Meet Carlos Manuel Cadena | Actor, Singer, Model, Photographer, Sensei, & Nursing Student

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carlos Manuel Cadena and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carlos Manuel, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Well, to be honest, it comes down to my love for stories. I was always fascinated by them in how we can shape a story and how our lives can be therefore shaped by that same story in some instances. There were so many stories out there that mean different things to different people and I love bringing them to life by using my body and voice as a sort of mouthpiece for them. Some of them are short and sweet and others had more of an arc, but to me what mattered most is that the story itself was shared. I got to see the impact of what that can do when I was around 19 years old. I absolutely love telling this story. I was doing a musical called “Hello, Dolly!” in a theatre in Conroe, and I got the chance to portray one of the leading characters, Cornelius Hackl. After one of our Saturday shoes, we went out in costume as always and thanked the patrons for coming. Nothing I hadn’t done before. There was this one couple though, they both seemed to be around in their late 50s, early 60s, and they both shook my hands with tears in their eyes. The husband too seemed quite emotional, which you wouldn’t really believe it at first cause at first glance he looked like a bodybuilding truck! The wife though, she was so sweet. With her hands in mine and tears in her eyes she said to me, “Young man, my husband and I had our first date watching this show so many years ago. We first fell in love with each other through this story. Thank you for making us feel young again.” It was then that I saw the impact that sharing my talent through the arts could bring, and I have only continued on sharing my talents ever since.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Well, as stated before, I am an actor, singer, model, photographer, sensei, and current nursing student. I think what sets me apart from most people is the fact that I have multiple aspirations and are following up on all of them. How? Well, it takes quite a deal of time management, knowing your limits, and learning when to say yes and no. I got to this point after moving to the DFW area for a while and making a name for myself. I managed to get involved in projects like Smalltown Outsiders (now available on Tubi) and Jesus in the Passover (available on TBN). Since then, I’ve been doing small projects like Two Souls, White Elephant, Elseworld’s Finest, and The Mission just to name a few. Today, I still work on acting and singing gigs whilst also attending school to acquire my BS in Nursing.

When it comes to whether or not this has been easy, I would be lying if I said that it was. This path that I walked on has been a bit of a tough one. I’ve lost people who I thought would be there forever and I have had to rework the “master plan” more times than I can count. However, as many hurdles as I had to undergo, I never gave up. I believe that, sometimes, the harder you have to work for something, the more worth it is for you in the long run. Giving up was never in my vocabulary, and it never will be.

One big lesson that I learned along the way is that life is a road, and this road has a terrible contractor sometimes because you will find yourself with cracks all along this road. As you walk down this road, you may trip and fall… sometimes flat on your face. But then you will be left with a choice. You can either stay down and blame yourself for that fall or you can get back up, dust yourself off, and keep walking. Because I assure you that if you keep on going you will find yourself with miracles on every corner of that road waiting for you to find them.

If there is one thing that I want the world to know about my story is that no one is ever alone. Even in their darkest moments, in their most lonely nights… you always have someone that is looking out for you and thinking about you. You always have someone rooting for you. It might be someone you love, or it might be someone you least expect… but no one is ever alone. Whatever it is that you believe, if my story can impact anyone, I would like for them to know that anyone has the capacity to be loved by others… and it is my sole belief that there are people out there that care. You are loved, you are seen, you are heard, you are the most important and most valuable thing you have in your life… and you are not alone.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There are a couple of spots that I can think about that I would take my best friend to. Firstly, I would him them to Deep Ellum. The scene there is magical and you find all kinds of different people there. It was my introduction to the city of Dallas and it is definitely somewhere I would take my friends to if they want to experience Dallas.

I would also like to take him to the House of Blues. There’s always so much good music going on over there that I really think anyone would enjoy stopping by there after a night on the town.

If he’s more of a sports fan, you can’t go wrong with going to the Globe Life Field to support the Rangers. They have the best hot dogs and some pretty entertaining games going whilst their season is on. I used to know someone that danced for their dance team, the Six Shooters, and their dance routine is truly something to see.

Lastly, I would 100% take him to Six Flags. Though it’s more in the Arlington area, not taking him there would be like going to Orlando and just visiting the beach without going to Disney World. The rides there are so much fun! They’re filled with excitement and it’d be nice to see if we could win a prize in the arcade games they’ve got going on there.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are two men that deserve all the recognition in the world when it comes to my achievements. The first one is named Darius Booker. He was my professor back in UT Arlington and he urged me to delve deeper into myself so then I can become a better actor. A better man. He pushed me to find out things I could do with my talent that I never thought I could before. I owe a large part of what I have achieved to this day to this man.

However, there is one man who I owe everything to, and who without him I would not be where I stand here now to tell you all this. My father, Carlos Garcia de la Cadena. He has not only worked himself to the bone in order to allow me to do everything I do now, but he even went as far as to dare me to dream and to never stop dreaming. His aid allowed me to have the foundation of what I have now and what I hope to gain moving forward. Without his aid and his love, I would certainly not be here and would probably be somewhere else wondering what I could’ve done with my life.

These two men mean the world to me, and I thank them for their contributions to help me become the man I am today.

Website: https://linktr.ee/carlosmanuelcadena

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecarlosmanuelcadena/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlosmanuelcadena/

Twitter: https://x.com/CadenaCarlosM

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialCarlosManuelCadena

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CarlosManuelCadena

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@carlosmanuelcadena?_t=8UhVF4KQy8U&_r=1

Image Credits
Richardson Theatre Center, Stage Right of Texas, Tanner Mobley, University of Texas at Arlington, Andrea Isabel, A Little Brother Productions, Dr. Pink Photography