1	Double Helix The lives and careers of Mexican film stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna seem perpetually intertwined. read more...
2	On the Cutting Edge Talented Latinos are exerting a growing influence on the world of entertainment, from both in front of the camera and behind. Here’s a look at some of the most notable Hispanics making a name for themselves in Hollywood. read more...
3	Precious Gems As Mother’s Day nears, you may want to shop for some sparkly gifts that pack an extra punch—metaphysical properties that just might increase a sense of wellness and make her special day even better. read more...
4	Reconciliation Forum What lessons might be learned when social and political leaders gather to discuss healing the rifts in the world? A recap of the ABC Reconciliation Forum held recently in Washington, D.C. read more...

on the Cutting edge

Although mainstream films might be more likely to be blockbuster hits, it’s often the smaller, art-house films that tell the most compelling stories, push actors to do their best work, or challenge writers and directors to take audiences on a new journey. Today, there is a bounty of Latino actors and filmmakers working in creative and independent film, or defying type-cast and creating their own agendas. Here are some of our favorites.

Mía Maestro
It’s going to be a busy year for Argentine actress Maestro, 30, as she stars in three films slated for release this year. Starting her career in the 1998 Oscar-nominated foreign film Tango, Maestro can also be seen in other Latino-themed movies including Frida and The Motorcycle Diaries, and during Seasons 3 through 5 of TV’s Alias. She will soon be seen doing some genre jumping with the thriller The Speed of Thought, romantic comedy Meant to Be, and the Western drama Border Crosses about an illegal immigration trial in Texas.

Robert Rodriguez
Indie filmmakers worldwide started to believe their dreams of making it big could really come true after Rodriguez turned $7,000 into 1992’s El Mariachi. After a 17-year career in the industry, which has included films such as Desperado, Sin City, the Spy Kids series, and most recently Planet Terror, Rodriguez, 40, returns to family-friendly fare with the high-tech film Shorts. In his newest film, Rodriguez, who runs Troublemaker Studios based in Austin, Texas, tells a fantastical story about a group of greedy kids and adults who try to get their hands on a magical rock that grants wishes.

Rodrigo Santoro
Brazilian actor Santoro, 33, is no stranger to trying new things on the big screen. From a transsexual prisoner in Carandiru to a 7-foot-tall Persian emperor in 300 to a young Raúl Castro in Che, he has dabbled a little in everything. While he started his career on TV in his home country, Santoro, who still lives in Rio de Janeiro, now focuses his time on feature films. This year, one of those films is I Love You Phillip Morris starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. The film, however, is finding it difficult to get a U.S. distributor because of a risqué gay sex scene.

Penélope Cruz
Fresh off her Oscar-winning performance as a neurotic ex-wife in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Cruz, 35, will reunite with her favorite director Pedro Almodóvar for their fourth film, Los Abrazos Rotos, which is screening at Cannes this month. In the ’50-style film noir, Cruz plays Lena, an actress in a love affair between a producer and a screenwriter. Along with Los Abrazos Rotos, Cruz, who is Spain’s first female Oscar winner, will also be seen in the film version of the Tony Award-winning musical Nine. Here, the stunning Spanish beauty portrays Carla Albanese, a mistress to Daniel Day-Lewis’ film director character Guido Contini.

Ricardo de Montreuil
Big things were bound to happen in the Peruvian director’s career after his first film, 2005’s La Mujer de Mi Hermano, broke U.S. box office records for a Latin film. Now, Montreuil, 35, who is the creative director at the NBC Universal channel mun2, has completed his second feature film, Máncora. The independent film, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival last year, tells the story of Santiago (Jason Day), a young man from Lima who, along with his stepsister and her husband, travels to a beach in northern Peru after the death of his father. As the film hits cities this year, audiences seem to be thrilled with the story.

Javier Bardem
As Spain’s first Oscar-winning actor, Bardem, who picked up the Best Supporting award in 2007 for his vicious role as killer Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, stepped into the American film scene seven years prior with his Oscar-nominated work in Before Night Falls. After taking some time off to rest last year, Bardem is at full force for his new film, Biutiful, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel). While details of the plot are still vague, Bardem, 40, is said to play a man caught up in a crime and during the foray runs into a childhood friend, who is a police officer.

Carlos Cuarón
After a 2003 Academy Award nomination for his original screenplay for the film Y tu mamá también, Carlos, who is the younger brother of director Alfonso Cuarón, went on to write a couple of shorts before completing his most recent project, Rudo y Cursi. Reuniting actors Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna for the first time since Y tu mamá, Cuarón, 42, writes and directs the film, which follows two headstrong brothers who become rivals in the cutthroat world of professional soccer. Cuarón reworked his original script, which was about only one soccer player, to include two characters since both Bernal and Luna were interested in playing the lead role.

Blanca Portillo
While the Spanish actress got her start in Spanish-language TV and film in the early ’90s, a role opposite Penelope Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar’s 2006 drama Volver launched her career to the next level. Portillo, 45, is now starring with Cruz again in another film by Almodóvar, Los Abrazos Rotos, where she plays a production manager named Judit García. She also stars alongside Javier Bardem in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful. Before connecting with Hollywood A-listers, Portillo had just finished work on 7 Vidas, Spanish TV’s the longest-running show, which ended its run in 2006.