Emmy Winner Gaby Natale Details the Opportunity That Paved the Way for Her Future
On her PBS en Español show SuperLatina, Gaby Natale showcases the empowering narratives of successful Latinos
Photo: Instagram/ gabynatale
On her PBS en Español show SuperLatina, Gaby Natale showcases the empowering narratives of successful Latinos. But along the course of her career she’s also proven herself to be equally as tenacious and successful. Her accomplishments and accolades are many; she won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Entertainment Program in Spanish and is the only woman to win two consecutive Daytime Emmy’s for Outstanding Daytime Talent in a Spanish Language Program. People Magazine also named Gaby as one of their “25 Powerful Latinas” this year, and her YouTube videos have amassed over 52 million views. Gaby’s desire to thrive on her own terms has pushed her to heights she never could have imagined growing up in La Plata, Argentina.
As the youngest of three children, and the daughter of two lawyers, Natale always knew college was on the horizon. She attended The University of San Andres in Buenos Aires majoring in Public Relations but discovered a love for journalism while studying abroad in London at Westminster University. Unfortunately, she graduated in the midst of one of the biggest economic crisis in Argentinian History. Anyone who graduated in the U.S. between 2008 and 2010 knows the struggle! In 2001, Argentina defaulted on its $155 billion public debt, the largest such default by any country in history. Unemployment soared to 25 percent and for a recent grad this was an enormous blow.
“When I graduated with a Masters in Journalism, it was quite a rough start for me. After a year and a half of unemployment I started to feel like I would never work in media. I was really down and depressed and I thought ‘maybe this isn’t for me.’ I thought I would never get to work in this line of business.” One day she got a call from her friend that changed her life forever. “[My friend Maria called and] told me she was working at a public relations firm in Buenos Aires and she said she needed help with a political management conference. I thought I was going to help as a journalist, writing press releases, interviewing interesting people, but it turns out she needed someone to hand out flyers and fold chairs. They had no budget, it was a pro bono job. I said I would do it, but I felt like a total failure.
My mom told me ‘this is what you’re gonna do Gaby, tomorrow you’re going to wake up, you’re going to wear your best clothes, and you’re going to bring your A game like you’re going to make a million dollars, because you never know when opportunity will knock.’” And opportunity did knock; in fact it jumpstarted the path that led her to her hit show, and ultimately, the release of her book El Circulo Virtuoso (The Virtuous Circle). The best-seller debuted at the top of Amazon’s Hot New Releases in the Business, Inspiration and Self-Help Categories.
While she was passing out flyers her friend approached her in a panic “Maria came up to me and she looked like she was going to faint from the stress and she told me: ‘Gaby one of the translators dropped out and I know you’re bilingual and I have a delegation of professors from George Washington University and I need someone to translate for them. Can you please please help me?’ I dropped the chairs and flyers and I went and translated. And that turned out to be the contact I had for my next job. When [one of the professors] had an opening in their boutique PR firm in Washington D.C. I was the first in line to receive the offer. You never know when opportunity will knock on your door!”
From that moment her career was on the fast track, she moved to Washington D.C. in 2004 and began covering the White House and important political policies. She then relocated to Mexico after a client won the election to become the governor of the state of Sonora, “I was the only Latina on the team so they asked me to move to Mexico and open up a Mexican office in Hermosillo, Sonora. While I was doing PR, I started freelancing covering border issues. I learned a lot about immigration, the challenges, and the tragedies between Arizona and Sonora. My reports were seen across the country on TV Azteca and Univision.” Not long after she started reporting, Natale was offered a news anchor position at Univision in West Texas. She picked up and moved again this time laying down roots in the Lone Star State.
After anchoring for around three years she was finally able to get her green card. She left her position at Univision and started teaching public relations at a few different universities. It was at this time that she also started independently writing and producing her show SuperLatina. “We started from a carpet warehouse because that was the only space that the TV station had available and then two years later we moved the show to Dallas, seven years later we became syndicated by PBS. We are the only independently produced show in Dallas that has has received three national Emmys.”
Today Natale is still out and about but as she describes it, “I have one foot in Dallas and one foot on a plane.” Promotion for her book, El Circulo Virtuoso, that delves into the personality types and personal stories of some of the most interesting people she’s interviewed over the years, and other events, have Gaby consistently on the go.
“The inspiration came to me one day when I finished the taping of my show. I’ve been interviewing extraordinary people from all walks of life and the question I asked myself is what do all my guests have in common? What’s the thing that united them – that made them stand out? They all have different dreams but similar patterns, patterns of thoughts, patterns of decision.” Through her introspection she was able to formulate seven archetypes – the dreamer, architect, maker, apprentice, warrior, champion, leader – and the “Circulo Virtuoso” that they exist on. She explores these different archetypes in her book through her own experiences and lives of some of the most fascinating people she has met, including: Carlos Santana, Cristina, and Eugenio Derbez to name a few. The book is packed with inspiring anecdotes, charts and actionable advice on how to nurture and cultivate the archetypes within you. It’s available now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Target.
As for Natale, she’s going to continue creating “entertainment with a purpose” for the Latinx community and she wants to inspire other women to leave an imprint on the world, “I’m convinced that calladita, mamí, no te ves mas bonita! I encourage all women to embrace their voice.”
