2013: Year in HOLA

The year 2013 has been quite an eventful year for Latinos in the arts and for the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) in particular. Take a look at some of the things that occurred in 2013. 

HOLA initiatives, events and workshops/seminars
have bullets marked in red.

Advocacy efforts have bullets marked in blue.

Union affairs have bullets marked in green. 

Notable news items have bullets marked in purple.
Guest blogs have bullets marked in aqua.
 

JANUARY

• A blog from December 2012 ("Erasing The Brown: Whitewashing of Latino Characters in Film") is reprinted in industry publication Latin Heat. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Hispanics are a coveted demographic at the box office, says industry insiders, according to an article in The Hollywood Reporter. (Click HERE for more information.)

• U.S. Census to possibly make "Hispanic" a race, according to NBC Latino. (Click HERE for more information.)

•  Guest blog by Marco Antonio Rodríguez– "Do You Hear What I Hear: Latinos Misrepresenting Themselves in Film And Television". (Click HERE for more information.)

• The controversy regarding the casting of the movie Argo (directed by and starring Ben Affleck) continues into 2013 amid its seven Oscar nominations. Plus another Latino character excised from the film (another spy, one with the code name Julio) comes to light. And Ben Affleck might actually speak better Spanish than the person he portrayed in Argo, Tony Méndez (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)
• "When Truly Universal Becomes Lo Imposible" highlighted how the film The Impossible, produced and directed by Spaniards and telling the true story of a Spaniard family was recast (including a changing of the family's surname) using English and Australian actors for a "more universal story". (Click HERE for more information.) 

• For the first time in history, Spanish was featured at a presidential inauguration (Barack H. Obama's second inauguration). It was spoken by Rev. Luis León at the benediction of the event. (Click HERE for more information.)

• The success of the film Mama, produced by Guillermo Del Toro, exceeded expectations and was fueled by predominately Latino theatergoers, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (Click HERE for more information.)

FEBRUARY

• The Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) opposed the use of "brownface" in the Broadway production of The Making of Edwin Drood (Roundabout Theatre Company). This leads to an examination of major U.S. theaters and their belief in colorblind casting (in theory though not necessarily in practice). (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)

• Prime Latino Media Salon– Workshop on Business Fundamentals 101: Winning Strategies to Succeed. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)

• Ethno-racial representation in the arts stays in the news. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Hispanics are rare in Hollywood despite census numbers, according to Sky News. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)

• Report on Latinos in the 85th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars). Argo wins Best Picture. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)
• The blogosphere asks where are the Latino journalists on U.S. English-Language news networks after Soledad O'Brien and CNN part ways. (Click HERE for more information.)

MARCH

• Robert Rodríguez's upcoming El Rey television network signs six-series deal with Georgeville Television. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Was the controversy over the feature film Argo "much ado about nada"? (Click HERE for more information.)
• Industry publication Latin Heat asks, "Who Will Be Our Latino Tyler Perry?" (Click HERE for more information.)
• Prime Latino Media Salon– Webisodes: The Future of Content is Now. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)
• Census figures shows that the U.S. is rapidly heading toward a "majority-minority" status. (Click HERE for more information.)
• The film Olympus Has Fallen garners controversy over the casting of the role of Vice-President Charlie Rodríguez. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)

• World Baseball Classic (WBC) Championship Game (between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic) had the highest ratings of any baseball game on ESPN Deportes. An earlier meetup between the two teams simulcast the Spanish-language coverage for the game, becoming the first time in history a major sporting event was covered in a language other than English by a major U.S. network. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Global box office surges in 2012 as Hispanic attendance grows in the U.S. (Click HERE for more information.)
• The Vatican's Pope Francis becomes the first "Latino pope", being born in Argentina. However, the fact that the pontiff's parents were émigrés from Italy make some question whether he should be called as such. (Click HERE for more information.)
• HOLA gets on the airwaves. (Click HERE for more information.)

APRIL

• SAG-AFTRA leadership speak out on challenges facing the merged union. (Click HERE for more information.)
• The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) and HOLA present a special screening of the documentary Latinos Beyond Reel: Challenging a Media Stereotype (directed by Miguel Picker and Chyng Sun) at the Museum of the Moving Image. (Click HERE, HERE and HERE for more information.)
• Disney/ABC and Univision team up to create new network, Fusion, aimed at U.S. Latinos. (Click HERE, HERE and HERE for more information).
• Univision at 50. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Prime Latino Media Salon– Latino Distribution: Alternatives & Channels for English- and Spanish-Language Multimedia. (Click HERE, HERE and HERE for more information.)

MAY
• Latinos nominated for the Drama Desk Awards. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Latinos nominated for the Drama League Awards. (Click HERE for more information.)

• HOLA creates a Regional Membership rate for those living outside the New York metropolitan area. (Click HERE for more information.)

• HOLA makes a historic trip to Los Angeles, where HOLA staff take meetings with network heads and other industry insiders and produce two events (see below).
• HOLAtalks with Marlene Forté (in Los Angeles) plus after-event networking party. (Click HERE, HERE, HERE  and HERE for more information.)

• Guest Blog by Oliver Mayer– "Write It Yourself!" (Click HERE for more information.)

• The blogosphere wonders if the new Marc Cherry television series "Devious Maids", featuring five Latina actresses playing maids and in advance of its premiere, would perpetuate stereotypes. (Click HERE for more information.)

• HOLA is mentioned in SAG-AFTRA magazine. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Spanish-Language Voiceover Workshop with Manuel Herrera. (Click HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE for more information.)
• The Fast And The Furious: Film Franchise with Most Latino Actors. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Actor Charlie Sheen is billed for the first time by his birth name, Carlos Estévez, for the upcoming Robert Rodríguez film Machete Kills. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Latino actors don't often get a fair shake in Hollywood, says Voxxi. The blog was later re-blogged by Huffington Post/HuffPost Latino Voices. (Click HERE for more information.)

• The success of the film Fast and the Furious 6 is directly attributed to Latino theatergoers. (Click HERE for more information.)

• HOLA Membership Meeting. (Click HERE for more information.)

JUNE
• Prime Latino Media Salon– NALIP Annual Conference Kickoff. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)

• HOLA member plays detective and solves cold case murder of her own father. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Film Acting Course with Charles Carroll and Tony Plana. (Click HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE for more information.)

• Prime Latino Media Salon– Latino Documentary Filmmakers. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)

• Roundtable discussion on whether the television series "Devious Maids" misrepresent Latinas. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Guest Blogs by Julio Ricardo Varela and Vanessa Verduga on the debate over "Devious Maids". (Click HERE for more information.)

JULY

• HOLA creates the Believe in HOLA fundraising campaign and membership drive between April and June, making just shy of 96% of its goal in that period of time. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Louis C.K. breaks his own Emmy record by nabbing a mind-blowing nine nominations for the 2013 Emmy Awards. Also, Bobby Cannavale scores a pair of 2013 Emmy noms. Plus other Latino Emmy nominees. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Rita Moreno receives SAG Award for Life Achievement from SAG-AFTRA. (Click HERE for more information.)

AUGUST
• End of an Era: Curtain Closes on TeatroStageFest/Latino International Theater Festival of New York. (Click HERE for more information.)
• 2013 HOLA Awards Honorees and Recipients Announced. (Click HERE, HERE and HERE for more information.)
• NBC's "Today" profiles the rising trend of filmmakers abandoning Hollywood for other locations due to tax incentives. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Zoë Saldaña and her sister Cisely Saldaña, in collaboration with Lionsgate Studios create the Saldaña Production Company, a venture that will create Latino-centric content. (Click HERE for more information.)

SEPTEMBER
• Instructions Not Included/No se aceptan devoluciones stuns the U.S. box office, hitting number 5 in its first weekend of release (taking in $10 million) despite only screening in 347 theaters nationwide (and hitting number 3 the following weekend with an increase in screens), becoming the biggest Spanish-language release in U.S. box office history. (Click HERE for more information.)

• HOLA officially inaugurates its new hashtag phrase, #SupportLatinoWork, in order to highlight Latino projects. (Click HERE for more information.)

• End of an Era: New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF) Fades To Black. (Click HERE for more information.

• PBS documentary series "Latino Americans" premieres. (Click HERE for more information.)

• A blog takes the highly popular television series "Breaking Bad" (AMC) to task for its odd and questionable portrayals of Latino characters. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Film and television star Luis Antonio Ramos speaks exclusively to El Blog de HOLA about his career and his upcoming film, A Miracle in Spanish Harlem. (Click HERE for more information.)

OCTOBER

• Prime Latino Media Salon– Latino Narrative Filmmakers. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)

• Univision debuts Flama, its first online-only network. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Latin Hollywood Films, NALIP and HOLA present a New York screening of Kiki Meléndez's mockumentary The Journey of A Female Comic/Trayectoria de una comediante. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)

• The 2013 HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit. Bobby Cannavale, Nadine Velázquez and Vanessa Verduga honored, along with outstanding work in New York Latino theater over the previous season. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Univision 41 WXTV New York's leading news anchor, Rafael Pineda, retires after 42 years on the air. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Two New York Latino theaters, Pregones Theater and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, announce plans to merge. (Click HERE for more information.)

NOVEMBER

• The Huffington Post finds that Latinos attend movies more than any other group yet are the least represented on screen. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Academy Award nominee Edward James Olmos declares that "we have a long way to go" with regards to Latinos in the media. (Click HERE for more information.)
• The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) begins recognizing Spanish-language television in the U.S. (Click HERE for more information.)

• Robert Rodríguez's El Rey Network and flagship television series (based on the film From Dusk To Dawn) to premiere at the end of 2013. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Spanish-Language Voiceover Workshop with Manuel Herrera. (Click HERE, HERE, and HERE for more information.)
• Of Latinas and the Word "Spitfire". (Click HERE for more information.)
• NBC announces that it will shut down NBC Latino. (Click HERE for more information.)

DECEMBER

• HOLA announces A December to Remember. (Click HERE for more information.)

• The ABCs of A One-Person Show workshop with Ruthy Otero. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)
• Prime Latino Media Salon– Holiday Fiesta. (Click HERE and HERE for more information.)

• Film Acting Course with Charles Carroll and Tony Plana. (Click HERE, HERE and HERE for more information.)

• HOLA presents the 2013 HOLAfestival, highlighting the work of HOLA member-writers. (Click HERE, HERE and HERE for more information.)
• Martina Arroyo and Carlos Santana receive Kennedy Center Honors, becoming the third and fourth Latinos so honored in the Kennedy Center's 35-year history. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Daniel Brühl, Louis C.K., Michael Peña and Sofía Vergara are among the Latino nominees for the 20th annual SAG Awards, along with Rita Moreno's special SAG Award for Life Achievement. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Pope Francis becomes the first Latino to receive the TIME Person of the Year honor from the U.S. newsmagazine. (Click HERE for more information.)
• Oscar Isaac, Daniel Brühl, Alfonso Cuarón and Robert López are among the Latinos nominated for the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards for film work. Latinos nominated for their work in television include Louis C.K., Helena Bonham Carter and Sofía Vergara. (Click HERE for more information.)
• SAG-AFTRA takes its first steps in merging the health plans of the former respective unions. (Click HERE for more information.)



HOLA members have been very busy this year as well. And some of their gigs have been due to them being HOLA members. Whether HOLA members received work from a casting announcement we send to them via e-mail, a direct referral or through a casting director finding the actor’s information on our online directory, it makes us proud to see our members working. Some of the jobs that HOLA members received as a result of their membership are listed below.

Film, Television and New Media (including webseries)
Bohemian Lights
Disney/ABC Diversity Showcase Workshop
"Exorcista"

Honeymoon

"House of Aragón"

La viuda negra

Leonard Peres

"Minuto para ganar" 

Oasis

"Sesame Street"

Times Square Neverland
"Valores de la familia hispana"

Theater
 (* An asterisk indicates a production that is outside of New York City.)
Alysha [The Director's Company]
Black Latina [BLM/Caicedo Productions]
Born Liars [ItalyTheater/Renzo Arbore]
La fuerza al costumbre [Repertorio Español]
Much Ado About Nothing [Shakespeare Theatre Company]*
The Record [The Public Theater/Under The Radar Festival]
Saint Kristie [The Wild Project/Fresh Fruit Festival]
Si nos dejan/If They Let Us [The Working Theatre]
Vida de perro [Lehman Stages]

Commercials/Industrial/Voiceover/Print
Cory Booker for U.S. Senate"Habla Women"
MetroPlus
"Project Success"
Yale University

[The above only indicates the jobs that HOLA members have informed us they received through HOLA and may not represent all the jobs received by HOLA members through HOLA membership.]

Que en Paz Descansen / Rest in Peace
Dolores Prida

Sara Montiel

Bebo Valdés

Álvarez Guedes

Olga Agostini

Eydie Gormé

Vanessa Libertad García

Mario Montez

Frank Fouce

Carmen Rosario

Tato Laviera

Abniel Marat

Karla Álvarez

Esteban Siller

Mónica Boyar

Lázaro Pérez

Ricardo Fort
Abelardo Estorino

Mauricio Leyton