Celebrating its 53rd season in 2012, Copa Santander Libertadores is the official club competition of the South American Soccer Confederation (CONMEBOL), recognized for its prestige and tradition. Headlining the roster for 2012 are some of Mexico’s most beloved teams, including Chivas de Guadalajara and Cruz Azul. One of Argentina’s most beloved clubs and current champion, Boca Juniors (ARG), is also in the competition.

• Quarterfinals: week of May 16 and May 23
• Semifinals: week of June 13 and June 20
• Finals: week of June 27 and July 4

Laura Posada hit a homerun with her new show Manual de Supervivencia con Laura Posada, on Utilisima. During the first season of the show, Laura, along with a team of experts, will help 13 families improve their lives. It’s a dream come true for the Puerto Rican lawyer and wife of Former Yankee Jorge Posada. “I’ve always had this passion to help families. I have the gift of solving problems and making things better.”

Manual de Supervivencia con Laura Posada
Sundays at 8pm/7c

Watch what you say!
Have you ever left a message like this on a social networking site? “Leaving tonight, looking forward to four wonderful days of vacation!” Guess what? You’ve told all your contacts—and THEIR contacts—that your home will be empty for the next four days. Save vacation news for when you get back!

Watch what you play!
When you receive requests to play games with your contacts on social networks and you click on the requests, you may be taken to a screen that asks permission to access your name, profile picture, gender, networks, user ID, list of contacts, and other public information. The game provider may even ask for permission to send out messages in your name or to access your information at any time—even while you’re not playing. So think twice before you hit “Allow.”

Watch what you answer!
Sometimes, your social network contacts will pass along quizzes and word games that ask for seemingly harmless information: “What city were you born in?” “What was your first pet’s name?” Be careful. Banks, utilities, insurance companies and health care providers will usually ask you these same questions before letting you transact business on their websites. By revealing your answers on social networks, you may be enabling identity thieves to access your accounts and steal your information and your money.

About her character Miranda Cruz on Relaciones Peligrosas… Miranda is a very centered woman and goes after the American dream so she comes to the United States to become a teacher. She’s a very passionate woman that is in love with literature and the arts and never thought love could make her lose her life and her freedom. I think we are very alike. We’re both practical women that are in love with what we do. We’re independent women trying to make our dreams come true.

As Miranda evolves in the telenovela… She’s going to become a woman with a lot of fears and anxiety. Her life can turn around in a second and she knows it.

Music will always be a part of her life… I’m always writing in my little breaks. That’s my main passion. After I finish shooting Relaciones Peligrosas I will take a break to start working on my next album.

On working with actors like Salma Hayek and Demian Bichir in Savages… It was amazing. I always dreamed about doing a film with such an amazing cast but never thought it was going to become a reality. I feel so grateful to have had this amazing opportunity and hope this can be a door to get more projects.

Relaciones Peligrosas
Monday – Friday at 10pm/9c

Sports anchor Alejandro Blanco keeps you in the game with Central Fox on Fox Deportes.

When it comes to sports, Fox Deportes scores with its new programming concept Central Fox. With five daily editions of the show, everyone from the US to Venezuela will be up-to-date on their favorite sports teams. “We are offering high quality programming that is much more dynamic. We want everyone to come away from our show entertained, and most especially, informed,” says Alejandro Blanco, the anchor of the prime time edition of Central Fox. Alejandro, along with a top notch team of correspondents, reporters, writers and editors, lives and breathes sport scores from soccer to football and all with the goal of making Central Fox the best Hispanic sports program. “With the means to get the latest information from every source that generates sports news as well as any big sports events, we will be at the cutting edge of everything sports.” In the end, Alejandro, who grew up in Mexico playing sports and even went to college on a basketball scholarship, understands how important it is to play your “A” game and follow your dreams. “As a little boy I learned to do what I like and to do it with passion. Fortunately I am doing it, and they pay me to boot,” he ends with a laugh.

Central Fox
Every Night at 11pm/10c

Prince Royce will romance you with his new bachata album, Phase II.

While growing up in the South Bronx, Geoffrey Royce Rojas dreamed of being on the radio, singing on stage and winning awards. “I lived in a tough neighborhood. There was a lot of violence and drugs but I didn’t let any of that get in the way of my goals,” remembers Royce. In 2009, his dreams came true with the launch of his first self-titled album, Prince Royce.

This April, Royce launched his second album, Phase II, and feels he has a lot to prove. “This album is going to show people that I wasn’t a one-hit wonder.” Fans will hear more of the unique bachata, pop and R&B mix which won him many awards including four 2011 Latin Billboard Awards. “I think everyone should expect that same Royce, but with an upgrade.” He wrote its first single, “Las Cosas Pequeñas,” which has been climbing the charts. Royce also tackles the tough issue of teen pregnancy with his song “Dulce.” “My fan base is made up of a lot of young girls from 14 to 23. I think it is a song that means a lot to girls that are going through that—and if they haven’t gone through it, they can be aware.”

Along with his Spanish album, Royce, of Dominican descent, plans to launch an English pop album that will have a bit of Latin flavor. But why Spanish first? “It felt more natural to start with Spanish and the Hispanic community first because those are my roots.”

Chef James is cooking up something special as co-host of Telemundo’s Levántate.

Look at this picture of James Tahhan—better known as Chef James to fans of Telemundo’s morning show, Levántate. You might think he’s wearing a chef’s tunic, but he thinks he’s sporting a cloak and dagger.

“As a chef, I am a secret agent, because I have so many missions when it comes to my cooking.” His latest objective: help in the fight against obesity. “A lot of people think ‘food makes me fat,’ but food makes you lose weight.” It’s a matter of staying away from the wrong foods. “When dieting, you eat more salads but then, you buy salad dressing. It has a lot of chemicals, sugars and carbohydrates. They make you unhealthy!” Chef James suggests making your own vinaigrette. “It’s a simple ratio: two parts olive oil, one part vinegar (any type), one teaspoon Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.”

In his program, Levántate, James has one goal in mind, to make your taste buds sing without too much complication. “What I try and do every morning is to make the process of cooking quality superstar dishes easy.”

Levántate
Monday – Friday at 7am/6c

Download recipe courtesy of Chef James

1. Open-faced sandwich with brisket, cheese and onion jelly

Jenni Rivera, the queen of regional Mexican music, talks to us about the second season of her hit reality TV show I Love Jenni on mun2, her music, her movie debut and the ups and downs of being Jenni.

What should your fans expect in season 2 of I Love Jenni?
I Love Jenni is real. I let the cameras follow me so that the fans can actually see that I’m not just a recording artist. I think it’s very important for my fans to see every aspect of my life. Everybody always thinks it’s about drama but it isn’t. We are a silly, goofy family.

How is it having the cameras on you and your family all the time?
It was difficult in the beginning, but now that we see the results and we see how happy the viewers are, we are motivated to keep going.

So I’ve heard you are preparing a crossover…
I don’t think it’s a smart move to leave what put me on the music map, which is banda, but I think it would be interesting to go into other areas such as country. It’s one of my favorite types of music. It is something that may be happening in the future, just for fun.

How has your Latino heritage affected your life?
I’m very blessed, one, that I was born in the United States and was raised with the Mexican culture and Mexican roots. We couldn’t speak English at home. We had to speak Spanish and listen to Spanish music.

You play María Tonorio in the movie Filly Brown. Tell us about that.
I’m an actress by mistake. Filly Brown is just another one of those things where someone else had a bigger vision for me than I had for myself. It’s a very dark role. It was hard to play this person who was the complete opposite of me. When I first saw it at the Sundance Film Festival, I could not believe that I could actually do that work. I’m very proud of myself.

How do you balance it all: family, marriage and career?
I was always a hustler and on the go. Now I’m in a place where my family comes first. When I’m a 90-year-old lady, I want to say that I raised these beautiful human beings.

You’ve had a lot of ups and downs in your life. What is your philosophy?
I read somewhere that God is not going to give you more than you can handle. So every time I go through a difficult experience I look for what the lesson is to be learned and have the faith that if I am going through this God thinks I am strong enough to deal with it.

I Love Jenni
Sundays, 9pm/8c

Celebrity dog expert Cesar Millán shares a few helpful tips to train your pet.

Reality star Cesar Millán always knew in his heart what his true calling was. While living in Culiacán, Mexico, Millán, then 13, was on his way to a judo competition when it hit him. At that moment he declared to his mom and to all those within ear shot that he would be the best dog trainer in the world. Today with his shows The Dog Whisperer on Nat Geo Wild and El Encantador de Perros on Nat Geo Mundo it’s a reality. “My mission is to remind people how simple it is to coexist with dogs,” says Millán. To further this end, Millán has partnered with Yale University and has created the Mutt-i-grees curriculum (www.education.muttigrees.org) to teach kids how to interact with our beloved canine friends. “It’s very important to learn about dogs; to learn empathy and compassion so when you get a dog you are truly prepared.” But if you ask Millán, he has yet to reach his ultimate dream. “If you go anywhere in the world, you will always find a dog, so I want to go global. If I don’t, I will not be honoring their full potential.”

To have a happy and healthy relationship with your four legged companion Cesar Millán suggests these four tips.

1. Fulfillment
Before you train your dog, the dog’s basic needs must be satisfied: exercise, discipline and affection.

2. Conditioning
Once a dog’s needs are met, you can start conditioning or training. The best time is when your dog is hungry or playful. Keep the sessions short, and vary both the time of day and the duration of the lesson. That way, your pet never knows when or how long to perform. Also, always end while the dog still wants to perform again, and not later when the dog is bored or starts shutting down.

3. Consistency
Fulfillment and training must be consistent and everyone in the family must participate.

4. Distance
Make sure you practice how to establish distance from your dog. It is the key to preventing separation anxiety. Do not let the dog follow you around the house 24/7. Also, do not confuse the dog. For example, don’t interact with him for 30 minutes when you come home from work, and then leave the house again. By bringing him into your intimate space, then leaving again, you do not give the dog any signals to relax. As a result, the dog will feel abandoned. Instead, when you get home, avoid eye contact and any petting or touching. Let the dog calm down, acknowledge its calm behavior, and ask him to give you distance. Then you bring him back into your intimate space. When you are ready to go out, send him away from your intimate space then you can leave home. Your dog will understand that by giving you time and space, he will receive affection. When you close the door, your dog will stay relaxed and calm.

The Dog Whisperer on Nat Geo Wild, Saturdays at 8pm/7c

El Encantador de Perros on Nat Geo Mundo, Daily at 7pm/6c

Aarón Díaz talks about his telenovela El Talismán, his recent crossover and love.

There is a new bad boy in town and he is heating up the small screen. Aarón Díaz plays the villainous heartbreaker Antonio Negrete on Univision’s El Talisman and is enjoying every minute of it. “The villains usually have fun,” says Díaz. “I always play the good guy, but with this role I am going to shed that image completely.” Díaz points out that as bad as Negrete is, he has his reasons. “Antonio is a bum. He likes women, money, partying, and having fun, but he is not bad just for being bad. It’s how he was raised. He uses people.” Díaz points out; however, that Antonio does have some redeeming qualities. “He has his good side. He loves his daughters.”

Aarón doesn’t relate to Negrete’s jaded take on relationships. Although he was recently divorced from Mexican megastar Kate del Castillo, he does believe in true love. “As with Romeo and Juliet, I definitely believe in love and that it can break barriers.”

Díaz isn’t just growing as a telenovela actor. After his two albums, he is choosing a more innovative way to introduce his newest songs: they can be downloaded from his calendar. “The record industry no longer exists. You have to find different ways to launch your music.”

Looking to his future, Díaz is also making new strides in the US general market, something that he finds quite natural since he was born in Mexico and raised in California. “I have always had good projects in the Hispanic market but obviously I don’t rule out doing things in English. I’m an actor and I want to keep growing.” Most recently he was on the ABC television series Pan Am. “It’s not a secret that we are taking over the United States and the world in general,” says Díaz. “Americans clearly understand that the Latino audience is very strong so they are looking for Latino actors to interpret English characters.”

El Talismán on Univision, Monday – Friday at 1pm/12c