<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>NBC Latino&#187; People</title>
	<atom:link href="http://nbclatino.com/category/people/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://nbclatino.com</link>
	<description>The Voice of American Hispanics</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 19:46:41 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://wordpress.com/</generator>
<cloud domain='nbclatino.com' port='80' path='/?rsscloud=notify' registerProcedure='' protocol='http-post' />
<image>
		<url>http://1.gravatar.com/blavatar/12f061d117b958a4951214da16b5cab8?s=96&#038;d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.png</url>
		<title>NBC Latino&#187; People</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com</link>
	</image>
	<atom:link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="http://nbclatino.com/osd.xml" title="NBC Latino" />
	<atom:link rel='hub' href='http://nbclatino.com/?pushpress=hub'/>
		<item>
		<title>YouTube sensation 13-year-old girl with cancer creates her own fashion line</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/15/photos-youtube-sensation-13-year-old-girl-with-cancer-creates-her-own-fashion-line/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/15/photos-youtube-sensation-13-year-old-girl-with-cancer-creates-her-own-fashion-line/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 20:24:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristina Puga</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cancer patient]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clothing line]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fashion designer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Talia Joy Castellano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[That Bald Chick]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Urbana Chappa]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=68205</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Talia Joy Castellano, the 13-year-old who has been battling two types of cancer for six years by making makeup tutorials &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/15/photos-youtube-sensation-13-year-old-girl-with-cancer-creates-her-own-fashion-line/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=68205&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/taliajoy18">Talia Joy Castellano</a>, the 13-year-old who has been battling two types of cancer for six years by making makeup tutorials on YouTube, just accomplished her next dream after getting to meet Ellen DeGeneres last year and becoming an honorary Cover Girl.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>RELATED:</strong> <a href="http://nbclatino.com/2012/09/13/video-13-year-old-battling-cancer-gets-to-meet-her-favorite-star-ellen-degeneres/">[VIDEO] 13-year-old battling cancer gets to meet her favorite star, Ellen DeGeneres</a></p>
<p dir="ltr">The past few weeks, although sick in her hospital bed in Orlando, Fl., she has been busy creating a new teen fashion line, called <a href="http://web.stagram.com/n/taliajoy18/">That Bald Chick</a> with the help of <a href="http://www.urbanachappa.com/#!profile/c2414">Urbana Chappa</a> &#8212; a Spanish-Persian designer whose latest collection made it to the runways of New York and Los Angeles Fashion Weeks this year.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I wanted to create a fashion line for teens that is trendy,” says Talia. “I&#8217;m hoping to inspire young teens to express themselves through their fashion. I&#8217;m excited to have created this collection and will forever get to share it with the world!”</p>
<p dir="ltr"><div class="nbc-gallery" id="nbc-gallery-68205"><div class="nbc-gallery-pager"><a class="previous" href="#">&laquo; Previous</a><a class="next" href="#">Next &raquo;</a></div><div class="cycle-wrapper"><div class="cycle-slide" id="taliaandurbana"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="420" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/taliaandurbana.jpg?w=560&#038;h=420" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="Designer Urbana Chappa (left) and Talia Joy Castellano (right) (Courtesy Urbana Chappa)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>Designer Urbana Chappa (left) and Talia Joy Castellano (right) (Courtesy Urbana Chappa)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68212/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="talia9"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="454" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/talia9.jpg?w=560&#038;h=454" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68240/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="talia8"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="467" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/talia8.jpg?w=560&#038;h=467" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68239/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="talia7"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="416" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/talia7.jpg?w=560&#038;h=416" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68238/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="talia6"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="417" height="645" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/talia6.jpg?w=417&#038;h=645" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68237/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="talia5"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="420" height="642" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/talia5.jpg?w=420&#038;h=642" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68236/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="talia4"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="461" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/talia4.jpg?w=560&#038;h=461" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68235/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="talia3"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="424" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/talia3.jpg?w=560&#038;h=424" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68234/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="talia2"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="430" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/talia2.jpg?w=560&#038;h=430" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68233/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="talia1"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="417" height="540" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/talia1.jpg?w=417&#038;h=540" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68232/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="taliasketch1"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="480" height="640" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/taliasketch1.jpg?w=480&#038;h=640" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="One of Talia&#039;s sketches (Courtesy That Bald Chick)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>One of Talia&#8217;s sketches (Courtesy That Bald Chick)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68231/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="taliaandurbana-2"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="500" height="375" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/taliaandurbana1.jpg?w=500&#038;h=375" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="Designer Urbana Chappa (left) and Talia Joy Castellano (right) showing off their That Bald Chick clothing line. (Courtesy 3d PR and Marketing)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>Designer Urbana Chappa (left) and Talia Joy Castellano (right) showing off their That Bald Chick clothing line. (Courtesy 3d PR and Marketing)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68276/" /></a> </div></div></div><div class="count"><span>-</span> of 12</div></div></p>
<p dir="ltr">Chappa, 33, says she first saw Talia on the “Ellen” show and was fascinated by her story.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It was very close to home for me &#8212; I had cancer when I was in my early twenties,” says Chappa. “Then my children were on my phone and her photo popped up on Instagram. I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is a sign.’ I went to her YouTube page, and I heard on her bucket list that she wanted to be a fashion designer.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Next, Chappa says she e-mailed Talia and asked her if she’d like to get together and collaborate on a new line. When she agreed, Chappa flew to Orlando for four days and brought her some swatches and fashion books.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We sketched 16 pieces, and we chose about 14, and I came back to LA and in two weeks, we put it together,” says Chappa, who taught Talia how to draw outfits on pre-made model cutouts. “We were on a very short time crunch with her being so sick we didn’t know what was going to happen. It’s been amazing. We have so much fun.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Not only do the young ladies share a physical resemblance, but their work ethic as well.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“She’s a businesswoman,” says Chappa about Talia. “She’s very straightforward and upfront&#8230;We Skype picking out fabric, and she picked out buttons and zippers.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">That Bald Chick is a line which reflects one of Talia’s taglines, “Bald is beautiful.” It includes five styles of sheer shirts with her eyes on them.</p>
<div id="attachment_68276" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 510px"><a href="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/taliaandurbana1.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-68276" alt="Designer Urbana Chappa (left) and Talia Joy Castellano (right) showing off their That Bald Chick clothing line. (Courtesy 3d PR and Marketing)" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/taliaandurbana1.jpg?w=500&#038;h=375" width="500" height="375" /></a><p class="wp-caption-text">Designer Urbana Chappa (left) and Talia Joy Castellano (right) showing off their That Bald Chick clothing line. (Courtesy 3d PR and Marketing)</p></div>
<p dir="ltr">“It’s amazing &#8212; you wouldn’t know she was sick. She’s touched my heart in the past month that I’ve known her. This is why this line is so important to me &#8211;to keep her legacy alive. She’s such an inspiration to those who have cancer and to kids.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She says the next step is trying to get the line to a national chain like Target.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“That is her dream, and I want her to see this,” says Chappa.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She says besides wanting to help Talia achieve her dream, she also wants to help her family be able to pay her medical bills.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We want to put a foundation together for other families going through the same thing,” adds Chappa. “Now we’re going to found a foundation with her name.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Last week, Chappa was at the hospital spending as much time with Talia as possible as she went through more radiation treatments. Even more than becoming close friends, she says the cheerful young teen has taught her so much.</p>
<p>“She would say, it doesn’t matter if you are dying or homeless, if you have dreams do not give up,” says Chappa. “She wants kids and people to fight harder. I’ve been through a lot, and she’s taught me to not sweat the little stuff.”</p>
<p><strong>RELATED:</strong> <a href="http://nbclatino.com/2012/08/10/12-year-old-dying-of-cancer-inspires-the-world-on-youtube/">12-year-old dying of cancer inspires the world on YouTube</a></p>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/cancer/'>cancer</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/cancer-patient/'>cancer patient</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/clothing-line/'>clothing line</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/fashion-designer/'>fashion designer</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/talia-joy-castellano/'>Talia Joy Castellano</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/that-bald-chick/'>That Bald Chick</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/urbana-chappa/'>Urbana Chappa</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/68205/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=68205&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/15/photos-youtube-sensation-13-year-old-girl-with-cancer-creates-her-own-fashion-line/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/taliajoy.jpg?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/taliajoy.jpg?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">TaliaJoy</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d769bd58318e5dd352f8e72c22e97a54?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">kristinapuga</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/taliaandurbana1.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Designer Urbana Chappa (left) and Talia Joy Castellano (right) showing off their That Bald Chick clothing line. (Courtesy 3d PR and Marketing)</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>All-Hispanic Alabama soccer team wins school&#8217;s first state championship in 38 years</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/14/all-hispanic-alabama-soccer-team-wins-first-state-championship-in-high-schools-38-year-history/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/14/all-hispanic-alabama-soccer-team-wins-first-state-championship-in-high-schools-38-year-history/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 10:25:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristina Puga</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alabama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Collinsville]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[high school]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hispanic team]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[immigrants]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soccer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sports]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=67893</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Collinsville, Alabama is a small town of approximately 2,000 people, but this past weekend a group of 22 Latino students &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/14/all-hispanic-alabama-soccer-team-wins-first-state-championship-in-high-schools-38-year-history/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67893&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.collinsvillealabama.net/profile.htm">Collinsville, Alabama</a> is a small town of approximately 2,000 people, but this past weekend a group of 22 Latino students put it on the national map. <a href="http://www.dekalbk12.org/collinsville/">Collinsville High School’s</a> all-Hispanic soccer team won the state championship with a final score of 4:1.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Adan Morales is an 18-year-old senior who stopped two penalty kicks, which ultimately led to the team’s win.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It’s great feeling, but during the game I got knocked out, so I was bit dizzy,” says the goalkeeper and captain of the team who has plans to study to be a computer engineer after graduating high school.</p>
<p dir="ltr">He says what makes their team special is that not only do they train together, they do everything together.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We are together inside and outside the field,” says Morales, who is of Mexican background. “We have everybody’s back.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Center mid-fielder and captain Jorge Segura, 18, scored one of the goals and agrees the win was extraordinary, but more so, that they are like a family.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We practice two or three hours, seven days a week, but we also go to church together and go out to eat together,” he says.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Principal Donny Jones, as well as the entire town, is elated because the school hasn&#8217;t won a state championship in 38 years.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I’ve been at Collinsville for 22 years and in education for 30 years,” says Jones, who grew up in Collinsville and witnessed the creation of the area’s first soccer team, which only came into existence about a decade ago. “Soccer became popular because of the Hispanic students that started coming to our school.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">He says Hispanic students started attending Collinsville High School, which includes grades K through 12, in 1990. According to Jones, <a href="http://www.manta.com/c/mmfjcv1/cagle-s-inc">Cagile’s chicken processing plant</a>, which employs more than 1,000 people, as well as a healthcare company in town, brought in a lot of Latino families. Today, the school teaches 870 kids, approximately 42 percent of whom are Hispanic &#8212; an increase of nearly 400 students in since 1990.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Once we had enough interest for a soccer team, we got a coach from our staff,” says Jones, who four years ago hired a new female soccer coach, Julie Littles.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Littles, 34, is the coach who led the boys to their championship, but she credits their first championship win to the boys &#8212; many of whom have played under her tutelage since they were freshmen.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It was their hard work, focus, and determination, but also their sense of family,” she says.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Little, who coaches one of the smallest schools in the state, explains they are a small public school competing against larger private schools.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It’s a special team, and they have overcome a lot of obstacles to win the state championship,” says Little. “It also opened lots of people’s eyes to small towns and small teams and what they’re capable of.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She says most of the boys are very poor and don’t even have money to buy fast food at away games, let alone buy socks. Yet, they took it upon themselves to set up fundraisers to be able to afford equipment and uniforms to play their beloved sport.</p>
<p dir="ltr">David Hernandez, 17-year-old defender/midfielder says he’s been on the team since the 8th grade.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Words can’t explain how great it is,” says the senior, whose family also comes from Mexico. “I love the fact that we were so unique. We had something different that other teams didn’t have. We had love, and we wanted to make a difference &#8212; to make our community happy and make history.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">He’s undecided on which college he will attend, but he’s sure he will go to college and interpret for the deaf, and maybe become a missionary.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I kept the promise to myself that I wouldn’t leave without winning a state championship, so it felt great,” says Luis Segura, 18-year-old sweeper (defense) who got a four-year academic scholarship to study computer engineering or medicine at Jacksonville State University. “I’ve always loved soccer. It’s my passion. It’s a team sport. Ever since I was born, all of my family watches it and plays on local leagues. I’ve always been around it.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">He says most of the team is Mexican, and there are a couple of players from El Salvador and Guatemala, but the whole town now cheers them on.</p>
<p>“There has been a huge response from the town,” says their coach. “I think we’ve had more support the last few years than the 10 years it’s been in existence. “We do have a large Hispanic population, but a lot of the town didn’t know about soccer. They have grown more supportive of the team and the boys.”</p>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/alabama/'>alabama</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/collinsville/'>Collinsville</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/family/'>family</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/high-school/'>high school</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/hispanic-team/'>Hispanic team</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/immigrants/'>immigrants</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/soccer/'>soccer</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/sports-2/'>sports</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67893/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67893&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/14/all-hispanic-alabama-soccer-team-wins-first-state-championship-in-high-schools-38-year-history/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/alabamasoccerteam.jpg?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/alabamasoccerteam.jpg?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">AlabamaSoccerTeam</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d769bd58318e5dd352f8e72c22e97a54?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">kristinapuga</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Latino Rebels Foundation starts pipeline for Hispanic filmmakers, journalists</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/14/latino-rebels-foundation-starts-pipeline-for-hispanic-filmmakers-journalists/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/14/latino-rebels-foundation-starts-pipeline-for-hispanic-filmmakers-journalists/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 10:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jacquellena Carrero</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[education]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[foundation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[journalism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[latino]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[rebels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stereotypes]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[study]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=67064</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Latino stereotypes may still abound in television shows and movies, but the Latino Rebels Foundation is looking to change that. &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/14/latino-rebels-foundation-starts-pipeline-for-hispanic-filmmakers-journalists/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67064&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Latino stereotypes may still abound in television shows and movies, but the Latino Rebels Foundation is looking to change that.</p>
<p>Latino businesses, communications and media professionals have banded together to create The Latino Rebels Foundation and start a <a href="http://www.latinorebelsfoundation.org/our_launch" target="_blank">new program</a> to help Latino filmmakers and journalists break into the industry. The foundation has pledged to raise scholarship funds for Latinos to study journalism and film.</p>
<p>Charles Garcia, Co-Founder of the <a href="http://www.latinorebelsfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Latino Rebels Foundation</a>, says he hopes more Latinos will enter Hollywood and newsrooms and change the perceptions and stereotypes around Hispanics. The new foundation is meant to be a funding arm for students to study at the American Film Institute.</p>
<p><strong>RELATED: <a href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/03/13/video-film-hopes-to-change-latino-stereotypes-in-media/" target="_blank">Film hopes to change Latino stereotypes in media </a></strong></p>
<p>“The best way to change public perceptions is to change stories coming out of Hollywood and make sure that we have journalists at news organizations and that have a Latino conscience and radar,” he says.</p>
<p>Garcia says that the idea for the pipeline started from the results of a Hilton Knowlton study that showed that there is a pervasive negative perception of Latinos in the United States. The study found that a majority of non-Hispanics overestimate the proportion of Hispanics who are here illegally, 75 percent of people do this.</p>
<p>An astounding 80 percent of Americans associate Hispanics with being involved in crime and gang violence. However, there were also some positive numbers such as the fact that 90 percent of people associate Hispanics with being hard-working.</p>
<p>Garcia says that the study confirms his suspicion that the “Latino brand was tarnished.”</p>
<p>However, the study did not receive widespread attention because of criticism over its methodology. The study was conducted online. Still, Garcia defends the results, citing statistician <a href="http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/which-polls-fared-best-and-worst-in-the-2012-presidential-race/" target="_blank">Nate Silver’s claim that online surveys are more accurate</a> than public opinion polls.</p>
<p><strong>RELATED: <a href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/03/21/womens-history-month-latinitas-create-their-own-positive-images-in-media/" target="_blank">Latinitas create their own positive images in media</a> </strong></p>
<p>Regardless of the study, Garcia believes that having Latinos working behind the scenes in media will change some of the depictions on the big screen.</p>
<p>“We don’t have many executives that are Latino. So what you have coming out of Hollywood are gangbangers, traffickers, criminals. That’s what Americans perceive,” he says.</p>
<p>Although foundation was just launched at Hispanicize 2013, it has already seen a lot of support. Jim McNamara, the CEO of Cine Latino and Chairman of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, has given a 100,000 match grant for the scholarship initiative.  <a href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/03/20/top-obama-fundraiser-says-latinos-have-earned-their-political-clout/" target="_blank">Top Obama fundraiser</a> Andres Lopez has also gotten involved with the new pipeline program.</p>
<p>“Every contribution will help change the image of Latinos in this country,” Garcia says.</p>
<span class='embed-youtube' style='text-align:center; display: block;'><iframe class='youtube-player' type='text/html' width='640' height='390' src='http://www.youtube.com/embed/yyYM2ZqzBjw?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;fs=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;wmode=transparent' frameborder='0'></iframe></span>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/education-2/'>education</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/foundation/'>foundation</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/journalism/'>journalism</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/latino/'>latino</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/media/'>media</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/news-2/'>news</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/rebels/'>rebels</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/stereotypes/'>stereotypes</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/study/'>study</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67064/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67064&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/14/latino-rebels-foundation-starts-pipeline-for-hispanic-filmmakers-journalists/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/latino-rebels-foundation-esai-morales.png?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/latino-rebels-foundation-esai-morales.png?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">latino rebels foundation esai morales</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d9f7e068c6e8cc9235c8f2d74cd2e854?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">jacquellenacarrero</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Latina Leaders: The chief merchant of Sephora says her family is her oxygen</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/13/latina-leaders-the-chief-merchant-of-sephora-says-her-family-is-her-oxygen/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/13/latina-leaders-the-chief-merchant-of-sephora-says-her-family-is-her-oxygen/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 16:24:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristina Puga</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beauty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[careers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chief merchant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cosmetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Latina Leaders]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Margarita Arriagada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peru]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peruvian culture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sephora]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=67748</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you love the diversity of beauty products that the international chain Sephora has to offer &#8212; there’s one person &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/13/latina-leaders-the-chief-merchant-of-sephora-says-her-family-is-her-oxygen/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67748&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr">If you love the diversity of beauty products that the international chain <a href="http://www.sephora.com/contentStore/mediaContentTemplate.jsp?mediaId=10800104">Sephora</a> has to offer &#8212; there’s one person to thank for that &#8212; Peruvian-born Margarita Arriagada. She is the chief merchant of the cosmetic empire and has been working with the company for nearly a decade.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I think I have the best job,” says Arriagada excitedly, her smiling red lips revealing perfectly white teeth.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She says in her 30-plus-year career,  joining Sephora was her debut into the beauty industry. The beginning of her career was in fashion merchandising, then 15 years in the home area, and the commuting to Spain for 10 years to do product development and branding for <a href="http://www.lladro.com/">Lladro</a>. That’s when the opportunity arose to join Sephora.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I just loved the retail experience with Sephora &#8212; I loved the people, and the different approach to cosmetics than you usually find in a department store,” says Arriagada about why she decided to make the switch to beauty. “[Sephora is] very entrepreneurial and I love creating things.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She says she didn’t know whether or not she would be good at it, but she was used to working hard at whatever she committed herself to. She was also used to commuting large distances. So she switched commuting from her Los Angeles home to Spain on Monday mornings to the Sephora headquarters in San Francisco, every week, living away from her family Monday through Friday.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I started working right out of high school in a department store,” says Arriagada who originally had plans to become an architect. “I needed to earn money, so I worked while I studied interior design.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She says she realized she really enjoyed working part-time in fashion retail, so she changed her major at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising to fashion merchandising.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Fast forward a few decades, and Arriagada is a major decision maker for a company which operates approximately 1,300 stores in 27 countries worldwide, with an expanding base of over 300 stores across North America.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“My life is very hectic,” she admits. “I go to bed with my iPhone and Blackberry&#8230;I’m up till midnight. I work a lot&#8230;I have an eye for detail &#8212; that’s why I wanted to be an architect. I like to dot my i’s and cross my t’s &#8212; it drives me crazy.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She says her hyper-organized self used to hate that her carefree mother would often leave the house open to everyone, allowing them to partake in their food. Yet as an adult, her mom is her biggest inspiration.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“She probably was the happiest person without a lot of material belongings,” says Arriagada who moved to Los Angeles from Lima, with her mom, at age 12. “She would spend her entire paycheck and go to Catalina Island if someone asked her. I have great memories of her being in the moment and making the most of it.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Arriagada says although there were a lot of male role models in her career who played a motivational role for her, her mom’s example was still the one with the biggest imprint.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Often, she had to take three jobs to put food on the table, and she’d never complain,” she says about her mom, who is now 92 with dementia. “She dealt with it in an optimistic way. She would still come home in the morning, and be cheery, and make us breakfast.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Like her mother, although Arriagada spends a lot of time away from home during the week for work, she says her family is of the utmost importance to her.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Family time is like oxygen to me &#8212; without it I feel a bit lost,” says the mother of three in college. “We always tell each other how much we love each other. It’s really the little things that mean a lot.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She gives credit to her husband of 32 years for staying home and raising their kids while she worked. She says the success of their long marriage might be a result of her being home every Friday night.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“That’s my time with my husband alone &#8212; just him and I,” she says. “Saturday, I’m usually running around doing errands [and taking care of my mom], and Sundays is family time and we do a barbecue. Our faith has also been very important in our lives.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Arriagada says she loves her home base in Los Angeles because there is a tight-knit Peruvian community there which allows her, and her family, to remain surrounded by their Peruvian culture even though they live in the U.S.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“That’s the reason I rather commute, than move, and why I commuted to Spain,” she says. “I rather commute than lose that support system and Latin community&#8230;You don’t feel as vulnerable as when you are alone.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She also says she’s grateful to have her dream job and loves using her years of experience to mentor teams and help individuals blossom in their careers.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I look back and say I had a little bit of a hand in it all,” says Arriagada.”I look at our business as an upside down pyramid &#8212; I think the manufacturers are the most important people, and the people in the front line. Our job is to reinforce them &#8212; you can’t be a good executive unless you are in tune with the people in the front lines.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">And she reiterates, it’s just as important to reinforce your family.</p>
<p>“Work is such a rat race, and life passes by so fast, but I feel these little moments I have to make a little time for family, it makes life a little better.”</p>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/beauty/'>beauty</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/careers/'>careers</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/chief-merchant/'>chief merchant</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/cosmetics/'>cosmetics</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/family/'>family</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/jobs/'>jobs</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/latina-leaders/'>Latina Leaders</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/margarita-arriagada/'>Margarita Arriagada</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/peru/'>Peru</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/peruvian-culture/'>Peruvian culture</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/sephora/'>Sephora</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67748/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67748&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/13/latina-leaders-the-chief-merchant-of-sephora-says-her-family-is-her-oxygen/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/latinaleadersmargaritaarriagada.jpg?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/latinaleadersmargaritaarriagada.jpg?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">LatinaLeadersMargaritaArriagada</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d769bd58318e5dd352f8e72c22e97a54?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">kristinapuga</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>What am I? Actor Wilson Cruz: My identity is my sword</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/13/what-am-i-actor-wilson-cruz-my-identity-is-my-sword/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/13/what-am-i-actor-wilson-cruz-my-identity-is-my-sword/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 10:56:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Wilson Cruz, actor and National Spokesperson and Strategic Giving Officer at GLAAD</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[gay]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GLAAD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Hispanic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[identity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[latino]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pride]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Puerto Rican]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spokesperson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wilson Cruz]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=67492</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I am a Puerto Rican gay man. That is how I identify. That is my identity. I say Puerto Rican &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/13/what-am-i-actor-wilson-cruz-my-identity-is-my-sword/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67492&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-03_2238072_whatami_640x90_v1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-58128" alt="2013-03_2238072_WhatAmI_640x90_v1" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-03_2238072_whatami_640x90_v1.jpg?w=640&#038;h=90" width="640" height="90" /></a>I am a Puerto Rican gay man. That is how I identify. That is my identity. I say Puerto Rican first because it is the obvious. It&#8217;s written all over my face. It&#8217;s in the curl of my hair, in the width of my nose, and in the color of my skin. I name that first because it is the first thing you acknowledge about me. It is the first thing you see. You make your first assumptions about me based on that. Even if you do not know that I am Puerto Rican you know that I am not white and something probably tells you that I am not black, at least, not just black. The truth is, being Puerto Rican, I am all of those things and Taino, and who knows what else mixed in. I am one of those Puerto Ricans for which this is obvious. It&#8217;s not true for all of us. Puerto Ricans come in a spectrum of hues, but it is true for me. It&#8217;s a fact that, for a part of my childhood and adolescence, despite my parent&#8217;s best efforts, I wished wasn&#8217;t true, because it would&#8217;ve made life easier. Being white is easier. For one thing, everything in American popular culture when I was in my teens affirmed the beauty of whiteness. I wanted to be considered beautiful, just like anyone else. It wasn&#8217;t until later that I learned how beautiful this blend of cultures really is.</p>
<p>My parents, my family, worked very hard at arming me with enormous pride in my culture, perhaps because they knew I would need that armor to face the truth about the world. That truth is that I felt I&#8217;d have to be smarter, work harder, and just BE better to get a fair shake. And here is the unintended consequence of that fact – working harder and being better makes me love being Puerto Rican even more because I know what I had to face down in order to achieve it. I&#8217;ve earned that pride.</p>
<p>I say I am gay after I say I am Puerto Rican because without learning to be proud of my &#8220;Rican-ness&#8221; and the strength I gained from that pride, I wouldn&#8217;t have had the strength to share with you that I am a gay man. I choose to declare that to you. I do not choose to be gay any more than I choose to be Puerto Rican, but I do choose to share that information with you so that you may take the time to question your assumptions about what that means.</p>
<p>One of my heroes, James Baldwin, a black gay man, once said, &#8220;You have to impose, in fact – this may sound very strange – you have to decide who you are, and force the world to deal with YOU, not with its IDEA of you.&#8221; So, I have decided to identify myself as a Puerto Rican gay man not just because of what I know that to mean for ME, but because of what society has told YOU to believe it means and then hold myself up as a reason for you to question it. And I need you to question it because we still live in a world where you can be shamed, bullied, or even killed for identifying as a Puerto Rican gay man. We still live in a world where you can be shamed into taking your own life for identifying as a Puerto Rican gay man. We still live in a world where you can be fired from your job or denied housing. We still live in a world where I can be denied my right to marry another Puerto Rican gay man. So, you see, my identity is my sword in the fight against prejudice and I hold it high – like a torch.</p>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/gay/'>gay</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/glaad/'>GLAAD</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/hispanic/'>Hispanic</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/identity/'>identity</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/latino/'>latino</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/pride/'>pride</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/puerto-rican/'>Puerto Rican</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/spokesperson/'>spokesperson</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/wilson-cruz/'>Wilson Cruz</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67492/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67492&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/13/what-am-i-actor-wilson-cruz-my-identity-is-my-sword/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/167111903.jpg?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/167111903.jpg?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Dinner And Show - 24th Annual GLAAD Media Awards</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/b620f93b20e68866906338e524475690?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">eugeniaalcon</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-03_2238072_whatami_640x90_v1.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">2013-03_2238072_WhatAmI_640x90_v1</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>StoryCorps Historias: &#8220;I would never choose another mother&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/11/storycorps-historias-i-would-never-choose-another-mother/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/11/storycorps-historias-i-would-never-choose-another-mother/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 11 May 2013 08:20:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>StoryCorps</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[StoryCorps: Historias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lourdes Villanueva]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mother and son]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mother's Day]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=67537</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lourdes Villanueva tells her son Roger about growing up in a family of migrant workers. Recorded in Tampa, Fl. Tagged: &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/11/storycorps-historias-i-would-never-choose-another-mother/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67537&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F91613682&auto_play=true"></iframe>
<p>Lourdes Villanueva tells her son Roger about growing up in a family of migrant workers.</p>
<p>Recorded in Tampa, Fl.</p>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/family/'>family</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/lourdes-villanueva/'>Lourdes Villanueva</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/love/'>Love</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mother-and-son/'>mother and son</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mothers-day/'>Mother's Day</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67537/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67537&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/11/storycorps-historias-i-would-never-choose-another-mother/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/storycorpsvillanuevafamily.jpg?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/storycorpsvillanuevafamily.jpg?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">StoryCorpsVillanuevaFamily</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d769bd58318e5dd352f8e72c22e97a54?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">kristinapuga</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>[VIDEO] Meet Mando, the new Latino neighbor on &#8220;Sesame Street&#8221;</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/video-meet-mando-the-new-latino-neighbor-on-sesame-street/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/video-meet-mando-the-new-latino-neighbor-on-sesame-street/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 22:14:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristina Puga</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ismael Cruz Cordova]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Latino role]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mando]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Puerto Rican]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sesame street]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=67558</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Video by Maria Eugenia Alcon  Ismael Cruz Córdova arrived in New York City from rural Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, bright-eyed &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/video-meet-mando-the-new-latino-neighbor-on-sesame-street/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67558&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr"><em>Video by Maria Eugenia Alcon </em></p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3033454/">Ismael Cruz Córdova</a> arrived in New York City from rural Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico, bright-eyed and bushy-haired at 19 to pursue a career in acting. Six years later, he’s already won an HOLA and ACE award and landed a recurring role on the CBS drama “The Good Wife.” Today, <a href="http://pbskids.org/sesame/">“Sesame Street”</a> announced Cruz Córdova will be making his debut as “Mando,” the new Latino character on the children’s television series, on PBS Kids, on September 16.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Cruz Córdova was the one chosen out of hundreds who tried out for the new “Sesame Street” personality. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K2zrkGzAzE">Open-call auditions</a> took place August of 2012, in New York City, in the search for a new Hispanic character.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I feel like the luckiest big kid in the world,” says Cruz Córdova, excitedly. “I made it to Sesame Street!”</p>
<p dir="ltr">He says he felt like “Mando” was the perfect character for him, because of his story, where he comes from, and what he represents. The 26-year-old remembers learning his first words with “Sesame Street” as a little boy in the mountainous region of Puerto Rico.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“My mom used to sit us down to watch the show on a black and white TV,” he says, remembering his favorite characters, The Count and Snuffleupagus. “Seeing people represent me physically, also ideologically and culturally&#8230;was just incredible, and it’s real. ‘Sesame Street’ is just a real thing to people, and for kids, and to me, still.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Seeing characters resemble himself on “Sesame Street” opened his bluish-green eyes to new possibilities. He says he started acting professionally at age 15, and when he became positive the craft was his passion, he moved to New York City to study at <a href="http://www.tisch.nyu.edu/page/home.html">NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts</a>.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The well-rounded television and theater actor is ready to play a role more like himself.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“The character Mando is in many ways similar to me,” says Cruz Córdova. “He’s creative, energetic, very keen to self-expression.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">And he’s excited to teach kids about his Puerto Rican culture through song and dance.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“It’s very important to me&#8230;in the times we’re living in. Hispanics are growing in population in the U.S., and it’s just a time for diversity,” he says.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Sesame Street” has had a long-standing history of promoting diversity. Cruz Córdova will be joining &#8220;Maria,&#8221; played by Sonia Manzano, &#8220;Luis,&#8221; played by Emilio Delgado, and Muppets &#8220;Rosita&#8221; and &#8220;Ovejita&#8221; (Carmen Osbahr) as part of “Sesame Street’s” bilingual community.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We knew as soon as we met Ismael that he was the perfect addition to our neighborhood,” said Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of “Sesame Street.” “Like his character ‘Mando,’ Ismael represents a culturally fluid and deeply layered new generation of Hispanic-Americans. He has a passion for creative expression and a warmth that comes right through the camera.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Cruz Córdova will also be on the big screen later this year in the action-thriller <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2101570/">“In the Blood,”</a> starring Danny Trejo. The film is currently in post-production.</p>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/ismael-cruz-cordova/'>Ismael Cruz Cordova</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/latino-role/'>Latino role</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mando/'>Mando</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/puerto-rican/'>Puerto Rican</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/sesame-street/'>sesame street</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67558/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67558&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/video-meet-mando-the-new-latino-neighbor-on-sesame-street/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/ismaelcruzcordova.jpg?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/ismaelcruzcordova.jpg?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">IsmaelCruzCordova</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d769bd58318e5dd352f8e72c22e97a54?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">kristinapuga</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>What am I? Don Miguel Ruiz Jr. on being Mexican-American, American, Mestizo,Toltec</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/what-am-i-don-miguel-ruiz-jr-takes-a-look-in-the-mirror-and-sees-mexican-american-american-mestizo-toltec/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/what-am-i-don-miguel-ruiz-jr-takes-a-look-in-the-mirror-and-sees-mexican-american-american-mestizo-toltec/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 13:13:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ancestry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family tradition]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[humanity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[identity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mestizo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mexican-American]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Toltec]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=67454</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I look at myself in the mirror, the living being reflected can be identified in so many ways: Mexican-American, &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/what-am-i-don-miguel-ruiz-jr-takes-a-look-in-the-mirror-and-sees-mexican-american-american-mestizo-toltec/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67454&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-03_2238072_whatami_640x90_v1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-58128" alt="2013-03_2238072_WhatAmI_640x90_v1" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-03_2238072_whatami_640x90_v1.jpg?w=640&#038;h=90" width="640" height="90" /></a>When I look at myself in the mirror, the living being reflected can be identified in so many ways: Mexican-American, American, Mestizo, Toltec.</p>
<p>Each of these words describes an identity tied to an element of truth about me — Mexican-American  for my ethnic heritage; American for my citizenship; Mestizo for the name of my race; and Toltec, a Naguatl term that means “artist,” as the name of the oral tradition of which my great-great grandfather don Exiquio Macias says I am a descendent. All of these elements express a mask based in truth about my physical body and its ancestry.</p>
<p>In my family tradition, based on our Toltec Philosophy, an identity is a mask that helps us understand who we are by providing a grounding sense of self as we navigate life. The mask of identity is a symbol that provides meaning, and we often attach ourselves to it by believing it is the truth of who we are. But like any symbol, the meaning is subjugated to an agreement.</p>
<p><strong>RELATED:</strong> <a href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/03/01/miguel-ruiz-jr-talks-about-being-raised-in-a-toltec-family-and-his-new-book/" target="_blank">[VIDEO] Miguel Ruiz, Jr. talks about being raised in a Toltec family, and his new book</a></p>
<p>As we become attached to our mask of identity, it becomes a model for acceptance and rejection of ourselves and the people around us. We lose awareness that our identity only means something because we agreed to it, by believing it to be the truth. We can often lose sight of our true self behind our many masks, allowing them to control our actions and thoughts. This creates disharmony in life.</p>
<p>As I grew up, I often felt I needed to be more Mexican or more American in order to fit in. Accepting my family’s Toltec tradition carried with it a new set of self-judgments. When each of my masks of identity surfaced, I expressed myself differently based on who I thought I needed to be at the moment. These identities sometimes overlapped, while at other times, they were at odds. It wasn’t until I let go of my masks of identity that I discovered I didn’t need to be more or less of any of these. I could just be me.</p>
<p>Letting go requires a moment where the truth allows us to see that our life is worth something more than the mask we used to describe it. Clarity follows, allowing us to see the humanity in the people around us. Then a moment of skepticism allows us to recognize the possibility of seeing the world in a different way, of seeing ourselves in a different way. Once we open up the possibility of letting go of all the conditions of self-acceptance by simply no longer believing in them, we find freedom.</p>
<p>The mask of my identity is after all just a symbol. Who I am is an empty definition subject to my own agreement, defined by my knowledge. All of these masks describe a portion of who I am, yet I am more than all of them. Life will take me in many directions and my experiences will color who I am, way beyond the limiting mask of my identity.</p>
<p>With awareness of myself, I am free to say yes or no to the agreements that allow me to create my own life. I am free, and my identity is a simple reflection of the living being that I am today. I don’t need to put a mask on in order to know who I am; the fact that I know that I am alive gives me the grounding sense of self that I need. I am worthy of my own love, simply because I am alive.</p>
<p><em>Miguel Ruiz, Jr.’s first book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Five-Levels-Attachment-Toltec/dp/1938289080/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1361917129&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=five+levels+of+attachment">“The Five Levels of Attachment: Toltec Wisdom for the Modern World”</a> hit shelves in March 2013. </em></p>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/ancestry/'>ancestry</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/don-miguel-ruiz-jr/'>Don Miguel Ruiz Jr.</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/family-tradition/'>family tradition</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/humanity/'>humanity</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/identity/'>identity</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mestizo/'>Mestizo</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mexican-american/'>Mexican-American</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/toltec/'>Toltec</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67454/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67454&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/what-am-i-don-miguel-ruiz-jr-takes-a-look-in-the-mirror-and-sees-mexican-american-american-mestizo-toltec/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/donmiguelruizjrsr.jpg?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/donmiguelruizjrsr.jpg?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">DonMiguelRuizJrSr</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/b620f93b20e68866906338e524475690?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">eugeniaalcon</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-03_2238072_whatami_640x90_v1.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">2013-03_2238072_WhatAmI_640x90_v1</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>[PHOTOS] The high-wire act of being a circus mom</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/photos-the-high-wire-act-of-being-a-circus-mom/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/photos-the-high-wire-act-of-being-a-circus-mom/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 09:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kristina Puga</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[circus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lopez Troupe]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mexico]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mother]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mother's Day]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=67404</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Maria Lopez was born in Chile and into a circus family. At 30, she’s now part of a legendary Ringling &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/photos-the-high-wire-act-of-being-a-circus-mom/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67404&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr">Maria Lopez was born in Chile and into a circus family. At 30, she’s now part of a legendary <a href="http://www.ringling.com/ContentPage.aspx?id=46787&amp;section=46585">Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey troupe</a> traveling all over the U.S. and abroad. She says she couldn’t be happier living life balancing on a high-wire and dodging knives being thrown at her &#8212; it&#8217;s actually her dream come true.</p>
<p dir="ltr">She also thinks the circus is a perfect environment for her three boys, ages 10, 8, and 6, to grow up in. They travel to a new city weekly in their RV &#8212; complete with a kitchen, laundry and beds &#8212; getting to know the whole world.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“The company has a teacher, from a regular school, they bring to be part of the Ringling school,” says Lopez. “My sons have to go every day to school like regular kids, and they take tests.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She sees that her kids are liking the circus life too, but she and her husband are not pushing them to follow in their footsteps.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Just like my parents let me make my decision, we want the same for them too,” says Lopez, whose parents were second-generation circus performers.</p>
<p dir="ltr">When she was 14, Lopez says her dad got contracted in Mexico (where she later met her husband Jonathan Lopez), and he asked her if she wanted to go and spend her summer vacation with him for three months.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I lived in the circus&#8230;the magical world, and I told my mom, ‘This is my world. I want to be in the circus,’” remembers Lopez. “For my mom, it was very hard. I think it’s the hardest decision she had to make &#8212; to let her daughter go to another country, but if she didn’t make the decision to let me make my own decision, I wouldn’t be here right now.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She is so thankful to her mother, she says, and now, her mother couldn’t be prouder of her.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“For me it’s not a job, it’s a passion, to be part of ‘the greatest show on earth’ &#8212; it’s an honor,” says Lopez about being a part of hand-chosen elite of performers from all over the world, including Russia, Bulgaria, Cuba and Brazil. This year, her gold unit has only 36 performers.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><div class="nbc-gallery" id="nbc-gallery-67404"><div class="nbc-gallery-pager"><a class="previous" href="#">&laquo; Previous</a><a class="next" href="#">Next &raquo;</a></div><div class="cycle-wrapper"><div class="cycle-slide" id="circusmomsfeatured"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="420" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/circusmomsfeatured1.jpg?w=560&#038;h=420" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="The Lopez family (Courtesy Feld Entertainment)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>The Lopez family (Courtesy Feld Entertainment)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67407/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="circusmoms1"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="570" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/circusmoms1.jpg?w=560&#038;h=570" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67408/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="circusmoms3"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="430" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/circusmoms3.jpg?w=560&#038;h=430" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67409/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="circusmoms4"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="441" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/circusmoms4.jpg?w=560&#038;h=441" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67410/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="circusmoms5"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="818" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/circusmoms5.jpg?w=560&#038;h=818" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67411/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="circusmoms6"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="343" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/circusmoms6.jpg?w=560&#038;h=343" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)" /></div><div class="caption"><p>(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)</p>
<br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67412/" /></a> </div></div><div class="cycle-slide" id="circusmoms7"><div class="nbc-gallery-image"><img width="560" height="423" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/circusmoms7.jpg?w=560&#038;h=423" class="attachment-nbc_gallery" alt="Circusmoms7" /></div><div class="caption"><br />  <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67413/" /></a> </div></div></div><div class="count"><span>-</span> of 7</div></div></p>
<p dir="ltr">When the curtain opens, and she sees the light and feels the live music, she says it feels like a dream.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“I live my dream every day,” says Lopez. “You have to enjoy every single performance and give all of your energy and soul, because the audience can feel your energy. Every show, I give my best.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She adds that while performing, her husband is not her husband, but her coach and circus partner of 10 years &#8212; three of which were with Ringling Bros. During the intermissions, she checks on her kids at the Ringling day care.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We travel on Sundays when we finish the live show,” says Lopez of their weekly routine. “Monday we get to the next city, and Monday and Tuesday we get off and spend with the kids &#8212; it&#8217;s family time.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Nearly a decade later, she says she is so proud to be a part of the Lopez family &#8212; a 50-year-old family circus act passed on for four generations that originated in Mexico.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We are extremely unique,” says the animated performer of three different acts this year, including dancing on a high-wire of 22 feet high without any nets. “The Lopez family has the smallest globe of steel only 12 feet, and we put three motorcycles on it driving more than 60 miles per hour. This year, I’m one of the riders &#8212; not too many women have this type of job.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">She says her father-in-law has been throwing real knives on fire really close to her body for years, but they have a flawless relationship.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“We practiced a lot months beforehand,” says Lopez. “Everything has to be controlled. If you move in the wrong way, you can have an accident.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">The Lopez family is currently in Asheville, NC excited to perform their <a href="http://www.ringling.com/ContentPage.aspx?id=46796&amp;section=46585">“Fully Charged”</a> show tonight.</p>
<p>“We want to wish a happy Mother’s Day to everyone, and smile always!” says Lopez, who loves making people smile as she brings her viewers into her world of magic. “If you smile, the world is going to be a little better.”</p>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/chile/'>chile</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/circus/'>circus</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/family/'>family</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/lopez-troupe/'>Lopez Troupe</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mexico/'>mexico</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mom/'>mom</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mother/'>mother</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mothers-day/'>Mother's Day</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/ringling-bros-and-barnum-bailey/'>Ringling Bros. and Barnum &amp; Bailey</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/67404/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=67404&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/10/photos-the-high-wire-act-of-being-a-circus-mom/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/circusmoms2.jpg?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/circusmoms2.jpg?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Circusmoms2</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://1.gravatar.com/avatar/d769bd58318e5dd352f8e72c22e97a54?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">kristinapuga</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
		<item>
		<title>What am I? Runner Leonel Manzano on the sacrifices that led him to the Olympic podium</title>
		<link>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/09/what-am-i-runner-leonel-manzano-on-the-sacrifices-that-led-him-to-the-olympic-podium/</link>
		<comments>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/09/what-am-i-runner-leonel-manzano-on-the-sacrifices-that-led-him-to-the-olympic-podium/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2013 09:00:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Leonel Manzano, Runner, Olympic silver medalist</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[heritage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[identity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Leonel Manzano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[London Olympics 2012]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mexican-American]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pride]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[silver medalist]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://nbclatino.com/?p=64675</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Olympic Glory! Spectators only see a glimpse of an entire life; three minutes and 34 seconds, speed over the finish &#8230; <a class="more-link" href="http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/09/what-am-i-runner-leonel-manzano-on-the-sacrifices-that-led-him-to-the-olympic-podium/" rel="nofollow">Read More</a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=64675&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-03_2238072_whatami_640x90_v1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-58128" alt="2013-03_2238072_WhatAmI_640x90_v1" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-03_2238072_whatami_640x90_v1.jpg?w=640&#038;h=90" width="640" height="90" /></a>Olympic Glory! Spectators only see a glimpse of an entire life; three minutes and 34 seconds, speed over the finish line and nab an Olympic medal! But there are few that see the work, the sacrifice and the daily personal struggle of these athletes. How is it that a small 5’5” man who hails from a small village in central Mexico that once upon a time had no running water or electricity is able to achieve his Olympic dream and become the first North American person to win a silver medal in the men&#8217;s 1500 meters since Jim Ryun in 1968?</p>
<p>From a small farming community in central Mexico, my family immigrated to the United States in search of a better life in a small town in Texas. Growing up in an agriculturally-based society based on hard work, my parents had no idea what sports were or the doors participation in sports could open for me. They felt I was wasting my time in track and, given our meager means, didn&#8217;t have the extra money for running shoes or running gear that I needed.</p>
<div id="attachment_67209" class="wp-caption alignleft" style="width: 172px"><img class=" wp-image-67209   " alt="Silver medalist Leonel Manzano of the United States poses on the 2012 London Olympics podium in London, England.  (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)" src="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/149998198.jpg?w=162&#038;h=240" width="162" height="240" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Silver medalist Leonel Manzano of the United States poses on the 2012 London Olympics podium in London, England. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)</p></div>
<p>I didn’t think I had the same opportunities as my other U.S. born counterparts. I thought I would graduate from high school and find a job. I wasn&#8217;t expected to go to college like my U.S.-born friends but on the flip side, the fact that going to college was not part of my future, made me work all the much harder to attain that goal.</p>
<p>My big break came when I received a call from the track coach at the University of Texas, who offered me a track scholarship. I had no idea at that time that this opportunity would set in motion a roller coaster of events that ultimately led me to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and 2012 Olympics in London.</p>
<p>Fast forward, and here I am in the Olympic Stadium in London for the second time in my life! I place my foot on the starting line and the gun goes off! The first two and a half laps are brutal; I didn’t get good position, and was boxed in. Suddenly, in an instant, my life flashes before my eyes.</p>
<p>I think about my family and how hard my dad has worked all these years. I think about how he used to drop me off at 5:15am for track practice since we only had one car. I think about how he had gone to work on crutches when he couldn’t walk. I think about my mom and how much she had put up with me as a kid. I think about all my family and friends in the U.S. and in Mexico glued to their TV sets at home watching me in this Olympic final.</p>
<p>I say to myself, &#8220;Fight for every minute for every second until the last second!&#8221; With 100 meters to go, I realize that I am in 6th place. It dawns on me that it is now or never. Like a lot of Latinos, I am Catholic, so I begin to pray and to talk to myself. &#8220;Come on! I can do this, if I can pass at least 3 more people I can win a medal!&#8221; I bear down and start my kick with just 50 meters to go, and find myself speeding by not one, but two, three and yet a fourth guy. I cross the finish line and I know that I have just won an Olympic medal!</p>
<p>In the rush of emotions, I thought about how much this would mean to everyone back home in both the U.S. and in Mexico. I thought especially of those people that I grew up with, the working class people who toil away, day in and day out like my dad, El Jefe, who never missed a day of work in his life. I thought of all the sacrifices everyone made for me to be in the Olympic stadium enjoying the moment. Rewards on the track championships are only achieved with years of hard work, long hours, a lot of sacrifice, laser mental focus, dedication to the sport and of course a lot of pain.</p>
<p>Who am I? An immigrant, a U.S. citizen, a Mexican-American, an Olympic silver medalist. I am proud that, from a humble beginning, I have been able to overcome so many obstacles and realize my dream. I am especially proud that I was able to bring home the first silver medal in the men&#8217;s 1500 meters since 1968. More importantly, it also gives me much joy that I can share this with all my brothers and sisters from the U.S., Mexico and Latin America I also feel that this accomplishment and victory is all of ours!</p>
<br /> Tagged: <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/heritage/'>heritage</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/identity/'>identity</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/leonel-manzano/'>Leonel Manzano</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/london-olympics-2012/'>London Olympics 2012</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/mexican-american/'>Mexican-American</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/pride/'>pride</a>, <a href='http://nbclatino.com/tag/silver-medalist/'>silver medalist</a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/comments/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/delicious/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/facebook/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/twitter/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/stumble/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/digg/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" href="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/reddit/nbclatino.wordpress.com/64675/" /></a> <img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=nbclatino.com&#038;blog=28792696&#038;post=64675&#038;subd=nbclatino&#038;ref=&#038;feed=1" width="1" height="1" />]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://nbclatino.com/2013/05/09/what-am-i-runner-leonel-manzano-on-the-sacrifices-that-led-him-to-the-olympic-podium/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
	
		<media:thumbnail url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/manzano-leonel-flag-crop1.jpg?w=150" />
		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/manzano-leonel-flag-crop1.jpg?w=150" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Olympics: Track and Field-Men&#039;s 1,500m-Finals</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://2.gravatar.com/avatar/b5f8c55c4328160437571ce722098579?s=96&#38;d=identicon&#38;r=G" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">igstorres</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/2013-03_2238072_whatami_640x90_v1.jpg" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">2013-03_2238072_WhatAmI_640x90_v1</media:title>
		</media:content>

		<media:content url="http://nbclatino.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/149998198.jpg?w=203" medium="image">
			<media:title type="html">Silver medalist Leonel Manzano of the United States poses on the 2012 London Olympics podium in London, England.  (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)</media:title>
		</media:content>
	</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
