At the beginning of one’s life, a person will find themselves facing challenges that seem impossible to defeat. No matter what the problem one has to face and then hopefully will overcome will set the course of that person’s future. Dan Melendez was addicted to illegal drugs, until he faced his fears and overcame his addiction. Dan vanquished the dependence of narcotics and is now living the life he has always dreamed of.

In 1968 Moctesuma Esparza was a young Mexican American teen who marched in student walkouts as part of the Chicano Student Movement to protest the injustices in the Los Angeles public school systems. Mr. Esparza’s passion for his Chicano roots would follow him through life and later inspire him to create Maya Entertainment, a full-service motion picture production and distribution company created to provide entertainment to Latinos in the United States.

As a child Leslie Garza Rivera dreamt of becoming an actress. Her parents wanted her to do something more realistic so while growing up in Leon, Guanajuato acting remained a distant dream. Leslie says her father was very conservative and encouraged her to focus on succeeding in school. “I always did well in school but I always felt like I had to do more than just go to school,” Leslie explains.

Latin beauty Veronica Diaz was born in Argentina far away from the bright lights of Hollywood, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to be a star. “I feel like from the time I came out of my mom I was acting,” Veronica recalls. “Immediately I developed love for the arts, all kinds of art like music, dance, acting and painting.”

One day you might find yourself being employed with so many jobs; working so hard to strive for ambition. There comes that voice in your head, “Where do I belong?” and you do not have a definite answer. You want the world, you want a great living, you want a comfortable life, but what do you have to do to earn it?

Many people wake up and wish the dreams they had while asleep would come true in reality. Many kids wish to become a police officer, doctor, astronaut, or whatever their imagination will come up with. For Andy Vargas, the dream did become his reality when he woke up at the age of nineteen and became the lead singer for Santana.

The summer of 2004, every moviegoer was delighted by the return of favorable characters like Shrek, Harry Potter, and Spiderman, but no cinema enthusiast ever expected the mega success to the tiny film, Napoleon Dynamite. It was an outsider to mainstream comedies, but delivered fresh new talents like filmmaker Jared Hess, actor Jon Heder, and actor Efren Ramirez.

A family can be the grouping of anything that has related common characteristics. A family does not need to be the grouping of blood relatives. For example, a football team can be looked upon as a family. The coach is the father figure, and he must guide his boys to victory.

Isaac and Lucy Gallardo knew since their teen years they wanted to own their own business.  They each grew up in families that struggled financially and they used that as their inspiration to reach for their dream. Isaac migrated to the US in 1991, as he walked down the desert not knowing what destiny would bring him, he remembers feeling as if it was an adventure he was living.