Success for Isabel Peralta was easier in the Dominican Republic, where she enjoyed a career as a television reporter and actress before immigrating to Utah.
Today, along with seven other colleagues, she is climbing her way back up the television ladder, working as a reporter for "Noticias 66" (News 66), a locally broadcast Spanish news program.
As it is for many Hispanic residents, Peralta's move to the United States seven years ago was daunting. The land of opportunity, she found, also had its share of cultural and language obstacles.
"In the beginning I was a waitress," said Peralta, adding that she thought she knew English but soon found "American" English difficult to understand.
So when Peralta learned of the launch of a Spanish television news station, she jumped at the opportunity.
With Hispanics making up the state's largest minority group, more than 200,000 people or nearly 9 percent of all Utahns, "Noticias 66" on KSVN-TV is riding a wave of popularity.
The half-hour news program, an affiliate of Univision, the nation's No. 1 Spanish-language network, airs three days a week at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. on cable and UHF.
"We are getting a real positive response because we are the largest Hispanic station here in Utah," said Sergio Fernandez, the station's public relations director and sports reporter.
According to some surveys, Fernandez said, roughly 87 percent of Utah's Hispanic population tunes in.
"I usually catch the 10 o'clock," said Eric Beidler of West Jordan. "My wife is from Colombia, so there is definitely Spanish in the house. It's almost like getting local color. There is a difference in how they deliver it. It's not about just getting the news in Spanish. It's about being Spanish."
The news format follows local headlines, sports, weather and entertainment, dubbing in Spanish for interviews made in English.
With the financial backing of Azteca Broadcasting Corp., a company based in Reno, Nev., and owned by Ogden resident Alex Collantes, Noticias 66 had its beginnings last July in the basement of Asdrubal Garcia's Taylorsville home.
Garcia, the station's production manager, came to Utah from Venezuela.
Most of the station's employees, like Garcia, carry years of experience from their home countries.
One is Pedro Rojas, a former television reporter for Televen in Venezuela, one of the nation's largest networks.
"We are not using just one custom," said Fernandez, who is from Colombia. "We are using the whole culture of us."
The station recently moved to an 11-room office in downtown Salt Lake City. Next week it will expand its broadcasts to five days a week.
Since its debut, the station has progressed immensely, Beidler said. "Technologically, you can just see the difference in what they have been doing."
And according to Eddie Cortez, sales manager, the station is meeting its costs and should turn a profit within a year.
"It's really not about having information in Spanish. They don't just focus on Spanish things. They are bringing the community to the Hispanic group in their language and in their way. Maybe you will see the hand gestures a little bit."
E-MAIL: danderton@desnews.com