Miami International Mall Honors Six ‘Hispanic Stars’ at Hispanic Heritage Celebration

This year recipients included Dr. Jose A. Vicente, Daisy J. Baez, Frank Bolaños, Anthony Correa, John Fredy Moncada and Adriana Cataño.

Miami International Mall honored six individuals with the Hispanic Star Award for their selfless contributions to their community and tireless work on important community projects in South Florida. This year the Hispanic Star Award consisted of 6 categories, Hispanic Educator, Hispanic Health Professional, Hispanic Philanthropist, Hispanic Junior Community Leader, Hispanic Small Business Leader, and Hispanic Artist.

Each individual was nominated by the community. Each honoree was recognized in front of local dignitaries, community leaders, prominent media, family and friends through a spectacular runway fashion show at the Hispanic Heritage Celebration.

Dr. Jose A. Vicente,North and West Campus President at Miami Dade College, was honored as Hispanic Educator. As president of the North Campus, he helped improve the facility and advance education though the development of North’s School of Justice building, a firefighter Training facility, the MDC-TV cable channel, International Sculpture Park and recording studios, and Pre-School Lab, a state of the art Science Complex. Vicente was also instrumental in launching baccalaureate degree programs in education/teaching, law enforcement and public safety, entertainment & design technology, and science. He is the first Hispanic in the State of Florida to be selected as a Fellow of the American Council on Education (ACE). Vicente has also served on the Board of the American Association of Community Colleges and cochaired the U.S.

Department of Agriculture/Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Leadership Group.

Daisy J. Baez was honored as Hispanic Health Professional. Focused on uniting the community through education, community activism, and fundraising, Baez is recognized as a strong and professional leader in the community. As a social worker, health administrator, and health care executive, she is a strong advocate for the needs of Latinos. Baez is the Founder & Executive Director of the Dominican Health Care Association of Florida, the Founder and COO of Consulting Management Solutions, and the Former VP of Larkin Community and Metropolitan Hospital. She is also the current President of the Hispanic Caucus, Miami Dade Chapter, which is dedicated to voicing and advancing issues affecting Hispanics and Latinos in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Frank Bolanos was named Hispanic Philanthropist for his active role in helping the community. He has made in difference in the lives of students, parents, and teachers in the community. Bolanos has supported critical education, business, technology, and ethics reforms in the nation’s fourth largest school system. He served as Chairman of the Miami Dade County School Board, Councilman of the Doral Community Council, a Board member of the Holy Cross Hospital, a Trustee of United Way of Dade County, Director of the Arthritis Foundation of South Florida, and Director of the Stars/Hope Scholarship Fund for Hispanic Students at Risk.

Anthony Correa was honored as the Hispanic Junior Community Leader. He was nominated because he represents the epitome of an outstanding citizen and model student and exhibits the very best in everything he does. He was recently elected President of the Miami Dade College North Campus Student Government Association, known as the leadership and advocacy organization for more than 50,000 students. He has helped and worked selflessly to clean up Oleta State Park and provided leadership for the Campus Comprehensive voter awareness initiative, which includes both town hall meetings and voter registration drives. He currently has a 4.0 GPA at MDC and is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society.

John Fredy Moncada, Columbia sportsman, was named Hispanic Small Business Leader. He is internationally known for his extraordinary abilities with a soccer ball and is the holder of the South America Guinness Record. He came to the United States in 2009 to pursue his dreams. In less than four years, he has created his own company Xtreme Xoccer, where he offers soccer classes, from ages 3-14. Each day, he hopes he can inspire children to succeed and believe they can accomplish anything.

Adriana Cataño, actress and television host, was honored as Hispanic Artist. She is best known for her work filming the award winning series on Nickelodeon called “Grachi.” She recently filmed an episode of America’s Most Wanted and has been a spokesperson for “Rooms to Go” for more than 17 years. Currently, Cataño is teaching seminars and workshops for those interested in film and television careers

“Each of these individuals represents what it really means to be a Hispanic Star,” said Alein Cadalso, general manager, Miami International Mall. “Miami International Mall was proud to honor such an amazing group of leaders who exemplify the contributions and culture of Hispanic Americans.”

About Miami International Mall

Miami International Mall features more than 140 nationally-recognized stores including Bath & Body Works, bebe, Cache, Express, Hollister, Guess, Gymboree, Limited, Nine West, Victoria’s Secret Beauty and Mayors Jewelers, plus department stores jcpenney, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Sears. Miami International Mall is located at 1455 NW 107th Avenue in Doral.

The mall is open Mon. through Sat., 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sun., 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information, call (305) 593- 1775 or visit www.simon.com or www.facebook.com/MiamiInternationalMall or www.twitter.com/MiamiIntMall.

About Simon Property Group

Simon Property Group, Inc. (NYSE:SPG) is an S&P 100 company and the largest real estate company in the world. The Company currently owns or has an interest in 335 retail real estate properties in North America and Asia comprising 244 million square feet. We are headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and employ approximately 5,500 people in the U.S. For more information, visit the Simon Property Group website at www.simon.com.


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