The prestigious Ecuadorian television channel, Ecuavisa Internacional, in its search to present the best programming for its audience in Ecuador and abroad, is launching “Agenda Latina” (Latino Agenda), a program produced in the United States and led by the journalist Carolina Franco.

The heads of Ecuavisa Internacional have offered all the support necessary for Agenda Latina to be a success in terms of the quality of its content, and they are promoting it so that it can break viewing records in the United States, Europe, and Ecuador. Much attention has been paid to the details so that the viewing public will immediately support the program.

Agenda Latina is a weekly television news program that includes important segments on immigration, community, human interest, celebrities, events, and the passionate world of sports.

The half-hour program can be seen starting Monday, November 17 at 5:00 pm Eastern Time. The program will be shown again on Mondays at 8:30 pm and Tuesdays at 3:00 am. This new production can be seen on the UHF channel 22 in Guayaquil and channel 42 in Quito. The program can be seen in the United States, on IO in Spanish (Cablevision), Qwest, RCN, Comcast, and Direct TV. In Spain the program can be seen on Ono Digital cable and Telefonica de España cable (Imageneo).

“Our program will reach millions of Ecuadorians around the world,” said an excited Carolina Franco.

The pleasant producer of the program agreed to an informal interview her so that readers of Ecuador News can learn of the show’s goals and objectives.

Carolina Franco is originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, and she graduated from Colegio Hispanoamericano, a high school known as the “Pearl of the Pacific.” She then studied journalism at the National University of La Plata in Argentina.

In Argentina, she interned at the Telefé television channel. However, a car accident forced her to return to Ecuador and finish her studies at the State University of Guayaquil, where she graduated with a degree in Social Communications. Immediately, Franco began her professional career in Ecuador, working on several television programs with Steven Macias on SI TV. She also worked at Teleamazonas with Bernardo Abad.

Ecuavisa is giving her this big opportunity. Franco began speaking to the network through a connection to Angel Sanchez, Assistance News Director. As an anecdote, Franco says, nostalgically, “I had to wait in the network’s reception area for Mr. Sanchez for 12 hours, because he had an emergency, and I was very interested in this job interview.”

But as she says, “It was worth it because I connected with one of the most important networks in Ecuador.”

Once she joined the Ecuavisa team, Franco met the man who would become her boss, Carlos Vera. “I admire Carlos very much as a professional. I remember that he did not think much of me, and I heard him say on the set that what he needed on his program were journalists, not models.”

In 2000, Franco became the anchor of one of the most watched programs in Ecuador, “Contacto Directo” (Direct Contact). She worked there until 2004 when she decided to change paths and expand her professional horizons.

Franco came to New York City like thousands of her countrymen and women, “with a suitcase full of hope,” but she did not imagine that once here she would face a series of obstacles and problems. She called upon her strength of character to succeed.

“In Ecuador I would go to the shopping malls and people would ask for autographs and take pictures with me, because I was very well known through television. Here it was different. People walked by and didn’t even turn to look at me. It was hard for me to adjust to this new life.”

However, Franco had a clear goal. She came to this city to pursue her journalism career and work in television.

“In 2006 I graduated from Suffolk Community College with a degree in translation from English to Spanish, and in 2007 I began the revalidation of my journalism degree, working as an intern on radio, TV, and film programs, and at the college.”

Franco told us how the idea to produce Agenda Latina emerged. “On July 2 of this year, the heads of Ecuavisa Internacional, Carlos Eduardo Arcos, Ronald Cordova, and Guillermo Hidalgo, contacted me by telephone from Ecuador to appoint me producer of a parade by the Ecuadorian Civic Committee in New Jersey. I accepted with pleasure. The event was successful, and after the parade, the network proposed a program produced entirely here in the United States.

“The production has not been easy, but the result is completely satisfying. Many people have helped us so that Agenda Latina could go on the air. We have already begun taping, and it is exciting to have people asking about the program. Several institutions have invited us to community events and we will try to attend all of them. It is a big challenge for Agenda Latina to be the link between the Ecuadorians who live abroad and their countrymen in Ecuador.

“I am grateful to Ecuador News for this opportunity, and I am taking this opportunity to invite my fellow Ecuadorians to join us week after week in Agenda Latina on Ecuavisa Internacional. The program has been produced with special love for my beautiful people from Ecuador,” Franco bids farewell with these words.