2010 HOLA Awards Press Release

PRESS RELEASE – For immediate release please
Contact: Manny Alfaro/A.B. Lugo
(212) 253-1015 holagram@hellohola.org

August 18, 2010

THE ICONIC RITA MORENO TO ACCEPT
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
AT 2010 HOLA AWARDS

Other awardees include LAUREN VÉLEZ (Showtime’s “Dexter”), TONY PLANA (ABC’s “Ugly Betty”), ROBIN DE JESÚS (B’way’s La Cage aux Folles) and JOSÉ YENQUE (Traffic, The Blue Diner)

JOHN QUIÑONES (ABC News) and ARMANDO CORREA
(People en Español) to receive HOLA Excellence in Media Awards

Special Recognition Awards to be handed to EVITA MUÑOZ “CHACHITA,” ANDRÉS CABAS, JOSÉ ROIG, RAÚL JAURENA
and TELEMUNDO 47

2010 HOLA Awards to take place
Monday, October 18, 2010 at The Players

New York, New York— The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) is pleased to announce that the iconic Rita Moreno will headline the awardees for the 2010 HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit, to take place on Monday, October 18, 2010 at 6:30pm at The Players, America’s oldest theatrical club, located at 16 Gramercy Park South (East 20 Street between Third Avenue and Park Avenue South) in New York. Tickets are $125 in advance and $145 at the door.

Rita Moreno will receive the HOLA Lifetime Achievement Award. Her career spans over 60 years and she is the first and only Hispanic and one of ten performers to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, a Tony, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Her numerous credits include West Side Story, Singin’ in the Rain, The King and I, Carnal Knowledge, I Like It Like That, The Ritz, “Electric Company” and “Oz.”

Ms. Moreno’s namesake award, the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence will go to Lauren Vélez. Ms. Vélez can currently be seen as María LaGüerta on the hit Showtime series “Dexter.” She is also known for playing Detective Nina Moreno on Fox’s “New York Undercover,” Dr. Gloria Nathan on HBO’s “Oz” and Lisette Linares in the breakthrough film I Like It Like That.

Tony Plana will receive the Raúl Juliá HOLA Founders Award. He is currently known for playing Ignacio Suárez on the groundbreaking ABC show “Ugly Betty.” His career spans almost 35 years in film, theater and television. Before “Ugly Betty,” he was known for playing Roberto Santiago in the Showtime series “Resurrection Blvd.” He is also a respected film, television and theater director and producer.

Robin De Jesús will receive the HOLA José Ferrer Tespis Award. He is a two-time Tony nominee for his roles as Sonny in the musical In the Heights and as Jacob in the current revival of La Cage aux Folles. His film credits include the cult hit Camp, Phat Girlz, and the upcoming films Elliot Loves and Gun Hill Road.

José Yenque will receive the HOLA Ilka Award for humanitarianism. A native of New York, his distinguished acting career includes frequent and pivotal roles on TV series such as "Lost," "Law & Order: SVU" and "The Division," coupled with his work in award winning films such as Traffic (Academy Award), Wednesday Afternoon (Academy Award), and Lifetime's Between (Imagen Award). In 2011 he'll be seen in the upcoming film Beginners (opposite Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer). In early 2007, he received the Sol Azteca "Ambassador of the Year" Award for his ten years of volunteer work with the children of Casa Hogar Sion orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. He is one of the founders of The East Los Angeles Society of Film and Arts (Tela Sofa), a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering at-risk youth by bringing arts education to the lower-income neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

The 2010 HOLA Excellence in Media Awards will go to John Quiñones of ABC News (Excellence in English Language Media) and Armando Correa, editor of People en Español magazine (Excellence in Spanish Language Media).

Special Recognition Awards will be presented to the Mexican actress Evita Muñoz “Chachita” (for her 70 years in the entertainment industry), Colombian musician and composer Andrés Cabas (for the composition of the original music of the Repertorio Español musical Pantaleón y las visitadoras), Cuban sportscaster José Roig (for his 25 years in the news industry), Telemundo 47 (for 45 years of serving the NY metropolitan area’s Latino/Hispanic community) and Uruguayan bandoneón maestro Raúl Jaurena (for his over 60 years in the entertainment industry).

The HOLA Awards will also honor the outstanding work of the Latino theater in the previous theater season (July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010). The theater awards are noncompetitive with multiple winners in each category. A list of the Latino theater award recipients are below.

2010 Excellence in Latino Theater Awards

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR
Anthony Álvarez, Pantaleón y las visitadoras (Repertorio Español)
Toni Cantó, El pez gordo (Tal y Cual Producciones, España/
Retablo Hispanic Theater)
Francisco Reyes, Ser o no Cer… vantes (R.Evolución Latina)
Carlos Alberto Valencia, Las facultades (Pregones Theater)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR
Wanda Arriaga, El insólito caso de Mis’ Piña Colada (Repertorio Español)
Amneris Morales, Confesión en el Barrio Chino (Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre)
Mônica Steuer, La empresa perdona un momento de locura
(Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED MALE ACTOR
Ricardo Barber, Pantaleón y las visitadoras (Repertorio Español)
Howard Collado, I Want You By My Side (Teatro IATI/TeatroStageFest)
Koko De Jesús, Las facultades (Pregones Theater)
Modesto Lacén, Ser o no Cer… vantes (R.Evolución Latina)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED FEMALE ACTOR
Zulema Clares, Pantaleón y las visitadoras (Repertorio Español)
Selenis Leyva, Pantaleón y las visitadoras (Repertorio Español)
Mónica Pérez Brandes, Pantaleón y las visitadoras (Repertorio Español)
Gredivel Vásquez, El insólito caso de Mis’ Piña Colada (Repertorio Espanol)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CAST
Marisol Carrere, Melissa Díaz, Luz-María Lambert, Luciano Patiño,
Bárbara Santiago, Siempre se olvida algo/You Always Forget Something
(Hostos Repertory Theatre)

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
Soledad López, Las prostitutas os precederán en el Reino de los Cielos
(Thalía Spanish Theatre)
Fernando Sánchez Cabezudo, m³ (Cubic Meter): A No Space Odissey
(Mr. Kubik Producciones, España/TeatroStageFest)
R. Ernie Silva, Heavy Like The Weight of A Flame
(The ONE Festival/Teatro LA TEA)
Kathy Tejada, The Prostitutes Will Precede You in the Kingdom of Heaven
(Thalía Spanish Theatre)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PLAYWRITING
Nicolás Dorr, Confesión en el Barrio Chino (Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre)
Carlos Ferrari, El insólito caso de Mis’ Piña Colada (Repertorio Español)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION
Arian Blanco, I Want You By My Side (Teatro IATI/TeatroStageFest)
Ángel Morales, Siempre se olvida algo/You Always Forget Something
(Hostos Repertory Theater)
Josean Ortiz, Confesión en el Barrio Chino (Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre)
Juan Carlos Rubio, El pez gordo (Tal y Cual Producciones, España/
Retablo Hispanic Theater)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN TECHNICAL PRODUCTION
Sunilda Caraballo, for her choreography of
Pantaleón y las visitadoras (Repertorio Español)
José López for his puppetry design of ¡Viva Pinocho!
(Society of the Educational Arts)
Jason Sturm for his scenic design of Confesión en el Barrio Chino
(Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre)

OUTSTANDING VISITING PRODUCTION
El pez gordo (Tal y Cual Producciones, España/Retablo Hispanic Theatre)
m³ (Cubic Meter): A No Space Odissey
(Mr. Kubik Producciones, España/TeatroStageFest)
Tanguera (Romay Producciones, Argentina/Paul Szilard Productions/
BB Promotion GmbH/City Center)

GILBERTO ZALDÍVAR HOLA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING MUSICAL
Lo mejor de lo mejor de Mestizo Dance Company
(Mestizo Dance Company/Thalía Spanish Theatre)
México 200 años/Mexico 200 Years (Thalía Spanish Theatre)
Pantaleón y las visitadoras (Repertorio Español)
¡Viva Pinocho! (Society of the Educational Arts)

GILBERTO ZALDÍVAR HOLA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PLAY
Confesión en el Barrio Chino (Puerto Rican Traveling Theater)
El insólito caso de Mis’ Piña Colada (Repertorio Español)
Ser o no Cer… vantes (R.Evolución Latina)
Siempre se olvida algo/You Always Forget Something
(Hostos Repertory Theatre)

The Eleventh Annual HOLA Awards will take place on Monday, October 18, 2010 at 6:30pm at The Players, America’s oldest theatrical club, located at 16 Gramercy Park South (East 20th Street between Third Avenue and Park Avenue South) in New York. Tickets are $125 in advance and $145 at the door and can be purchased in advance by calling (212) 253-1015 or online through www.hellohola.org.

# # # #