Mayra Verónica
| Mayra Verónica | |
|---|---|
Mayra Verónica meets and greets the troops in northeastern Afghanistan.
|
|
| Born |
Mayra Verónica Aruca Rodríguez August 20, 1980 Havana, Cuba 
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| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | Pop singer, model, actress, TV personality |
| Parent(s) | Arturo Aruca (father), Mayra Rodriguez (mother) |
| Modeling information | |
| Height |
5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) |
| Musical career | |
| Labels | Syco |
5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Mayra Verónica (born Mayra Verónica Aruca Rodríguez August 20, 1980) is a Cuban-born American model and singer most famous for appearances on Spanish-language television. Verónica's role on Univision's Don Francisco Presenta brought her to the attention of FHM magazine's US edition. After appearing in FHM she was included in its 2004 calendar and went on to do additional magazine work. She made appearances on many Spanish language television shows, as well as appearing in music videos and television commercials.
She is noted for being a spokeswoman for USO.
Mayra Verónica was born in Havana, Cuba, where her father was a member of Cuba’s big band, Los Dada. In 1984, she came to the US with her mother, Mayra Rodriguez, leaving behind the rest of her family including her father, Arturo Aruca, and sister Giselle Guzman. Her father came a year later and reunited with Veronica and her mother, while her sister was unable to meet them until thirteen years later. Mayra grew up with little money and food was sometimes scarce.
A gifted student, Verónica made her way through ballet school by befriending other girls (other students from her school who could afford the training), while surviving difficult financial circumstances at home. Her body began maturing during her middle school years, causing her to no longer be able to do ballet. Her first boyfriend, at the age of 15, was an artist of the same age who often painted her nude or semi-nude.
Verónica continued school and after joining a local beauty pageant and becoming Ms. Miami, she met a photographer who would do the pictures for the event, and noticed the photographer was captivated by Mayra's photos and invited her to his studio for free sessions. Thus, Mayra obtained her first modeling book and signed with a local agent in Miami. This agent sent her out for an audition for a local TV entertainment news show "Miami Hoy" (at the time Mayra was at Florida International University majoring in Psychology and Theater) she did not know much about being a reporter but determined she could act like one.
She began as a correspondent, but was promoted to celebrity hostess for the show. She interviewed celebrities like Donald Trump, Oscar de la Renta, Hugh Hefner, and Dennis Rodman. Throughout, Verónica traveled to New York to continue acting training at the Lee Strasberg Institute to fine tune her craft, until the station (owned by Media One) was bought by AT&T Corporation and subsequently closed.
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