By Karina Aguilar –

America’s late night shows star funny and charismatic hosts like Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O’Brien. There’s also Saturday Night Live.

The big Saturday night show on Spanish-language television is Sabado Gigante, or Giant Saturday, hosted by Don Francisco, a 69-year-old geezer who has a Rico Suave hairdo. This variety show is filled with celebrity interviews, small skits, games, competitions, and other so-called entertaining acts. It is the longest running show on Univision and the oldest American program in the Spanish language.

Sabado Gigante is a bad example of what a Spanish-language program should be. The disturbing part is the portrayal of women and how the show uses them primarily as sex symbols that degrade Latinas.

Most of the women shown in Sabado Gigante are sexed up models that are not embarrassed to flaunt what they have. While I understand sex sells, there should be a point where enough is enough.

In one recent show, a blond lady in a dark-brown low-cut mini dress takes the stage and strolls along side Don Francisco. She leans her tanned body into to him giggling and flirting away.

Sissi is the co-host that appears with Don Francisco. While her wardrobe for this show consists of tight fitting dresses that reveal too much for the naked eye, her continuous appearance gives way to the high hits of this show.

The skits that are done in this show are supposed to be filled with humor but I find them to be offensive to all Latina women. In most of the skits they put a hot chick wearing a skimpy outfit and make her look stupid.

Where are our Latina role models? This show doesn’t portray influential and successful career women. They sport out women’s bodies as if that’s all we’re meant to do. To be flaunted like jewelry isn’t our role in life.

What I find intolerable is when they make fun of the overweight women that appear as contestants on this show. They have them perform a dance knowing the audience will laugh at them and not with them.

What I get from this show is that looks just matter, the rest doesn’t. I don’t understand why men and women find this entertaining. Why are our Latina women tuning in to watch this show?

We should start tuning out from shows like this that degrade Latinas and women in general.