Cecilia Alvear
Encyclopedia
Cecilia Alvear is a Latina
journalist in television news and the former President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
, is a Field Producer with NBC
Network News in Burbank, California
.
Bureau Chief from 1982 until 1984 when she was transferred to Miami
to serve as the Senior Producer for Latin America
. In 1989 she was assigned to the West Coast.
As a producer Alvear has covered many major news stories; among them, the wars in El Salvador
and Nicaragua
in the 1980s, the Mexico City earthquake
in 1985, protests and election
s in Chile
and Argentina
, the War on Drugs
in Bolivia
, Peru
and Colombia
, the Mengele investigation in Brazil
, unrest in Panama
, two interviews with Fidel Castro
in Cuba
, the Pan American Games
in Havana
, the Barcelona Olympics, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
rebellion in Chiapas
, the Colosio assassination, and events that have affected the Los Angeles
area in recent years: riots, earthquakes and the O.J. Simpson trial.
In 1998 she was part of the NBC News team that reported on Hurricane Mitch
in Nicaragua and Honduras
. In 1999, she produced stories on Pope John Paul II
's visit to Mexico
, the earthquake that damaged Armenia
, Colombia, and the turnover of the Panama Canal
to the Panama
nians.
In 1988 Cecilia Alvear was one of twelve American journalists chosen for the prestigious Nieman Fellowship
at Harvard University
where she spent the academic year 1988-89.
Prior to joining NBC, Alvear worked in the Los Angeles area for all three network-owned local stations. While working at the CBS
outlet, KNXT
, as a producer for Two on the Town, she was part of a team that won the local Emmy
in the best series category.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Alvear was a board member and Vice President of the California Chicano News Media Association, one of the first organizations of Latino journalists. She was honored for her pioneering efforts on behalf of CCNMA at their 1996 Scholarship dinner.
Alvear has been a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists since the 1980s. She has participated in the annual convention as a panelist, speaker and/or recruiter for NBC News. Alvear was elected Vice President-Broadcast in 1996 and represented NAHJ on the Board of the Radio and Television News Directors Association
. In 2000 she was elected to a two-year term as President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. That same year she made the Hispanic Business
list of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the U.S. In 1995 and 1996, Alvear was Editor at Large of Si, a short-lived magazine depicting the Latino experience in the U.S.
of Ecuador
, Cecilia Alvear immigrated to the United States
in the 1960s and became a U.S. citizen in 1984. She frequently returns to the Galapagos, where she is helping to upgrade the public elementary school first started by her late father, the former military governor of the islands.
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
journalist in television news and the former President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to the advancement of Hispanic journalists in the United States and Puerto Rico...
, is a Field Producer with NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
Network News in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
.
Professional
She was the network's Mexico CityMexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
Bureau Chief from 1982 until 1984 when she was transferred to Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
to serve as the Senior Producer for Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. In 1989 she was assigned to the West Coast.
As a producer Alvear has covered many major news stories; among them, the wars in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
in the 1980s, the Mexico City earthquake
1985 Mexico City earthquake
The 1985 Mexico City earthquake, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake that struck Mexico City on the early morning of 19 September 1985 at around 7:19 AM , caused the deaths of at least 10,000 people and serious damage to the greater Mexico City Area. The complete seismic event...
in 1985, protests and election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s in Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, the War on Drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, the Mengele investigation in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, unrest in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, two interviews with Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, the Pan American Games
Pan American Games
The Pan-American or Pan American Games are a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Pan American Games are the second largest multi-sport event after the Summer Olympics...
in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, the Barcelona Olympics, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
rebellion in Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, the Colosio assassination, and events that have affected the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area in recent years: riots, earthquakes and the O.J. Simpson trial.
In 1998 she was part of the NBC News team that reported on Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch
Hurricane Mitch was the most powerful hurricane and the most destructive of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season, with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph . The storm was the thirteenth tropical storm, ninth hurricane, and third major hurricane of the season. Along with Hurricane Georges, Mitch...
in Nicaragua and Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
. In 1999, she produced stories on Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
's visit to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, the earthquake that damaged Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Colombia, and the turnover of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
to the Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nians.
In 1988 Cecilia Alvear was one of twelve American journalists chosen for the prestigious Nieman Fellowship
Nieman Fellowship
The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to mid-career journalists by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. This award allows winners time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills....
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
where she spent the academic year 1988-89.
Prior to joining NBC, Alvear worked in the Los Angeles area for all three network-owned local stations. While working at the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
outlet, KNXT
KNXT
KNXT is a television station owned and operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno, broadcasting on digital channel 50. The station is licensed in Visalia, California, about 45 miles southeast of Fresno...
, as a producer for Two on the Town, she was part of a team that won the local Emmy
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
in the best series category.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Alvear was a board member and Vice President of the California Chicano News Media Association, one of the first organizations of Latino journalists. She was honored for her pioneering efforts on behalf of CCNMA at their 1996 Scholarship dinner.
Alvear has been a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists since the 1980s. She has participated in the annual convention as a panelist, speaker and/or recruiter for NBC News. Alvear was elected Vice President-Broadcast in 1996 and represented NAHJ on the Board of the Radio and Television News Directors Association
Radio and Television News Directors Association
The Radio Television Digital News Association , formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association , is a United States-based membership organization of radio, television and online news directors, producers, executives and educators...
. In 2000 she was elected to a two-year term as President of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. That same year she made the Hispanic Business
Hispanic Business
Hispanic Business, Inc. is a media company based in Goleta, California, in the United States of America. The firm was founded by Jesús Chavarría in 1979 and its publications are oriented towards Hispanic professionals and entrepreneurs.-Publications:...
list of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the U.S. In 1995 and 1996, Alvear was Editor at Large of Si, a short-lived magazine depicting the Latino experience in the U.S.
Personal
Born in the Galapagos IslandsGalápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
of Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, Cecilia Alvear immigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the 1960s and became a U.S. citizen in 1984. She frequently returns to the Galapagos, where she is helping to upgrade the public elementary school first started by her late father, the former military governor of the islands.