María Celeste Arrarás Mangual (born September 27,íaCelesteArrará 1960), better known as María Celeste, is a Puerto Rican broadcast journalist, author, and television personality, who has won three national Emmy Awards for journalism. In 2005, she became the first female recipient of the Legacy Award by Broadcast and Multi Channel for outstanding achievement in Hispanic Television. In 2006, Arrarás was included on the cover of Newsweek magazine, as one of the 20 most powerful women of the next generation of leaders.” In August 2018, María Celeste was awarded with a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the Universidad Central de Bayamon in Puerto Rico, in recognition for her philanthropic work. Until August 2020, Arrarás spent two decades as the host and managing editor of Al Rojo Vivo con María Celeste. Her program aired daily in the U.S. and in 15 Latin American countries, for a total daily audience of 35 million viewers. Her popularity has made her one of the most influential Hispanic figures in social platforms, with millions of followers around the world and in 2019 she made her debut in the Hollywood Reporter's Social Climber Chart at #5 of all TV Personalities. ,
Maria Celeste is also Executive Producer and screenplay writer for Selena’s Secret, a miniseries based on the bestselling book of the same title that she wrote about the murder of singer Selena Quintanilla, known as the Queen of Tejano music. The mini series aired on Amazon Prime video, TNT Latin America and on Telemundo. In 2019, Maria Celeste received the St Jude Hospital Lifetime Achievement Award.
As of the Summer of 2021 Maria Celeste has joined CNN en Español as the host of their new Sunday Prime Time show called DocuFilms con María Celeste Arrarás. In her capacity as a writer, she also became the first Hispanic opinion maker contributor for Facebook’s new platform “Bulletin”. She also launched her YouTube channel and premiered MC Live, a weekly one-on-one interview program that quickly surpassed 1 million views.
Early life and education
María Celeste Arrarás was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, the first child of José Enrique Arrarás, a politician, lawyer, and educator, and Astrid Mangual, a homemaker and chemist.
In 1971, she won three medals (one gold, one silver, and one bronze) at the Central American and Caribbean Swimming Championships. She qualified to compete at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada, but was unable to compete after she contracted mononucleosis, one week before the games began.
In 1978, Arrarás left her native Puerto Rico to attend Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she majored in communications at Loyola University. In 2016, Arrarás returned to Loyola University, where she was inducted into the School of Mass Communication's Den of Distinction and was honored by Loyola University for her career in television.
Television career
Early career
Arrarás began her broadcasting career in 1986 when she was employed by a local Puerto Rican television station, Channel 24, as a news anchor and reporter. There, Arrarás traveled covering major news events, such as the fall of the Soviet Union in Moscow and Leningrad, and she received several journalistic awards for her reports. In 1987 the Univision affiliate in New York City WXTV hired her as the co-anchor of its local news show.
Univision (1987–2002) Shortly after being hired by Univision, Arrarás became Los Angeles Bureau Chief. In January 1990, when the network moved to Miami, she was named the national news anchor for Noticiero Univision weekend edition.
In 1992, Arrarás was named co-anchor of a new television news program, Noticias y Mas, alongside Myrka Dellanos, which would become Primer Impacto in 1994. The show's popularity resulted in a large franchise for Univision including Primer Impacto Extra, Primer Impacto Edicion Nocturna, and the weekly show Ver Para Creer, all of which were hosted by Arrarás and Dellanos. Arrarás would continue to hold her positions until 2002, when she left the show and joined rival network Telemundo.