Her Story
About Mara
Maria Hurtado is a producer and reporter with 25 years of experience in the field of communications and journalism. She began her career at local Telemundo in Los Angeles, starting as an assignment desk editor shortly after completing college and an internship. She advanced to line producer, creating content for multiple newscasts, and later took on broader news coverage at the network level, where she spent approximately 12 years. Hurtado then moved to Univision at the network level, initially as a producer before expanding into reporting and producing her own stories, with a focus on topics related to health and education. She currently contributes to one of Univision's most iconic shows, which blends entertainment and news coverage for Spanish-speaking audiences. Hurtado attributes her success to a combination of perseverance and tenacity along with guidance from supportive mentors who shared their knowledge during her early career. She values being true to oneself, maintaining honesty, showing respect and gratitude toward those who have helped along the way, and pursuing work with genuine passion.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Mara
01What do you attribute your success to?
Perseverance and tenacity definitely have to do with it, but also being around the right people, the right mentors who are not jealous, who are kind to share their knowledge. It was very important to have nice mentors around you that can shape you, that can open your eyes, give you a different perspective. For me, it was both tenacity and having the right mentors at a young age in my early 20s, people in their 50s and 40s mentoring me. It was very important just listening to them and just letting me be guided by those people.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I always think about that so much. I hardly see any more young women trying to be journalists or have to do with entertainment. Now I see them more being independent because of social media, creating their own channels. But we do need the new generation of journalists. They shouldn't give up on their dreams to just be out there. We need that next generation. It's not easy breaking in. If you have the passion, and this is what you want to do the rest of your life, it's an amazing career.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
One of the values is to be true to yourself. Don't get overwhelmed with all this in the entertainment industry. Being true to yourself, being guided by what you have inside, being honest about every step that you take, and making sure that on your way up you don't damage nobody. You have to be very aware of where you're going and who's coming with you. Be honest, be true to yourself, and be very respectful and thankful to the people who have helped you get wherever you are. Being grateful for what you're doing and what you have, and doing something that you're very passionate about.
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