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AWARD-WINNING CAST
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| NICKY MONDELLINI, HOST |
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Nicky Mondellini was born in Italy and
raised in Mexico City. Her British mother is a
choreographer and dance teacher, and her Italian
father is a chemical engineer.
Currently, Nicky is the host of the Spanish
language medical show Salud Vital, in Houston, Texas.
Nicky started her career as a child in musical
theatre and television commercials. She studied
at the Nucleo de Estudios Teatrales drama school
in Mexico City with three highly acclaimed drama
teachers.
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Nicky’s television experience includes co-hosting the cultural show, Video Cosmos, for two
years followed by more than ten years as a soap
opera actress with many different characters. The
telenovelas include Maria Mercedes, Contra Viento y
Marea and Ramona, among others.
Her theatre experience includes the Spanish classical
play written by Tirso de Molina and adapted by Hector
Mendoza, La Amistad Castigada for which she was
nominated Best Supporting Actress by the APT (Associated
Theatre Press). This play was featured in the Cadiz
Classical Theatre Festival in Spain, in 1996.
Nicky was awarded a grant by the National Cultural
Institute in Mexico (FONCA) to co-produce the
contemporary comedy by Hector Mendoza Las Gallinas
Matematicas in which she also played one of the two
leading roles. Other plays in which Nicky has performed
include Los Enamorados, La Desconfianza, and Sweet
Charity.
Nicky’s film credits include the Italian film by
Gabrielle Salvatores, Puerto Escondidio, Cuentos para
Solitarios, La Vida en el Basurero, Continuo Espacio
Tiempo, and Jon Wuz Here.
Nicky’s voice-over experience includes TV and radio
commercials such as White Castle, The Latin Grammys, The
Houston Zoo, WorkSource Solutions, and Cisco among many
others as well as other narrations for the oil and
hotel industries, such as Hilton Americas Houston,
Starwood Hotels, Shell and Exxon-Mobile, among others; she speaks 5 languages.
Nicky is a member of WIFT (Women in Film and
Television); TXMPA (Texas Motion Picture Alliance); and
Latin Women’s Initiative, a charity organization
benefiting the Houston Hispanic community.
Nicky has been a conversationalist at the Table Talk
event organized by the University of Houston’s Friends
of Women’s Studies, an organization she actively
supports.
Her work as a teacher includes theatre for children as
well as workshops for bilingual actors where she teaches
in Spanish to help Hispanic talent in Houston sharpen
their skills in order to book more work locally.
Nicky Mondellini’s goal as a professional is to continue
to grow as a performer, teacher, and director, and
produce her own projects in film, theatre and
television.
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| MARCELO MARINI, COMMUNITY LIAISON & SPECIAL BOARD ADVISOR |
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In 1968, Marcello Marini was forced to flee his native Argentina when the government took control of the television station where he worked.
At that time, he had already made a name for himself as a producer, program director, news writer and anchor. Coming to Houston with less than $20 in his pocket and unable to speak English, he found that he loved the city and decided to stay.
Starting as a waiter, he eventually established the Original Marini’s Empanada House on Westheimer, which became a resounding success. Unfortunately, Marini's Empanada House caught fire. Facing expensive renovations and |
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upgrades of a restaurant located in what was then a dubious area, the Marini family closed down the eatery. It was a heartbreaking decision for Marcello and Pelusa Marini and their five children who invested 17 years working in the Montrose-area restaurant.
Marcello Marini created the first Spanish news tabloid, “Tribuna Popular” and was the first television journalist to air news brief segments in Spanish. Having had the opportunity to work in several stations throughout the Texas market, in 1987 he helped establish KTMD Channel 47, and dedicated himself to his Spanish-language broadcast career as the programming and public affairs director/ news director and anchor. He was part of the team that delivered the first Spanish newscast in Houston for KTMD in 1988.
With Marini's community service experience, guidance and determination, KTMD was the first Spanish language station to partner with KPRC Channel 2, to air the famous telethon with Jerry Lewis for Muscular Dystrophy. He was the first to promote voter registration on the Spanish television network in Houston, the first to promote a health fair and blood drive for Hispanic viewers, and the first to conduct a census drive through Channel 47. He held the first high school educational competition program called “La Batalla del Saber” and launched many public service campaigns in the community on topics such as domestic violence awareness, sexual harassment, drinking and driving, child abuse, voter registration, and countless others.
Quarterly, he conducted forums with INS to answer questions for those in the Latino community, and annually for the last 22 years, he has produced unique health fairs and back-to-school clinics, free of charge to thousands of low-income families with no insurance.
Marini hosted a weekly community affairs program entitled "Nuestra Gente". He met on a daily basis with members of the Houston Hispanic community to address their concerns, but by far the most important work was helping them to understand the laws of the country and the rights that protect their children and families.
Marcello Marini also served as adjunct professor of Bilingual Journalism during summers at University of Saint Thomas and then at the University of Houston, Downtown.
ORGANIZATIONS
Marcello Marini served as President and Co-Founder of the Texas Colonial Foundation for Youth; Vice Chairman and Director of Programming and Community Affairs of the Furniture Bank; and has served on the Boards of the United Way of Texas Gulf Coast; Tejano Center for Community Concerns, Willie Velasquez Hispanic Excellence Awards Selection Committee, Royce Scholarship Foundation for Youth, Niños Felices USA Foundation; Latino Learning Center Advisory Board; United Central Bank Advisory Board; Festival Internacional del Libro Hispano; Houston Hispanic Forum and many other non-profit organizations.
Marcello has recently retired from the television broadcasting and journalism career and returned to his old love, the restaurant business. The Original Marini’s Empanada House now has two stores, one in Houston, and another in Katy, Texas. |
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| DR. CIRO PORRAS, HOUSE PEDIATRICIAN |
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Dr. Ciro J. Porras was born in Minatitlan, Veracruz,
Mexico, and attended Premedical and Medical School at
Universidad Veracruzana, Veracruz, Mexico. He served his
Pediatric Residency at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in
Corpus Christi, Texas.
Dr. Porras has been in private practice since
1986 in the Houston area. He first started in
the East End neighborhood of Magnolia, working
until 1992. He then moved to the Gulfton area in
Southwest Houston until 1998. He had an office
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in the area for 9 years, until his
practice finally acquired its own building where he
currently practices medicine. His legal practice name is
Tejas Medical Associates, P.A.
Dr. Porras has been involved in teaching since
1987. He currently holds an academic appointment
as Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor
College of Medicine as a voluntary faculty
member.
He serves as clinical preceptor for
the Physician Assistant program and for the Longitudinal
Ambulatory Care Experience (L.A.C.E.) program through
the Baylor College of Medicine. He has also been involved with the
UT Medical School program through the Greater Houston
Area Health Education Center.
Dr. Porras has taken a special interest in the
prevention of childhood obesity and diabetes. Since
1996, Dr. Porras and his staff have participated in
numerous community health fairs to promote improvement
in dietary patterns. |
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| MARCELA PEREZ, MASTER CHEF |
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Marcela Perez, named by Houston Magazine as the “Queen
of Houston’s Healthy Personal Chefs,” graduated from
culinary school in 1999 and has worked in some of
Houston’s best restaurants as a professional chef. She
spent her life in the kitchen, finding new and exciting
ways to represent her culture’s fine cuisine in a
wholesome way. She is a healthy cooking consultant
offering private cooking classes and grocery tours.
Taking the opportunity to continually fine-tune her
skills as a top-notch chef and business entrepreneur,
Perez took the ultimate step and set out to add some
sazón (spice) to the face of healthy cuisine. She opened
Marcela’s Meals, where she develops healthy diet
menus for families. |
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From her kitchen in Houston’s Heights, she prepares low
calorie Mexican food, and other mouthwatering
specialties with no added salt or extra sugar. She
changes her menu often and ensures
everything she cooks is not only fresh and healthy, but
delicious to eat, helping her clients stay on their
diets.
One after another as she cooked for friends and family, the weight was coming off and energy levels increased. Perez had officially thrown her hat into the ring to become a top contender in a multimillion-dollar health food industry.
Perez is currently working directly with kids, she is the Food Service Director for Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Houston Texas and her mission and purpose is to create and execute their daily meals to hopefully influence and educate the student body about healthy food options.
Perez said, “I’ve always had a passion for cooking to
help people to be in their best shape of their life and
adopt a healthy lifestyle. Teaching them how to create
and eat fresh and healthy, and still making it taste sabroso is the perfect crescendo to an ever evolving
career.” |
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| CARLOS CAMACHO, EL NINJA DE LA SALUD |
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Carlos is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico and moved
to Northern California at the age of 13 where he began
his modeling and acting career. In 2007, he moved to
Texas and has found great success in the acting and
modeling industry. He has been featured in several
independent films including the recently released short
“Los Encinos”. He has appeared in national commercials
for Anheuser-Busch, Burger King and Dominos Pizza.
His goal is to work on feature films. In addition to
acting Carlos is a fitness instructor and tumbling
coach. Carlos loves fitness and is excited to work on
Salud Vital to share his passion of living the healthy
life. |
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| JOSSIE MESSINA, PERSONAL TRAINER |
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Josefina Messina grew up playing sports along with her father and brothers but also nurtured her feminine side, excelling in ballet, modeling and acting.
From practicing Muay Thai kickboxing in Thailand to dancing Samba in Rio de Janiero, Josefina has lead an active and healthy lifestyle. Having worked as a dance instructor and a personal trainer, she has been able to touch many lives by educating them about proper exercise and diet.
Josefina is a graduate of Universidad del Norte, Monterrey, Mexico. She is a former cheerleader for two professional teams (Tigres and Rayados), and won the Miss Hawaiian Tropic International Contestant in 2007. She is an active |
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| proponent of Crossfit Zumba and practices many forms of martial arts (Brazilian jiu jitsu, Muay Thai, boxing). She has modeled for Von Dutch, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Brasil Soul, Univision and many others. |
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