Patricia Velásquez

Creativity extends beyond the boundaries of film, canvas, photographs and other media. It also stimulates charity or philanthropy as well as activism. Patricia Velasquez, an award-winning model, actor as well as a committed philanthropist and activist as well as a loving mom, applies an ever-increasing creative flair to all she does whether that's appearing in blockbusters like The Curse of La Llorona or launching Wayuu Taya Foundation, and serving on the UNESCO Board. Regardless, she makes major steps by drawing upon her instincts and deliberately paving her own pathway. "I see my work as a huge staircase," she says. "I have taken every step. It was amazing to accomplish this, because there was perseverance. I didn't stop moving, just sat with my head down. The imagery is directly similar to the experience of forming. In the following years she relocated to Venezuela. She was born in Venezuela and grew up in France and Mexico. In South America her parents worked in education. They moved their family to an apartment complex without running water or elevators. Patricia took fifteen flights of stairs up with heavy buckets to provide water to the unit. In between studying engineering and intense dance training, she endeavored to help the family in any way that was possible. The opportunity to be a model in Milan and her ascent to the heights of the fashion ladder depended on a promise she made to her loved ones. She remembers telling her, "When they asked me if I wanted to go to Italy and I said"If you can pay thirty dollars a month back home to Venezuela the cost will be worth itas it will cover the entire building's water costs'." Patricia's success was an important moment in fashion as she was the first to draw the attention of fashion's industry to South America. Her "first modeling gig Karl Lagerfeld photographed" was an enormous breakthrough. She went on to appear in fashion shows as well as front editorial spreads and even in advertisements for Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and Fendi. She also appeared in Oprah's "Supermodel of the World Contest" with Ford Models. She was also featured on the front covers of Marie Claire, Bazaar and Vogue.