Andy García is an Academy Award-nominated Cuban-born American actor. He became known in the 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, When a Man Loves a Woman, Ocean's Eleven, and Ocean's Thirteen.

García began acting at Florida International University, but soon went to Hollywood. He started to perform in very short roles, working part-time as waiter and in a warehouse. His chance arose when he was offered a role as a gang member in the first episode of the popular TV series, Hill Street Blues. Director Brian de Palma liked his performance in the 1986 movie 8 Million Ways to Die and engaged him the following year for The Untouchables, which made Garcia a popular Hollywood actor.

In 1989, Francis Ford Coppola was casting The Godfather Part III. The character Vincent Corleone, the illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone, was an exceptional part which many actors wanted. Garcia was not the only one of the few actors capable of carrying the part, but he also bore a resemblance to Robert De Niro, who played the role of young Vito Corleone, Vincent's grandfather, in The Godfather Part II. The role thus went to Garcia, who earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his performance and became an internationally acclaimed star.

FACT: Became the first CEO to gain billionaire status from a company which he did not found.

FACT: During his tenure, the Coca-Cola brand became the most well-known trademark in the world. He introduced the Coke slogan, "Coke is it!". He launched Diet Coke, as well as the ill-fated New Coke.

QUOTE: "The moment avoiding failure becomes your motivation, you're down the path of inactivity. You stumble only if you're moving."

Speedy Gonzalez is the known as the hero of all mice in Mexico. Not only is Speedy the fastest sprinter xoth of the border, but also the fastest talker in all the barios. Speedy Gonzalez made his first on-screen appearance in a cartoon called Cat-tails for Two which aired in 1953. He did not don his signature sombrero until his second cartoon appearance.

FACT: Cartoon Network officials have banished Speedy Gonzales from their day and prime time lineups for fear of offending Mexican Americans.

FACT: Speedy's cousin, Slowpoke Rodriquez does not share his gift of speed. He walks slowly and talks in a drawn out voice. He appears to be helpless, but looks can be deceiving. Slowpoke Rodriquez has been known to pack a gun and use hypnosis. Slowpoke was created by Friz Freleng in 1959.

Julio Iglesias

FACT: Over the course of his 77-album career, Spain's most famous singer has sold more than 250 million albums, the most by any artist, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

La India

Linda Caballero, best known as La India, was born in Rio Piedras (Puerto Rico) but grew up in South Bronx, New York. La India grew up in a very poor family and singing was the only way to get out of the ghetto. Her musical talent was discovered while auditioning for the popular group T.K.A. She joined this group and toured the United States with them. Her career as a soloist began with internationally-renowned producers: "Little" Louie Vega and John "Jellie Bean" Benítez. With their help, India reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Charts with such hits as "Love And Happiness."

In 1994 this indisputably fantastic performer of Latin music released her record breaking album "Dicen Que Soy." The result was four #1 Billboard Tropical Singles and six Top Ten, as well as achieving Quadruple Platinum sales in the United States and Puerto Rico alone. The album's success led to a two year concert tour of every major U.S. city in the Latin market, as well as tours throughout Latin America, Europe and Asia.

Raul Julia
1940 - 1994

Raul Rafael Carlos Julia y Arcelay, was born in San Juan Puerto Rico on March 9th 1940 into a well off family (Raul's father owned a restaurant). A ttending a school taught by North American Nuns who spoke little Spanish, caused Raul to be exposed to English at an early age. Raul married Merel Poloway in 1976. After many successful movies such as The Addams Family then the sequel Addams Family Values, Streetfighter, The Burning Season and Lastly Down Came A BlackBird, the actor suffered a fatal stroke.

FACT: Raul Julia died on October 24th, 1994 at the age of fifty four.

Frida Kahlo
1907 - 1954

Frida Kahlo began to paint in 1925 while recovering from a streetcar accident that left her permanently disabled. She underwent more than thirty operations in the course of her life, and many of her approximately two hundred paintings directly relate to her experiences with physical pain.

FACT: Frida was married to another well-known Mexican painterand muralist, Diego Rivera.

FACT: Frida's life was powerfully and beautifully depicted in the 2002 film release of Frida, starring Selma Hayek.

Héctor Lavoe
1946 - 1993

Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York city when he was seventeen years old. On his first week living in the city, he worked as the vocalist of a sextet formed by Roberto García. During this period, he performed with several other groups, including Orquesta New York, Kako All-Stars, and the Johnny Pacheco Band.

In 1967, Lavoe joined Willie Colón's band and performed as the band vocalist. With the band, Lavoe recorded several hit songs, including "El Malo" and "Canto a Borinquen". While working with the Willie Colón's band, Lavoe became addicted to drugs. When Colón retired, Lavoe became a soloist and formed his own band, where he performed as lead vocalist. As a soloist Lavoe recorded several hits including "El Cantante", "Bandolera" and "El Periódico" de ayer. During this period he was frequently featured as an invited vocalist in the Fania All Stars, and recorded numerous tracks with the band.

In 1979, Lavoe underwent a strong depression and sought the help of a high priest to attend to his drug addiction. After a short rehabilitation, the deaths of his father, son and mother in law made him return to the addiction. These events, along with being diagnosed with HIV, affected Lavoe to the point of attempting suicide by jumping off the balcony of a hotel room. Lavoe survived and recorded a disc before his health began failing. Lavoe died in June 29, 1993, from a complication of AIDS.

John Leguizamo

Leguizamo was born in Bogotá, Colombia. His father, Alberto Leguizamo, was a Puerto Rican realtor living in Colombia, where he met Leguizamo's mother, Luz. In 1968, the couple emigrated with their children to the United States and settled down in the Jackson Heights section of Queens in New York City.

Leguizamo started out as a stand-up comic doing the New York nightclub circuit. In 1984, he made his TV debut with a small part in Miami Vice. His other early roles include: an extra in Madonna's Borderline video (1984); Mixed Blood (1985); Casualties of War (1989); Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991); and Night Owl (1993). In 1991, he also wrote and took part in the Off-Broadway production Mambo Mouth, where he played seven different characters. Mambo Mouth won an Obie Award and an Outer Critics Award. He was listed as one of 12 "Promising New Actors of 1991".

FACT: In 1993, Leguizamo wrote and participated in Spic-O-Rama, where he made fun of the stereotyping of Latinos in the U.S.. The production won a Drama Desk Award and four Cable ACE Awards.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24th, 1970. Jennifer realized at an early age that she enjoyed performing. Her first love was dance. When she read about a scholarship to a dance school in Manhattan, she grabbed the opportunity. A year and a half of auditioning with no success brought Jennifer to the verge of a breakdown. After an extensive nationwide search, Jennifer was chosen to play Selena Quintanilla Perez, in the official biopic of the life of the fallen Tejano star. After the film, she decided to record a demo of her singing, completely in Spanish.

FACT: Jennifer Lopez was a "Fly Girl" for In Living Color. Jennifer is currently one of the highest paid Hispanic artists in Hollywood.

José Julián Martí y Pérez
1853 - 1895

Born in Havana, Cuba, José Julián Martí y Pérez was the son of poor Spanish immigrants. Thanks to the aid of his teacher, he was able to go to high school just as The Ten Years' War, Cuba's first struggle for independence, began. Martí quickly committed himself to the cause, publishing his first newspaper La Patria Libre (Free Fatherland) in 1869. He was soon arrested for denouncing a pro-Spanish classmate and was sentenced to six years at hard labor.

Freed after only a few months, Martí began the exile that would characterize the better part of the rest of his life. He went to Spain where he published, El Presidio Político En Cuba, a rousing attack on Cuban prisons. He received his university education in Madrid and Zaragoza and then returned to the Western Hemisphere.

It was only in the 1920's and 1930's that Martí was embraced by a new generation of nationalist Cubans as "el apóstol," and cherished by many other Latin Americans as well. As the great Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío noted, Martí belonged to "an entire race, an entire continent."

QUOTE: Man loves liberty, even if he does not know that he loves it. He is driven by it and flees from where it does not exist.

QUOTE: It is necessary to make virtue fashionable.

QUOTE: Socialist ideology, like so many others, has two main dangers. One stems from confused and incomplete readings of foreign texts, and the other from the arrogance and hidden rage of those who, in order to climb up in the world, pretend to be frantic defenders of the helpless so as to have shoulders on which to stand.

Ricky Martin

Ricky Martin having already achieved massive stardom in nearly every corner of the world except the U.S., the Puerto Rico native now appears destined to become a household name in America as well. Thanks in large part to a show-stopping performance of his worldwide smash hit (and 1998 World Cup theme song), "La Copa de la Vida," at the Grammy Awards show in February 1999, Martin is being hailed as the frontrunner in a vanguard of Latin pop stars. Not only has his 1998 Spanish-language album, Vuelve, vaulted into the Billboard Top 100 (it still resides at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin 50 chart), but the debut single ("Livin' la Vida Loca") from Martin's first English-language album has become the biggest selling No. 1 single in the history of Columbia Records.

FACT: Ricky Martin was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on December 24th, 1971.

FACT: Ricky Martin was once a member of the Latin teen band, Menudo.

Walter Mercado

The World's Most Powerful Psychic! Unleash Your Possibilities! Love, Happiness, and Fulfillment can all be yours. But you must act Now! For over 25 years, Walter Mercado has helped millions of followers, advised celebrities, and guided world leaders. Now, his psychic advisors can help you directly. Walter's gifted psychics have helped thousands find answers, and find success. Call Now! They may reveal startling insights... and help you find the love, success, and happiness you deserve! (for $3.95 a minute)

FACT: Walter Mercado once suggested to his viewers, that they should bathe themselves in vaseline, so that all evil influences in their lives can just slide off. Let's just end that there, shall we...

FACT: Walter Mercado is the only celebrity to featured on all three Azodnem.com Spotlight pages: GLBTs in the Spotlight, Latins in the Spotlight, and Pagans in the Spotlight.

Rita Moreno

Rosa Dolores Alverio (Rita Moreno) was born in Puerto Rico and moved to New York at the age of five. Her press release trumpets the fact that she is the only female performer to have won all four of show biz’s top honors: the Oscar for her role as Anita in West Side Story, Emmys for her appearances on The Muppet Show and The Rockford Files, a Tony for her role as Googie Gomez in The Ritz, and a Grammy for The Electric Company Album.

FACT: The incredible Rita Moreno can be seen weekly on HBO's award-winning series, OZ, portraying the role of "Sister Peter Marie".

Marc Anthony Muniz

Marc Anthony was born in New York's Spanish Harlem. Although he came from a traditional Latino home, Anthony had little professional interest in Hispanic music and started out writing songs for house, dance and club music performers such as the Sapphires, the Latin Rascals, and Menudo. He signed to Atlantic in 1990 and began working with Little Louie Vega on a dance compilation album comprised of different artists. Vega suggested that Anthony sing one of the songs and was so impressed that he immediately had the young singer do all of them. The result was the album When the Night is Over, and featured the work of Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri and Luis Perico Ortiz.

FACT: Tito Puente invited him to be his opening act at Madison Square Garden for his 100th Album Celebration Party.

Mariza Reis Nunes

Mariza Reis Nunes (born December 16, 1973 in Mozambique) is a fado singer. She moved to Portugal when she was three, and was raised in one of the most traditional quarters of Lisbon, Mouraria - Alfama, where she learned how to sing fado. She has a Portuguese father, but her mother hails from Mozambique (the song "Transparente" is a tribute to her African grandmother). Growing up, and until she became a fado singer, Mariza sang in a wide variety of styles, including gospel, soul and jazz.

Released in 2001, Mariza's first album, Fado em Mim, was an instant success in Portugal, selling more than 30,000 copies. This led to her recording company launching the disc internationally and taking advantage of the good reception that Portuguese music was enjoying at the time in Europe and in other countries, such as Mexico and Japan. When Mariza's second album, Fado Curvo, was released in 2003, she was already considered as one of the best singers of what some call the new Fado movement.

FACT: For the Olympic Games of Athens 2004 she sang a duet with Sting in the song "A Thousand Years", released on the official pop album of the Athens Olympics, Unity, on which fado is sung in English and Portuguese.

Johnny Pacheco

Johnny Pacheco, born March 25, 1935 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic is a producer, musician, bandleader, and arguably the godfather of and one of the most influential figures in salsa music. Pacheco inherited his passion for music from his father, Rafael Azarias Pacheco, who was the bandleader and clarinettist of one of the most famous orchestras of that time the Santa Cecilia Orchestra. It was his father that first put a musical instrument into his son's hands. At the age of 11, his parents moved to New York City in the late 1940s from his native Dominican Republic, where he continued polishing his musical skills. Pacheco learned to play accordion, violin, saxophone and clarinet. He attended the Juilliard School of Music where he studied percussion making him the leading percussionist of the time. He performed and recorded with the most important American artists. He then learned to play flute. He is recognized as one of the top flutists of his era.

Pacheco plays the flute, saxophone and assorted percussion. He performed alongside Charlie Palmieri‘s Latin orchestra for a number of years before creating his own band in 1959. Experimentation was the focus of his new band, blending African, Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican and Latin music into what came to be known as salsa.

In 1960, he organized his first and legendary orchestra, Pacheco y Su Charanga. The band signed with Alegre Records and its first album, Johnny Pacheco y Su Charanga, sold over 100,000 copies within the first year, becoming the best selling album of the time. The album is now a classic. Beginning then and through the end of 1963, Pacheco introduced a new dance craze called “Pachanga”. He became an internationally renowned star and toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Fact: Pacheco y Su Charanga, was the first Latin band to ever headline the Apollo in 1962 and 1963.

Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez was first discovered by a Soul Train producer in a night club which led to her appearing on the show. Later, director Spike Lee spotted her as well and cast her in his movie Do the Right Thing. From there on Rosie has become a star and a critically acclaimed actress. Her film credits include White Men Can't Jump, It Could Happen to You, and Fearless for which she was nominated for an Oscar. On top of her successful acting career, Rosie has also made a name for herself with her dancing. In fact, she has worked with such people as Bobby Brown, Diana Ross and In Living Colors' "Fly Girls".

FACT: Rosie Perez volunteered for several of the HBO Comic Relief specials to help raise money for the homeless.

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez
1971 - 1995

Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, best known as Selena, was a Mexican American singer who has been called "the queen of Tejano music". The youngest child of a Mexican-American couple, Selena released her first album at the age of twelve. She took the award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1987 at the Tejano Music Awards and landed a recording contract with EMI a few years later. Her fame continued to grow throughout the early 1990s, especially in Spanish-speaking countries. Her album Selena Live! won a Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Album at the 36th Grammy Awards, and her 1994 album Amor Prohibido was nominated for another Grammy and produced four number one Spanish hits.

Selena attained further notability in North America after Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club, murdered her at the age of 23. On April 12, 1995, two weeks after her death, George W. Bush, then the governor of Texas, declared her birthday "Selena Day" in Texas. Warner Brothers made a film based on her life starring Jennifer Lopez in 1997.

FACT: As of June 2006, Selena was commemorated with a museum and a bronze life-sized statue (Mirador de la Flor in Corpus Christi, Texas). Both the statue and museum are visited by hundreds of fans each week.

Miguel Piñero
1946 - 1988

Miguel Piñero was a Puerto Rican playwright, actor, and co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Piñero was born in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, and immigrated with his parents to New York when he was only four. His father abandoned the family in 1954, and his mother moved into a basement apartment and lived mostly off of welfare. His first of what would be many criminal convictions, was at the age of 11, for theft. He was sent to the Juvenile Detention Center in the Bronx. Piñero joined a street gang called "The Dragons" when he was 13, and by the time he was 14, was already hustling in the streets.

Before Piñero had reached his 20 birthday, he was a drug addict with a long criminal record. In 1972, when Piñero was 25 years old, he was incarcerated in Sing Sing Prison for second-degree armed robbery. While serving time there, he wrote the play Short Eyes as part of the inmates playwriting workshop. The play is a drama based on his experiences in prison and portrays life, love and death among prison inmates. In 1974, the play was presented at Riverside Church in Manhattan. Theater impresario, Joseph Papp, saw the play and was so impressed that he moved the production to Broadway. The play was nominated for six Tony Awards. It won the New York Critics Circle Award and an Obie Award for the "best play of the year". The play was also a success in Europe, and Short Eyes was published in book form by the editorial house Hill & Wang. It catapulted Piñero to literary fame.

Once out of prison, Piñero continued to write and also landed some small film roles. In the 1970s, Piñero co-founded the Nuyorican Poets Cafe with a group of artists, one of which, Miguel Algarín, would become one of his best friends. The Cafe is a place for performance of poetry about the experience of being a Puerto Rican in New York.

In 1977, Piñero's play Short Eyes was turned into a film directed by Robert M. Young. In the film Piñero played the part of "Go-Go", a prisoner. Piñero was considered a talented writer who described the evils of society, even though he continued to be a drug addict. Miguel Piñero died on June 16, 1988 in New York City from cirrhosis. In a case of life imitating art, Piñero's ashes were scattered across the Lower East Side of Manhattan, as he asked in the 1985 "Lower East Side Poem." This homage to his beloved neighborhood concluded: "so please when I die ... don't take me far away, keep me near by, take my ashes and scatter them thru out the Lower East Side ..."

FACT: Piñero wrote the Miami Vice TV episode "Smuggler's Blues" in 1984, and the screenplay for Short Eyes (the movie).

FACT: The life of Miguel Piñero was portrayed in the Hollywood production Piñero, directed by Leon Ichaso and starring Benjamin Bratt as Piñero.

Tito Puente
1923 - 2000

Tito Puente known as "El Rey del Timbal" and the "Mambo King" is credited with popularizing Latin music around the world. As an unofficial Latin music ambassador, Puente was responsible for breaking down cultural and racial barriers through his art. In the 50s during the Palladium era, Tito Puente's band was one of the top three orchestras in New York. Mambo and Chachacha' were the rage at the time. The music with its high energy became a catalyst for bringing together people of all races and ethnicities. Puente rode the wave of the Mambo craze and went on to become a household name. Puente was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990 and was featured in the 1992 film The Mambo Kings. He was given the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton in 1997 and was honored by the Library of Congress in April of 2000 as a Living Legend. The New York Times chose Puente's Dancemania as one of the 25 most influential albums of the 20th century. Other awards and honorary degrees are too numerous to list. Puente recorded 120 albums, composed over 450 songs, and has over 2,000 arrangements to his credit. He has had over 10,000 live performances around the world.

FACT: Tito Puente was born on April 20th, 1923 and died on May 31, 2000. I have had the personal honor of meeting and shaking this man's hand.

Jose Luis Rodriguez
"El Puma"

Jose Luis Rodriguez "El Puma" is a Venezuelan singer and actor who has recorded many international super hits and participated in a handful of telenovelas. He was grew up in very modest conditions, having to shine shoes, and pack bags in a supermarket for a living since an early age. Without an academic formation, he shaped himself as a singer and actor by empirical means.

Despite his acting skills, Rodriguez's main money revenue was always his singing career. His hits included "Dueño De Nada", "Pavo Real" and "Agárrense De Las Manos". With "Pavo Real", he caused a controversy at the 1982 contest of Miss Universe. The contest was being held in Atlanta, a Southern American city, and "Pavo Real" is a song about a mixed races matrimony. This didn't sit well with the organizers of the event.

FACT: Rodriguez was married in the 1980's with actress Lila Morillo, with whom he had two daughters. One of them, Liliana Rodriguez Morillo, is a Venezuelan actress.

Jon Secada

Jon Secada (born Juan Secada on October 4, 1961 in Havana, Cuba) is a Cuban-American singer and songwriter. Born in Havana, Cuba but raised in Hialeah, Florida, Secada has won two Grammy Awards and sold 20 million albums since his English-language debut album in 1992. He also has appeared as a songwriter for Gloria Estefan, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Mandy Moore and other popular music artists.

In the late 1980s, Secada met Gloria Estefan. At the time, he was unaware of the impact this meeting would have on his career. Soon after they met, Secada was invited to join Estefan's band as a background singer. Secada was very quickly recognized as a valuable addition to the group. His talent as a songwriter became evident when he started composing music for Estefan, including some of her best-known ballads. Among other songs, Secada co-wrote and sang background on "Coming Out of the Dark" Gloria's number one hit from her 1991 album Into the Light. During Estefan's "Coming Out of the Dark" tour, Secada was given the life-changing opportunity of taking over the stage and performing solo. It launched his career as a solo performer.

In 1991, Secada legally changed his first name from Juan to Jon. The following year, Secada released his self-titled debut album Jon Secada, which was hugely successful, selling an astonishing six million plus copies worldwide and being certified triple platinum in the U.S., where it reached No. 15 among the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Shakira

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia), known simply as Shakira (Arabic: Woman full of grace), is a ten-time Grammy, fourteen Billboard Music Awards, four World Music Awards and ALMA Award-winning Colombian singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer, actress and dancer, who has been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking market with the release of her first album in that language, Laundry Service, which has sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold almost fifty million albums worldwide. She is also the only artist from that country to reach the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart.

Shakira has mesmorized music lovers around the world with her words, her music, her vision and her soul. This Columbian star speaks to everyone regardless what their native tongue is.

FACT: Shakira is of Colombian and Lebanese descent.

Chita Rivera

Chita Rivera began training as a ballerina at age 11, and shortly thereafter won a scholarship from George Balanchie. Soon after that ballet lost and Broadway gained the 17-year-old. Her rich and varied Broadway career is highlighted by starring performance in West Side Story, Bye Bye Birdie, Chicago, The Rink and Jerry's Girls. She achieved stardom in London in the original 1957 production of West Side Story. Chita has performed across the United States in Call Me Madame, Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate and Zorba.

FACT: Both Chita Rivera and Rita Moreno have played in the role of Anita in West Side Story. However, for the record, Chita did it first.

Cristina Saralegui

Cristina Saralegui, an over 30-year veteran journalist, is recognized by her peers as a symbol of today's Hispanic woman. She's strong willed, successful, savvy and is committed to making a difference. Hispanic Americans say Cristina Saralegui is the most trusted TV personalities. In 1989, The Cristina Show premiered on the Univision Network, the nation's leading Spanish-language television network. After 10 years The Cristina Show continues its reign as the #1 talk show on Spanish-language television, with an estimated audience of 100 million viewers worldwide.

FACT: Cristina was born January 29th, 1948 in Havana Cuba, where she was brought up in the strict image of her grandfather, magazine publisher Don Francisco Saralegui, known throughout Latin America as "The Paper Czar." He introduced young Cristina to journalism.