six years Jackeline has been developing the format based on the growth of the Hispanic community in the United States . She now eloquently describes her program as putting in a blender with spicy Latino flavor the programs of Oprah Winfrey, Tyra Banks, Martha Stewart and Ellen Degeneres, mixing it all together, and the outcome will be “En Familia con Jackeline Cacho”.
“It will be a program that reunites real elements, stories of all of us,” said Jackeline. “I believe our family is ready to move forward and to leave behind all the negative talk as being portrayed as the invisible community. The time has come to show positive good stories about Hispanics. If we show the negative aspects also show the alternatives, the role models in all cases.”
“I believe that we must offer thinking programs that provide life options. At the present time, a large percentage of programs leave in the audience a sense of emptiness. Therefore, we are sending an erroneous idea about Hispanics,” said Jackeline. “We live watching empty programs that only entertain us and do not contribute to living better or changing the statistics that sooner or later would affect us.”
Henry Cisneros, former Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Administration of President Clinton, who now sits on the Board of Spanish Language Network Univision fully supports “En Familia” because, it’s a project that will take a direct message to the Hispanic community.
“It will be a positive program to improve the life of the Hispanics in the country,” said Cisneros. “It has the potential to fill a void in Spanish language television. Jackeline has thought enough this project. She is very spiritual and this is an important step and a challenge for her career.”
“There are pretty wonderful things happening at the moment, everything will happen opportunely, it is just necessary to be persistent and to have much faith in what ones believes with so much passion as I believe in this show,” said Jackeline. “My mother and my father taught me that things arrive at the moment there are written, meanwhile, one must be prepared and that is what I am doing.”
The medium term objectives are to create a true window for Hispanics, and know what families are doing in this country. The long term goal is the creation of bridges of understanding between the new Hispanic generations.
“There is a generation of Hispanics we wish to feel pride for and inspire to struggle for success,” Jackeline said.
The program will be produced in Los Angeles, California and segments of its content will be developed in San Antonio, Texas.
The Hispanic population has become the first largest minority in this country. U.S. Census figures reveal that over 45 million Hispanics live in the country. Hispanics composed about 15% of the nation’s population with a purchasing power nearly $1 trillion.
The program hopes to be aired everyday from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. and will compete with mainstream English language programs airing at that time.
Jackeline has 15 years of experience in mass media achieving international recognitions for her special coverage’s programs and humanitarian work always focusing on the community she considers her family.
Today, we see Jackeline as a business media woman, co-founder and general manager of “Finding Productions” in Los Angeles , California . Jackeline says that like many Hispanics, she has knocked on many doors to have success.
Viewers will be able to identify themselves in the stories in "En Familia" and will know that they are not the only ones to set goals in their lives. Jackeline says we have to constantly be creative otherwise programming will fall flat.
“I believe we must produce programs with more imagination and inspiration,” Jackeline says. “We must let our creativity fly with the purpose of inspiring others either in sports, entertainment, novels, series, or comedies."
In April of 2008, Jackeline was recognized by Latino Leaders magazine as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Latin Women in America .
Before managing Finding Productions, Jackeline was the national news anchor for Azteca America in Los Angeles , California . Previously, she was the conductor of the local news in San Antonio Texas for an Univision affiliate where she successfully developed special stories for national programs such “Despierta América” and “Noticiero Nacional,” and “Aquí y Ahora.”
Her journalism career has taken Jackeline around the world. For a period of four years, she produced from San Antonio , Texas the national program entitled “Las Mañanitas a la Virgen de Guadalupe.” On the same token, for three years she produced a beauty contest known as “Miss Teen, Miss and Mrs. Texas Latina Pageant” that provided scholarships to women and aimed to raise the cultural values of Texas Latinas in order to reduce the pregnancy rate.
Jackeline continues her daily work with the help of her invaluable staff at Finding Productions with its president and producer Thene Mucino and the support of her adorable Mother Carmen Cacho. Jackeline promotes humanitarian exchanges, educational conferences in Mexico and the United States about women’s self empowerment. A program that grows on a daily basis to open the path to fulfill the mission of her show.
She enjoys her family and keeps a constant contact with nature and mediates along with her pet “Candy.”
Armando Garcia is a freelance journalist. He is correspondent, senior editor and columnist of Conexion Hispana in Laredo, Texas. Media Relations for Finding Productions in Los Angeles. He was the Southwest correspondent for Spain ’s News Agency “EFE” and for the “Hispanic Press News Agency” in Washington , DC . In addition he has been a collaborating writer for “Latino Leaders,” and bilingual reporter for La Prensa and Rumbo newspapers in San Antonio, Texas and Editor of Que Pasa in Charlotte, NC.
