Rosario Dawson

Job Description: Actress-producer

 

Pedigree: Raised in Manhattan, Dawson began her acting career when, at 15, she was discovered sitting on the front porch of her East Village tenement by “Kids” director Larry Clark. Since her feature debut in that 1995 film, the versatile actress has starred in films ranging from Spike Lee’s “25^th Hour” to Robert Rodriguez’s “Sin City.” She also recently displayed her singing and dancing talents in the bigscreen version of “Rent” and a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Two Gentleman of Verona” for Gotham’s Public Theater.

 

Mantra: “What I do is very organic,” Dawson said in a July 2003 interview. “I try to branch out and see what else I’m interested in doing or what I’m not interested in doing.”

 

Impact: Of Puerto Rican, Cuban, black, Irish and Native American descent, Dawson is not afraid to tackle controversial issues both on the screen and off. “Kids” and “Rent” both deal with HIV/AIDS, while “Shattered Glass” confronts ethics in journalism. She recently formed her own production company, Trybe Films, and co-founded Voto Latino to encourage Latino youth to get involved in the political process.

 

What’s next: Sequels to “Clerks” and “Sin City”; “Killshot,” directed by John Madden; producing and starring in thriller “Descent.”

                                                                                                           

 

 

Edward James Olmos

Job Description: Actor-director-producer-activist

 

Pedigree: After his iconic turn as El Pachuco in the 1979 Broadway staging of “Zoot Suit,” Olmos put his money where his mouth is, co-founding YOY Prods. In 1982 to make socially conscious films. His taciturn strength has graced such features as “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez,” “American Me” and “Blade Runner” as well as the TV series “Miami Vice,” “American Family” and current sci-fi hit “Battlestar Galactica.”

 

Mantra: “Discipline, determination, perseverance and patience are the key to success.”

 

Impact: From his inspirational role as math teacher Jamie Escalante in 1988’s “Stand and Deliver” to the indelible images of him cleaning up after the ’92 L.A. riots, the Emmy-and Gold Globe-winning Olmos – also Tony-and Oscar-nommed – is a kind of walking, talking talisman of celebrity altruism. He co-founded the Latino Intl. Film Fest and the Latino Book & Family Fest, and still finds time to serve as goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and exec director of the Hazard Education Project, a gang prevention program.

 

What’s next: “Walkout,” the true story of Chicano student activism in 1968 told against the backdrop of the civil rights movement; Olmos produced and directed the show, which bows March 18 on HBO.

 

 

Carlos Santana

Job Description: Guitar god

 

Pedigree: Picking up the ax as an 8-year-old, Carlos Santana never looked back. His name-sake group, Santana, contributed to San Francisco’s image as a late-60’s rock mecca, and his signature liquid guitar sound is as distinctive as any in modern music. Over the years, Santana’s multicultural meld of Latin, rock, jazz, blues and more has earned him a worldwide following, not to mention a record-tying nine Grammys for 1999’s “Supernatural.” Santana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

 

Mantra: “Success isn’t about being top on the charts or having a lot of money,” Santana said in a 2000 interview, “it’s about being good at whatever you do and finding a way to help other people along the way.”

 

Impact: Whether performing at Woodstock, touring with Buddy Miles, trading guitar licks with John McLaughlin or collaborating with Rob Thomas on the Grammy-winning “Smooth,” Santana has always expanded his horizons while staying true to his Latin roots. In 1999 he started the Milagro Foundation with his wife Deborah to help underprivileged children in health, education and the arts.

 

What’s next: Currently touring South America before heading to Europe in April.

 

 

Elizabeth Vargas

Job Description: TV journalist-anchor-reporter

 

Pedigree: Long before she started racking up international mileage as “ABC World News” co-anchor, the New Jersey native was globetrotting between Army bases in the U.S., Europe and Japan with her Puerto Rican father and Irish-American mother. The Emmy winner’s big break came in 1993 with NBC’s “The Today Show,” “Dateline” and the weekend edition of “NBC Nightly News.” In ’96 Vargas became news anchor for ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Besides ABC’s nightly newscast, the versatile 43-year-old – who recently scored an exclusive interview with President Bush – can be seen on “20/20.”

 

Mantra: “Elizabeth is a tireless reporter and an inveterate preparer,” says ABC News senior VP Paul Slavin. “She has a bunch of full-time jobs and handles them all with the same equanimity, seriousness and good humor she does with everything else.”

Impact: The most visible Latina in the broadcast news biz became only the third woman to co-anchor a network evening broadcast, after Barbara Walters and Connie Chung. No stranger to adversity, she got the anchor chair after the death of Peter Jennings; her co-anchor, Bob Woodruff, was seriously injured recently on assignment in Iraq.

 

What’s next: With Woodruff’s status still uncertain and Vargas pregnant with her second child, ABC News has said Vargas will continue to anchor “World News” and “20/20” through late summer.