As a little boy in Tarragona, Spain, Gustau Alegret would watch the news on television, lock himself in the bathroom and present the news while standing in front of the mirror. Today, he is an international, three-time Emmy award winning journalist who serves as the U.S. News Director for NTN24 and directs and anchors two daily broadcast shows, Cuestión de Poder and Club de Prensa, in Washington DC.
Gustau is the second of eight siblings born in the Catalan city of Tarragona, south of Barcelona. What he calls his “American adventure” began in 2007, as he became the first in his family to travel to another country to live and work, he told IQLatino. He enjoys when his family visits him and his wife Marta, who he married in the United States, and gets to know what he now considers his second homeland, where he has grown personally and professionally.
“We are always looking to bring what we have lived and learned in our countries of origin to our host country,” he said. “Especially gastronomy—we certainly do not forget that! A good Mediterranean meal is always welcomed; and if it comes with a good Colombian arepa prepared by Marta, even better!” he added.
Gustau’s journey began as he crossed the Atlantic for the first time in October of 2006. He came to George Washington University, in Washington DC, for a four-day course. As a journalist, he was always attracted by the city of Washington, he explained. It only took him a couple of days to decide that that was where he wished to live, and three weeks later was applying to a graduate degree in Georgetown University, where he was accepted in February of 2007. In August, he arrived back at Washington with two suitcases, a loan, and the illusion of someone embarking upon their American adventure.
“I came for nine months and have been here 13 years. I never could have imagined what was ahead of me! Here I am today, with my wife Marta, making our American dream great” he said.
The day he finished his courses at Georgetown he received a call confirming he had a job. He worked for an international organization, then as a correspondent for a radio station in Barcelona, and then as a journalist in NTN24.
“I am lucky to have been able to make my hobby my profession,” Gustau said. Since graduating from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, he has not stopped working on what he loves: journalism. He has worked in radio, news agencies, and on television, each of which taught him important skills for the evolution of his career. “I started in radio, where you learn to speak and describe; I continued in an agency, where you learn to be very rigorous and fast, to be the first; and then you combine that on television, learning to speak by looking at a camera (which is not easy!),” he said.
Through his impressive journey and attainment of the American dream, there were some obstacles. When he first came to the United States to study at Georgetown, it was too late to apply for a scholarship. “I had two options: either let that opportunity pass, or look under the rocks, with ingenuity and courage, and leave to the United States” he said. He chose the latter, applying for a loan, selling his car, and arriving to Washington in debt but full of hope. The other challenge came when he graduated, in finding a way to work in the United States. His English was not very good, and he did not have a work permit, so he started doing collaborations, studying English, and taking personal classes. “I knocked on hundreds of doors to introduce myself. I was willing to do anything. And without realizing it, I was taking steps,” he said. What began as a three-month contracts turned to another three, and here he is today.
As for advice to other fellow Latino or Hispanic journalists in the United States, “querer es poder,” he advised, meaning where there is a will, there is a way. “This is a great country. It is not perfect, but for whoever works hard, makes an effort, and follows the rules, the opportunity will come. We must not abandon our track because at the least expected moment, a door will open that will lead us to a dream we did not imagine,” he said.
He recalled an airplane pilot once telling him something he has never forgotten: “if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” He never could have imagined coming to Washington to do television journalism for the Spanish-speaking world. He believes God still laughs at the little excited boy telling the news in front of the mirror.