In Search of the Great Latina Game Show Host
I started watching Jeopardy! way back in1964 when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and I was in high school. Art Fleming was the original host. The game so dramatically influenced my life I found myself reflexively offering answers to any query in the form of a question. One Sunday morning as I was slurping down a hot bowl of menudo to cure a raging hangover, my mother asked in her telltale Tex-Mex accent, “Mijito, what time did you get in last night?” Without looking up I responded, “What is I was way too drunk to remember?”
Fans of Jeopardy around the world were saddened by the passing of long-time, legendary host, Alex Trebek. Since Trebek’s passing a series of guest hosts have been hosting the show with mixed results vying for the job. Those guest hosts have included an NFL quarterback, a CNN anchor, Drs. Oz and Gupta, Katie Couric and Levar Burton just to mention a few.
But surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly there were no Latinx guest hosts. Considering the well-documented fact Latinos make up a huge portion of the network TV viewing audience this oversight seems to be…uh, what’s the word? Stupid! We Latinos watch more than just telenovelas and fútbol on TV. Okay, I confess, I watch a lot of Liga MX fútbol.
Our steadily growing demographics indicate it’s time we had a person with a Hispanic surname hosting Jeopardy. But more specifically a Latina game show host. Game shows have too long been dominated by amiable white guys with nice hair and one lone nicely dressed black guy. Let’s see if we can come up with a Final Jeopardy answer to this question by having a slightly altered form of Jeopardy.
Host: “Good evening contestants. Tonight there will be only one category to choose from: Latinas Who Would Make a Great Jeopardy Host.
Contestant #1: “I’ll take Latinas Who Would Make a Great Jeopardy Host for $200.”
Host: “Okay, here is your clue: This Latina is one of the greatest female fastpitch softball players of all time. She has won Gold and Silver medals in the Olympics and is now a baseball analyst on ESPN.”
Contestant #1: “Who is Paris Hilton?”
Host: “No, that’s wrong.”
Contestant #3: “Who is Sarah Palin?”
Host: “Sorry, also wrong.”
Contestant #2: “Who is Jessica Mendoza?”
HOST: “That’s correct. Jessica Mendoza is also the first woman to work on a Major League Baseball World Series broadcast team. She was the first female to be a broadcaster on the College World Series of Baseball.”
Contestant #2: “I’ll take Saturday Morning Cartoons for $40.”
HOST: “We don’t have that category tonight. We just have the one category.”
Contestant #2: “Oh fine. Whatever. Shoot.”
HOST: “This Latina is a broadcast journalist, news anchor and author. The New York Times calls her the “Voice of Hispanic America.”
Contestant #1: “Who is Charo?”
HOST: “Incorrect.”
Contestant #3: “Who is Chiquita Banana?”
HOST: “No, very wrong! Chiquita Banana is not a real person. She’s a banana.”
Contestant #3: “Then why is her name in boldface type”?
HOST “I don’t know. Take it up with my editor.”
Contestant #2: “Who is Marí Elena Salinas?”
HOST: “You’re right. María Elena Salinas has interviewed countless Latin American dictators, Hollywood and music celebrities and every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter. Salinas was one of the first female journalists to report in wartime Belgrade.”
Contestant #3: “Well I’ll take the same category for $600.”
HOST: “This Latina is a talented actress, stand-up comic, singer, impressionist and visual artist.”
Contestant #1: “Who is Kim Kardashian?”
HOST: “No, it’s not Kim Kardashian. I told you Saturday Morning Cartoons was not one of our categories tonight.”
Contestant #2: “Who is Melania Trump?”
HOST: “Nope. Not Melania.”
Contestant #2: “Are you sure? She’s pretty funny and she does a great impression of a happy, loyal wife.”
HOST: “No, I’m sure.”
Contestant #3: “Who is Melissa Villaseñor?”
HOST: “Yes, it’s Melissa Villaseñor. Melissa has the unique distinction of being the first Latina cast member of SNL. Unfortunately, by the time, the unbearably long cast member roll call gets down to Villaseñor most of the TV viewers have drifted off to sleep or changed the channel to the Home Shopping Network.”
Well, there you have it: Jessica Mendoza, María Elena Salinas and Melissa Villaseñor. Three excellent candidates for the job of a permanent host on Jeopardy. Did you notice all three Latinas were the “first” in some area of their profession?
Which talented lady will be able to add “first Latina host of Jeopardy” to her resume? These are just three names off a very long, list of highly qualified contenders. One of them deserves to have her name introduced by Johnny Gilbert: “And now, here’s the host of Jeopardy…”