A native of Popayán in the Cauca region of Colombia, dashing South American import Manolo Cardona first stepped before the cameras in his late teens, with prominent roles in Colombian productions such as the television series Padres y Hijos (1992) Carolina Barrantes (1993), and Gitanes (1995). Cardona crossed over to international exposure and acclaim as one of the leads in Emilio Maille's brutal crime thriller Rosario Tijeras (2005), then provided one of the Latinate voices for a Hollywood production with a role in the Disney-produced animated outing Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008), opposite Drew Barrymore, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Piper Perabo.