I came to this country when I was twelve years old because my parents wanted to give me new opportunities to succeed. President Obama wants everyone to have the chances I had.

I'm a royal pain in the behind.

To realize the American dream, the most important thing to understand is that it belongs to everybody. It's a human dream. If you understand this and work very hard, it is possible.

People look at you and see that you've made it, but sometimes they forget that it took you years of being a human being.

Latin life is rich with warmth, family values and history. I want to bring that beauty into American homes.

How proud I am to be compared to Oprah. I really admire her. She's a minority woman and she's done all this by herself... I'm very happy to be Oprah with salsa and not Donahue in drag.

I have gotten into a lot of trouble in my life for being brutally honest. Sometimes I put both my feet in my mouth. But like Elton John, I'm still standing.

We Latin women are liberated from the neck up, not the neck down.

For me, the American promise isn't just an idea or a theory - it's my life story.

Being a professional woman, I function the best when I don't distinguish between work and play.

The common denominator all Latinos have is that we want some respect. That's what we're all fighting for.

Dream more to live more.

You are only great to the degree you impacted others with your life.

You always have to defend the imagination against idiots.

When God at first made man, Having a glass of blessings standing by, 'Let us,'said he,'pour on him all we can: Let the world's riches, which disperse' d lie, Contract into a span'.

One of the strange phenomena of the last century is the spectacle of religion dropping the appeal of fear while other human interests have picked it up.

Thirst teaches all animals to drink, but drunkenness belongs only to man.

to be understood is not a human right. Even to understand oneself is not a human right.

There was no last animal I treated. When young farm lads started to help me over the gate into a field or a pigpen, to make sure the old fellow wouldn't fall, I started to consider retiring.

We can make an impression on this world if the world doesn't make too much impression on us.

If you jump to conclusions, you make terrible landings.