“We, as a society, have a vacuum in regards to role models and leadership," she says, "and I feel a sense of duty to fill what I can of this emptiness. I take my role as a contributor to society through mentoring, sponsoring, and leadership very seriously and I’ve found that these venues of inspiration prove more effective than monetary donations. The key is quality and quantity of time dedicated to helping others find direction. That is the duty of a role model.” Recently, Newsweek highlighted Samantha in their Women in the World list: 25 under-25 young women to watch.

As far as she can remember, Alma Alcocer always wanted to cook. She attended the Cordon Bleu culinary school in France right after high school. Her family was always very supportive, and she spent a lot of time in the kitchen. Although her mother didn’t cook, both of her grandmothers did. She loves food, and she especially loves the process of creating something.

Back then, no one she knew went to culinary school. Now it’s popular, and people see it as a rock star life. “It’s a very physically demanding job,” she says, “and you’re always having to reinvent yourself.”

The people in the Austin Hispanic community have a significant history of creating positive change, whether it’s as advocates for social causes, as political activists, as educational reformers, as artists and musicians, as successful business owners or as community leaders.

Yet up until recently, we have not heard much about Latinos in philanthropy, particularly here in Austin. But there is a rising group of philanthropic leaders, such as Michael Torres with Worldwide Maniac Foundation, who are giving in new and innovative ways.

For Torres, the journey to philanthropy was a spiritual transformation.

Most artists have an inspiration. For Patricia Vonne, it was watching the live shows of Johnny Reno and the Sax Maniacs, Lone Justice and the Cruzados that made her want to write her own music and perform. Born and raised in Texas, Patricia was nurtured in a creative family of 10 children, including famed filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. “I was reared on my mother’s music and my brothers’ record collections,” she explains.

Having been born and raised in San Antonio, Patricia’s style of music is shaped by her cultural heritage. “

ALMA Award Winning Actress, Michelle C. Bonilla (The Closer, Slip Away, ER) and Matt Crabtree (NCIS) under the marquee of MCBMC Productions, are bringing a brand new comedy web series to the table entitled "Failing Upwards".   The web series is not just another comedy web series but a timely social series that creates comedy out of heart break, provides a chuckle to those who “pound the pavement” every single day, and also gives back to the job seeking community by supplying online viewers with links to job source sites, discounts, tips, and relevant news topics of the day  www.FailingUpwardsTheSeries.com

Meet Agueda Lopez, the ex-beauty queen from Cordoba, Spain, who put her tiara aside to pursue a modeling career. Agueda's destination was Miami, Florida, a place she now calls home. She signed with Caroline Gleason Management and soon landed great assignments, including an ad campaign in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimwear Edition.

Since then Agueda has graced various magazine covers, like Fantastics, Miami Sun Post Swim Week 2012-13 Special Edition and People En Español. In addition, she walked the runways of Miami Fashion Week and took part in the Red Dress Fashion show to benefit Heart.org . Working with Popular Hispanics, Manny Roman caught up with the Spanish beauty for an exclusive interview. 

Colombia has long been known for its addicting sexy exports such as Shakira and Modern Family’s Sofia Vergara, but now there’s another hot Latin flavor spicing things up to the mix. Without further ado, we're introducing another one of Colombia's finest:Patricia Rae.

Known for her memorable supporting role in the Oscar nominated HBO feature film "Maria Full of Grace", which earned her an Imagen Award nomination, Patricia Rae stars in the upcoming Lionsgate feature film "The Big Wedding", written and directed by Justin Zackham.

Leo Manzano is a former resident of Marble Falls and Granite Shoals outside of Austin, Texas. This will be his second time qualifying for the Olympics; he is one of 17 competitors from the University of Texas representing the United States in London this year.

Leo Manzano: I went through a couple of injuries in 2011, and I still made it to the world championships, but for me it was phenomenal. And it was a relief to make it on that team, but I did have to go back to the drawing board to figure out why I was having these injuries.

PH had the opportunity to speak with Ryan Guzman who stars in his first leading role in the upcoming film, Step Up: Revolution. This is the 4th installment of the very popular and successful Step-Up franchise.

Ryan was born in Texas, but moved to Sacramento, California at a young age and spent his childhood growing up there. “My childhood was filled with love and always family oriented.” Ryan’s dad was born in Mexico and came to America at a young age and later became a legal citizen. His father met his mother in Sacramento where she was born and raised. “My mom has very blond hair, blue eyes, the typical American lady, but one of the most loving, inviting people you’ll ever meet. I can’t thank my parents enough for the childhood I was blessed with.”

The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), one of the nation’s longest running active arts advocacy organization for Latino actors, will honor actress Marlene Forte with a HOLA Award for "Excellence in Television" at its Thirteenth Annual HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit.

In a Popular Hispanics exclusive, Puerto Rican native David Zayas, who portrays Angel Batista on Showtime’s hit cable series Dexter, gets up close and personal with his dear friend Marlene Forte, the Cuban-born actress who snatched the final series regular role on Dallas, TNT's reboot of the iconic 1980s TV show that has very much become an American institution.