The voice of Myrka Dellanos filled our living rooms daily for nearly 12 years as she co-anchored and hosted several Univision programs. Now the superstar journalist is using her talent and life experiences to help others along the way.
Infórmate DFW caught up with the Cuban-American beauty on one of her visits to Big D. Here’s what she had to say about life outside the television spotlight.
Infórmate DFW: For many years, we saw you every day on TV — delivering news, interviewing, hearing about your romances. …What is Myrka up to now?
Myrka Dellanos: I would say that once a journalist always a journalist, as you probably know. I love to tell people stories.
Nowadays you don’t have to be on network television or on a television screen or specific show. … Because of the advent of social media, we are now so blessed that we have direct contact with people. So, I can direct the narrative of my own personal story and tell the stories I like to tell. … I can do interviews if I want to and just put them up on my Instagram or Facebook.
I’m a freelance journalist at this point. … Because of the experience I’ve had, yes, Univision will call me, Telemundo will call me. I’ve done stuff with ABC, … with CNN. … I also do a lot of public speaking that gives me direct contact with people.
What I’ve seen … is that I can have an impact on people that is lasting, much more than just maybe coming in the news of the day.
… I want to do … things that will make a difference, hence the freelance work. I think it’s a lot freer; it gives me more time to do the things I want to do.
IDFW: Are there certain topics you gravitate more to or is there something you’re really trying to push forward with your influence?
MD: I would say that, because of social media, we’re able to gauge where people are at and what people want. …
I’ve noticed that what women want from me the most is like a direct connection to say: “OK, because you’re a public person, we know the things you’ve been through. … You were in a domestic violence situation, … situations where you’ve been in pain, yet you’re still standing, … still alive. So, how did you do that?”
… I also get a lot of women wanting to know about journalism and how to go into this field.
I also coach people in how to do the non-dramatic television performance. … It could be a lawyer, it could be a doctor, it could be a person who just wants to look good on social media. We know that now we have to have our businesses on social media, so you have to be able to actually stand in front of your phone as your camera and deliver a message. …
I was also an adjunct professor.
So, there’s so many things I’ve done that kind of just all go in together. I want to be of service to people. If I have any talent, if I was brought to this earth with any mission, it’ really to use what I’ve been given to help someone else.
… Then there’s the faith component, which is the reason I’m alive. And that faith component is kind of an umbrella over everything because if I didn’t have that, I wouldn’t be able to do the rest.
IDFW: Does all this tie in … with you being in Dallas today?
MD: I was invited by The Potter’s House, … one of the big, mega churches of the United States, … to have a panel today. … I was invited as the Latino voice … on immigration, … and we spoke about human trafficking, and how they’re tied together with the most vulnerable in society.
IDFW: What’s your particular immigration story?
MD: My parents were immigrants from Cuba. My mother actually came directly to New York City. She met my father (there). They married and went to be Spanish professors in Pennsylvania, where I was born.
… Then (we) moved to Nashville, Tennessee. … When my parents got divorced, … my mother and I moved to Miami, where the rest of her family was. …
So, I grew up in Miami and went to school there. As far as my background, I grew up in church. … My fun times were youth group on Friday night and church band on Sunday. …
… I have a very good feel about how you live in different parts of the country. So, (I’m) not just a Latino voice from Miami. It’s part of my history as a Latino voice — the Cuban story is one, the immigration story of my parents is one — I have felt many different things.
Growing up in Miami, you think you may not feel discrimination …because there’s so many Latinos. The truth is you don’t as much as you do in other parts of the country. Still, I was called names growing up and…things like that.
… So, it’s our duty — if I’m a Latina and know the plight of immigration and immigrants, I need to be out there and do something, serve, talk about it — the conversation needs to be had. And … it doesn’t need to be political … because there are people on both sides of the aisle that feel exactly the same way. I feel that, if we look for commonalities, it’ll be so much easier than if we just hate on each other.
