Father Cutié returns to the radio, this time as an Episcopalian priest
The journalist Jose Alfonso Almora and the Rev. Alberto Cutié, better known as Father Alberto, have joined the team at Miami’s WQBA 1140 AM radio.
Almora, one of Miami’s best known television and radio journalists and host of several popular radio programs in South Florida, returned to the station March 31 with A esta hora con Almora, a program of interviews broadcast Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
During the two-hour period, Almora comments on the local, national and international developments important to Hispanics in South Florida.
“This return has been unexpected because it was not in my plans, but I have to confess that I could not resist the possibility of returning to the radio, a medium to which I dedicated more than three decades of my life,” said Almora, 58, who left the radio two years ago to be treated for colon cancer. “Now I am ready, and very healthy, to start a new stage of my career.”
Father Cutié is hosting the program, Hablando con el Padre Alberto, in which he offers his experiences as a priest, which runs from 10 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday.
On the program, listeners can chat with Cutié, 50, the rector of Saint Benedict’s Episcopal Church in Plantation.
“I am happy and honored to join the Univision and WQBA 1140 AM family. The radio and its direct contact with people is something that I have always been passionate about,” Cutié said. “In these times, I believe that practical and direct counsel can help a community seeking guidance.”
Cutié, 50, who was born in Puerto Rico of Cuban parents, has reached millions of homes through his radio and TV programs and his newspaper columns.
In 1998, he was the first cleric of any religion to host a daily interview program on an international television network: Padre Alberto y Cambia tu vida con el Padre Alberto, on Telemundo. Later came Hablando Claro con el Padre Alberto, broadcast in the United States and Latin America by EWTN.
Cutié was a popular Roman Catholic priest who left the Archdiocese of Miami in 2009 after photos surfaced of him kissing his now-wife Ruhama on the beach, which violated his celibacy vow. He left the Catholic priesthood and became an Episcopalian priest with the Diocese of Southeast Florida, where he remains today.
When he was with the Archdiocese, he was president and director of Pax Catholic Communications in Miami, which includes Radio Paz and Radio Peace.
“We are very happy that two respected and popular professionals like Jose Alfonso Almora and Father Alberto have joined Univision’s WQBA 1140 AM,” said Claudia Puig, president and executive manager of Univision Miami, which owns the station.
“Now more than ever, South Florida audiences need news reports and information that they can trust, as well as a forum that deals with daily events in order to have a sense of community at this very difficult time.”