Rafael Pineda is a Cuban-American television news reporter and anchor for the Spanish language

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

 station WXTV

WXTV

WXTV-DT channel 41 is a Univisión owned-and-operated television station, licensed to Paterson, New Jersey and serving the New York metropolitan area. WXTV's studios are located in Teaneck, New Jersey, and its transmitter in on the Empire State Building in Manhattan...

, the Univision

Univision

Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...

 affiliate in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

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Born in 1938 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...

, he later immigrated to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 as an adult. In the position since 1972, Pineda surpassed Bill Beutel of WABC-TV

WABC-TV

WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...

 as the longest-serving anchor in New York television history.

For more than thirty years, Pineda was the lead news anchor on WXTV. In 1988 he became host of the first Spanish language first local interview program in the tri-state area, Punto y Aparte.
He led Noticias 41 to first place among New York's Spanish language newscasts. He was the first Spanish-speaking news anchor to interview both political figures and celebrities such as Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 and Desi Arnaz

Desi Arnaz

Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is probably best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American TV series I Love Lucy, starring with Lucille Ball, to...

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Awards and recognition

On June 5, 2005, Pineda was honored by Union City, New Jersey

Union City, New Jersey

Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...

 with a star on the Walk of Fame at Union City's Celia Cruz Park

Celia Cruz

Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...

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