With Zoe Saldana and Victor Cruz at the Cosmo for Latinas Launch Party

The Event: Cosmopolitan for Latinas Launch PartyThe Date: May 9, 2012The Venue: Ink48 Hotel, New YorkThe Crowd: Zoe Saldana, actress; Victor Cruz, New York Giants wide receiver; Donna Kalajian Lagani, senior VP-publishing director and chief revenue officer at Cosmopolitan; Michelle Herrera Mulligan, editor-in-chief at Cosmopolitan for LatinasThe Food: Smoked ricotta, roasted tomatoes, olive tapenade crostini; peekytoe crab salad with avocado salsa, corn tortilla; grilled filet of beef, toasted brioche, horseradish creme; duck confit fried wontons, hoisin sauce, scallions; croquetas de bacalao, lemon aioli; grilled chicken satay, spicy peanut sauceThe Drinks: Cucumber serrano martini (Silver Mezcal, juice from a fresh serrano, chile piquin salt, cucumber slice) and The El Diablo (Tequila reposado, lime juice, creme de cassis, ginger beer, lime slice)The Swag: None beyond the premiere issue of the magazine -- unless you count the pictures Zoe Saldana and Victor Cruz were taking with fans the whole nightThe Scene: A party to celebrate the new magazine as well as Latinos in the United States, held at a rooftop space with panoramic views of midtown Manhattan and the Hudson River. Zoe Saldana, who is a first-generation Latino-American and the first person to grace the cover of the magazine, said she isn't trying to represent any particular demographic but that she hopes more magazines will reach out to "the first generations of me." "There are certain magazines -- there's just not enough diversity on their covers," she said. One quick walk through the crowd made it clear that many of the attendees were bilingual. But as the appetizers were in Spanish and Freeloader knows only "hola" and "como estas," Google was on hand for the entire night to help translate. The croquetas de bacalao -- fish fritters that strongly resembled hush puppies -- were excellent. But the drinks were must-haves, so much so that the servers couldn't get out from behind the bar before all the drinks on their trays were snatched. Ms. Saldana didn't spend a lot of time in the roped-off area made available for her and her family, saying she doesn't care about acting a certain way or trying to be an icon. "I really don't pay attention to anything but my heart and what I want to do," she said. "I could have been Jamaican-American. I could have been Iranian-American. I'm still going to be Zoe. Yes, take pride in who you are and where your parents came from but take bigger pride in the fact that you are American." Victor Cruz proved a bit harder to pin down, at least on the question of conversations with the Giants about reworking his deal after a breakout season. "There's nothing, man," he said. "There's no information. I have no news for you. I'm at off-season workouts today, and I'll be there every day that I'm obligated to be there." Many women also asked whether he was single. He wasn't. But he still managed to do his signature salsa with a few fans.

With Zoe Saldana and Victor Cruz at the Cosmo for Latinas Launch Party

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