Alina María Hernández
Alina María Hernández (born Alberto, c. 1970), better known in the entertainment world as Cachita, is a Cuban transsexual television actress.
Life and work
Cachita debuted on television as a participant in a singing contest at Don Francisco's Sábado Gigante ("Gigantic Saturday") show, on Univision. After winning the contest, she used the 500 US dollars she earned to buy a car. She was still a struggling actor when she found work at Univision's "El Gordo y la Flaca" show, in 1998. There, she became friends with co-hosts Raúl De Molina, Lili Estefan and Marta Rodriguez. Many guest entertainers have told her that she looks a lot like Estefan.
Cachita admitted, in an Internet interview, that she was able to have sex change surgery, becoming a female. She told her fans that she had always felt she had a female mind and was trapped in a male body. She has also admitted to wearing a blond wig; her normal hair color is dark. The last medical step towards her becoming a female came in late November 2005, when TVNotas, a magazine she works for, paid for her sex-change surgery.
Before her sex-change operation, Cachita was a restaurant worker. Her boss told her that she would be allowed to come to work dressed as a woman, and her co-workers were advised to refer to her as "Alina".
Cachita returned to Cuba for a family visit soon after her first of a series of sex-change surgeries. She had a hard time there with her family, as her aunt and grandmother in particular did not accept her change. Her aunt in particular insisted on calling her "Alberto", and her mother, who supported her decision, reacted angrily at Cachita's aunt, telling her that Alberto was now a woman and her name was "Alina".
Recent work
Cachita is famous among Univision TV viewers for her entrances to the El Gordo y la Flaca show: She always falls to the floor when she enters the studio. Since the show consists mainly of gossip-talking, Cachita is often brought in to talk about scandals; such was the case when she intervened on the show the Monday after Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at the 2004 Super Bowl.
Being a regular on El Gordo y La Flaca has allowed Cachita to expand her career: she has also worked as a reporter at some award shows, like Premios Lo Nuestro and others. Besides that, she is also a writer, with a column in TVnotas.