Caterina Balzano – mostly known as Cata Balzano – is a journalist, world traveler, fashion guru, keynote speaker, entrepreneur and soon-to-be author.
After nearly five years in Europe — splitting her time between London, the French Riviera and Rome — where she wrote and reported stories for various international media outlets, Cata now calls Miami home, though she works with brands and media companies worldwide, attending events, doing interviews and covering red carpets to bring audiences the latest news on pop culture, entertainment, Hollywood, music and fashion.
From a young age, she has devoted herself to studying all aspects of pop culture, fashion, and entertainment through books, photography and eventually, social media. After living in eight different cities (and counting) across the globe, she credits her broad worldview and empathy for the many phases of the human condition to her travels and studies. With a Colombian-Italian heritage, she has so much more to be admired for than meets the eye, and this website is a clear depiction of Cata’s career journey and passions, which she has developed since 2012.
Becoming a Journalist
At 18, while living in New York City, Cata began a fruitful career in journalism through an internship. In 2015, after relocating to Miami, she worked as a student reporter at the South Florida News Service. She published articles that were picked up by the Miami Herald where she got her start as an intern and later worked as an independent contributor. In 2016, she founded Cata Balzano, Inc., her own company through which she provides journalism, multimedia content production and distribution services to brands and media companies across the globe. In 2017, Cata got her first big break on television, starring as co-host on A 90 Millas, a daily talk show on Spanish-language broadcast network AméricaTevé. Working alongside Rick Sanchez, the show’s lead host, she learned the skills of television broadcasting, reporting, and producing for a daily program.
I didn’t choose my career. It chose me. It found me while I was lost and soul-searching while living in New York. When I finally saw who I am and accepted my authentic self, I found my way to it and through it, and here I am.
In the past decade, Cata built a self-sustaining media brand, contributing to outlets such as Variety, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, NBCUniversal, Telemundo, Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, Miami New Times, Miami.com, Indulge and Ink Global. She worked as a staff writer for Narcity Media, Cox Media Group, Impremedia’s La Opinión, and Billboard, navigating fast-paced newsrooms and quick-deadline environments. While honing expertise in covering fashion and entertainment news, she also has experience in travel, community stories, business, entrepreneurship, LGBTQ+ issues, health and wellness.
I’m constantly eager to grow and learn more. You can never be too good or too experienced. When I cover events, I look around, and many times I’m one of the youngest people in the room, and that’s such a blessing — to constantly be surrounded by amazing people who have been doing this for years, who I can learn from. I like to take that experience and transmit it to younger girls who look up to me. Inspiring others to go for what they love is my purpose.
Her work ethic, will to succeed, and tact in speaking to mass audiences have earned her a name in the field, with strong credibility and a reputation for being quick-witted and a team player. Highly experienced with red carpets, award ceremonies, sports as well as fashion events, Cata has interviewed recognized names across the Anglo-American and Latin-American entertainment industries — among them Bad Bunny, Karol G, Hugh Jackman, Paris Hilton, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Taron Egerton, Trey Songz, DJ Khaled, J Balvin, Nicky Jam, Maluma, Steve Aoki, Jackie Cruz, Giuliana Rancic, Prince Royce, Juanes, Buddy Valastro and Jamie Foxx.
Making Bold Decisions
Cata’s first big risk was in 2010, when she picked up and moved alone to New York City to study acting. Alone in the city and just 18 years old, she recalls how she found her passions and her purpose: “I realized what I truly wanted out of life, and New York, being the tough city that it is, taught me how to go out and get it myself. I had no industry contacts and nobody to give me a free handout.”
In 2012, after two years of theater studies, Cata turned to something she realized she loved more than acting: on-camera entertainment, which led her to journalism. She focused on studying communications and relocated to Miami. Three years later, she would be the youngest entertainment journalist working at the city’s most important newspaper. At 25, she accomplished her lifelong dream of starting a career on television, and at 26 she took one last risk: moving to London to study fashion journalism at London College of Fashion. She eventually pursued a master’s degree in digital marketing and business transformation at the early stages of the artificial intelligence boom, which helped her understand how companies adapt and how industries will shift in the AI era.
I’ve always been a goal-getter. I put my head into a project and nobody can take me out of it. I don’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and I decide when I’m done with it. You either go big or don’t do it at all.
Today Cata Balzano Inc. operates internationally, while Cata continues serving a fast-growing roster of clients — including some of the most prominent media publications in the world — who bring her on as a contributor and correspondent.
Giving Back
After being diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at 30, Cata became an advocate for women and teens navigating life after diagnosis, leading and participating in discussions that explore efficient ways to navigate a neurotypical society — that often stigmatizes those with the condition — as a person with a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Another thing Cata enjoys: giving back to young girls and inspiring those who want to work in communications. Her list of career goals, achieved through hard work and focus, has consistently driven her to help young women find their passions and who they are. She believes teenagers are most adrift during those years of self-discovery and that small things, such as personal style and a shift in personal perspective, can help elevate self-esteem.
Through fashion and style, I believe teenagers could step out of their comfort zone and come to realise how beautiful they are in their own way. We all have beauty. In this world you need to create your own standard and your own rules. I was once a confused teenager. Time, travel and fashion gave me the answers I was looking for. I want to help girls find their answers too.
Animal rescue and advocacy are also among her greatest passions. In 2022, while navigating depression, Cata turned to animal rescue and found a bigger passion than she expected. She founded Bentley’s Playhouse in honor of her first-born (and only non-rescue) pup and began helping animals in need by picking them up off the street, removing them from dangerous home situations, and bringing them into her home for rehabilitation and eventual rehoming. During the summer of 2026, after the earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia, Cata founded the Fenix Animal Project, an animal rescue and disaster relief organization that creates a constantly growing global network to mobilize support for animals in times of crisis.
Though she claims to be never not working, in her spare time you can find her blogging, stuffing her newsletter, The Sundae Serving, with hot takes on social media culture to more than 3,000 industry professionals and subscribers, or her favorite: hanging out with her pups, Bentley and Romeo, while streaming a series with some takeaway Pad Thai or pizza.
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