I first met Ana Alicia in a dark stairwell during the New York City blackout of July 1977. She was juggling a bag of groceries, a four-month-old puppy that flatly refused to climb twenty flights of stairs in the dark, and a book of matches to light her way. Ana needed groceries and she needed to walk her dog-and she wasn't going to let minor hindrances like a citywide power outage and a hefty climb keep her from her errands.

Interviewing her six years later, I discovered that his is typical of Ana Alicia. She goes out and gets what she wants. Obstacles don't stop her. They never have.

Today's hurdle is persistent laryngitis, brought on by her participation in the latest "Battle of the Network Stars" event. A self-proclaimed "tomboy", Ana participated in every event - including the dreaded obstacle course - and has the bumps and bruises to prove it. She admits she went a little overboard in the cheering, hence the husky throat.

Ana Alicia-her real name is Analicia Ortiz--learned about obstacles first hand as a child. Born in Mexico City, she enjoyed the good things in life until her father died when she was four, taking his entire fortune with him. Her mother, now penniless and struggling to survive, transplanted herself and her four children to El Paso, Texas. The Ortiz family lived with Alicia's grandmother and it is the place she still calls home.

The young actress credits her mother's example of hard work and success with helping her become the strong individual she is today. "I was very blessed. I learned to have pride when I was very young and to enjoy working. My mother taught us we could accomplish anything we wanted to do - we could surmount any obstacle or insecurity. Because of the confidence she instilled in her children, each one of us has gone far beyond what we should have. I'm a big dreamer and a big reacher."

Ana Alicia didn't speak English until she started grade school. Yet, by the time she graduated high school, she had an almost straight-A average. She attended prestigious Wellesley College in Massachusetts on a scholarship before completing her college degree at the University of Texas at El Paso - near the top of her class. Not bad for someone who admits, "I was not an intellectual child. In my family the emphasis was on being healthy and having fun."

She adds, "I entered school with lots of handicaps, but somehow, I learned to surmount them. Very early on, I learned I didn't have the (background) preparation that the other kids had, but I had a lot of drive, and I had a lot of logical, natural intelligence. If I really worked hard, I could do just as well as everybody else or better."

By this time, acting was firmly in the picture. Ana declined scholarship offers from several top law schools to join "Ryan's Hope", on which she played a young, innocent, naïve Latino girl. It was a secondary role lasting fifteen months, but one she doesn't regret. "I had a lot to learn. It was the first time I'd ever seen a television camera in my life, so I didn't make the most of it, but I'm glad I took it because it led to the next step."

That was Los Angeles and a grueling dual life - as a Universal Studios contract actress by day and a Southwestern University law student by night. It wasn't easy, and it took its toll. "I was going to interviews for leads in films and pilots with bags under my eyes from staying up all night studying for an exam. I looked like hell, and I couldn't do well because I was so exhausted."

A choice had to be made. Ana Alicia started studying acting seriously with noted director/coach Milton Katselas. She learned more than technique; she learned how to define her goals. "Milton always said that if you don't know what you want specifically, you're going to pass it by…We let so much opportunity go by because we never knew what it was that we wanted. We have all these generalities." She also had a mail away success guide, which advised, "No matter how far-fetched you think they are, write down your specific goals, right down to the tiniest details."

On New Year's Eve, 1981, Alicia did exactly that. "I wrote it all down, and I read it and visualized it for fifteen minutes in the morning when I woke up, and at night when I went to sleep. That's all. I never thought about it during the day at all. Within a month and a half, I had everything on the list - the role, the money, the man, and the house. That had never happened to me before!"

The role, of course, is Melissa Agretti Cumson on "Falcon Crest", a star maker part that most actresses would cheerfully kill for. Ana Alicia has settled proudly into the "Falcon Crest" family. "The main priority of everyone on our show is to do our part to make it the best show on television. All of the people I work with are very strong. They're vulnerable, but they're survivors." Of superbitch Melissa, Ana says, "I love her and I enjoy her. When I got this role, baby, I was ready for it!" she chortles.

She's been influential in the evolution of the character as well. Ana initially asked two things of the writers-that Melissa have her baby (the first one, that is) and that the baby be Cole's. "Cole and the baby are her one sense of vulnerability, the only Achilles heel she has," Alicia explains. "No matter how much a woman thirsts for power, no matter how hard she's worked for it, the maternal instinct is so strong that with the birth of a child, she will always be torn between her work and the child. The child must be Cole's because Cole represents something she has never had-truth, innocence and love-and she will run from it because she's afraid of it since she's never know it."

Eventually, marriage and motherhood are on the actress' own personal agenda. In fact, that's her biggest unfulfilled goal because all the others-acting, writing, producing, directing-"already have their seeds planted." (She has formed her own production company, Zitro Productions, to nurture those seedlings along. Zitro is her family name, Ortiz, spelled backwards).

Since Ana Alicia doesn't do thing by halves, she says, "I want to be in a situation where I don't neglect my child and I don't neglect my career. The baby will have my love and my time, but I will also have my dreams. The baby will never feel like it took something away from me, and vice-versa."

She is vehement about the importance of parental encouragement. "I was very lucky. There are so many people who are so unfortunate. They have been told (all their lives) they are nothing, they're ugly, incapable, not bright…it takes more than a year (of psychotherapy) to overcome that kind of insecurity.

"That's why I think that if you're going to be a parent, my God, realize what you're doing! The first five years of this child's life are the most important. Make the child feel confident-make the child believe in itself. It is an individual-it is not you! Accept the child for what it is," she urges passionately. "Most people have the tendency to make their child represent them. Parents can be so cruel because they're disappointed-that child is a part of them, and that child is not what they wanted. They wanted an ego extension. The children suffer so much and that makes me so sad."

Playing Melissa may be the break of a lifetime, but it is proving to be a mixed blessing. Ana Alicia is becoming increasingly recognizable, and she feels somewhat uncomfortable with that, because many fans confuse the person with the character. "I never, ever want to confuse any character I play with who I am," she declares.

When success hit suddenly, Ana Alicia admits she was not totally prepared for it. "It was a very scary time. I got a little off-balance, and I decided that I had to straighten out my life. I must stay `together'." So, she quit smoking-cold turkey-on July 7, 1982, and she hasn't taken a puff since. It was more than a symbolic gesture of strength. "If I couldn't beat this particular habit that had control of me-who knows, I might have gone into drugs next. I had to get control of that. It was a test for me. I decided that if I had any weaknesses, they would only double, because success is like a magnifying glass. It will magnify the good and the bad."

Alicia keeps her balance by surrounding herself with positive support. "In relationships, it's very important that both people are a positive influence on each other, that they generate good energy and fill their needs. If there are people who say `no', who are negative influences in your life-you get them out. Everything around you should be a support system."

Although not the man-eater Melissa is, Alicia finds "Men don't come on to me-men are scared of me. Actually, I'm scared of them! I'm a very shy person. When I'm by myself, I don't like attention. I don't like to be looked at. I hardly ever go out because many of the men I meet are superficial jerks or just not my type. I don't want to waste my time or theirs."

Given her well-defined, specific goals, Ana knows just what she wants and needs in a man. "You have to know," she notes, "so that your eyes are open when you met someone. You're able to be objective rather than be all wrapped up with the idea of this man that fulfills your fantasies. He also must fill very real needs in you."

Currently, Alicia seems to have found what she needs in actor Morgan Stevens ("Fame", "Bare Essence"). "He's terrific-he's very talented and very sweet. He's helped me a lot. Up until I met him, I honestly didn't have a personal life here," she confesses and marvels, "He is so incredibly supportive. He gives me my space. He takes a certain pride-he wants me to succeed. I feel very, very lucky. Right now, it's a good relationship for both of us."

Although Ana Alicia's reach does not often exceed her grasp, she is definitely not Superwoman, and does not pretend to be. She admits freely to many, many fears and insecurities. But, she uses them as the impetus to achieve-by leaving herself no option but to plunge in and do it. "You learn that through drive and through pure force of will, you can surmount almost anything. It's the ability to focus and direct that energy. I've always had a hunger-I've worked too long and too hard to let it all slip away. You must never forget that hunger. The more successful you get-it must get stronger not weaker. As soon as you start settling for what you've got, it will all go away. You can't stand still in this business."

Eventually, "Falcon Crest" will end and when it does, Ana plans to move on, either to a series of her own, movies of the week, or feature films. She states firmly, "I will not back-step. I will go forward or I won't work. I'll just write and start producing my own projects."