I could never give up Mexican food. Nachos are usually my go-to if I'm courtside at an NBA game. I always, always get my picture taken with my mouth wide open and a tortilla chip sticking out of it!

It's not a party unless I'm cooking. Some people find entertaining stressful, but it is therapeutic for me; I find it relaxing.

I'm a terrific Mexican cook, and I just love Mexican food. And I love cooking Mexican food. That's pretty much my weakness...and barbecue beef...and Texas beef...and brisket. Any red meat I can get my hands on.

The main thing is to be philanthropic in your everyday life. You don't have to have money to do that. You can do it with your time and your energy.

Latinos have not historically been a culture that unites easily. We're very factioned - you have your Mexican Americans, your Puerto Ricans, your Cuban Americans, your Central Americans - and sometimes we focus on the differences more than the commonalities.

But America was built by optimists. Optimists like my friend Amanda, who recently started a small business. When she went to buy her website address-her first and last name-she found that someone already owned it, but wasn't using it. So my friend emailed the owner of the site to ask if she could buy it. The owner wrote back.

In the Mexican culture, we never miss a baptism, a birthday, a baby shower, a wedding shower, a wedding. You must show up. Otherwise, you'll be in big trouble.