Banner Ads Now Available on HOLA Website

Wanna promote your upcoming stage production? Your upcoming film screening? Your upcoming special event?

HOLA members often get publicity in our Members in Performance page, but what if you could promote on our main homepage, or in our directory (The HOLA Pages), where more people can see your ad?

What if you had a project with no HOLA members that you wanted to promote?

What if you wanted to promote something that wasn’t a show (like your production company itself or a new website)?

Now you can do so by BUYING A BANNER AD on the HOLA website.

Banner ads come in half-page and full-page sizes and can be on the HOLA website for one week, two weeks, three weeks or a whole month. HOLA can also link your ad to a particular website at no additional cost.

Prices on the banner ads are affordable. Also, not-for-profit organizations receive a 10% discount on ad prices.

The HOLA website receives thousands of visits each month. The HOLA website is viewed by many professionals in the industry and is a unique way of reaching the Latino/Hispanic and mainstream audiences, which make buying a banner ad a smart investment for you.

Wanna buy a banner ad? Call (212) 253-1015 or (888) 624-HOLA or e-mail us for prices and ad dimensions.

HOLA Regional Membership Available For Those Outside New York Metropolitan Area

If you are an actor who lives in an area of the U.S. outside of the New York metropolitan area, New Jersey or Connecticut (HOLA's programming and administrative headquarters region), HOLA is proud to announce its Regional Membership level - for only $65 (versus a $125 regular NYC region membership price) for one full year!

As an HOLA Regional Member, you'll be entitled to the following member benefits:

• Your headshot, resume, reel and voiceover demo*  showcased on the HOLA Pages, the internet's only concentrated source of Latino acting talent. The directory is a trusted resource for casting directors, producers and talent agents receiving, on average, over 5,000 visits per month. (* There is an additional charge of $15 for adding your voiceover demo.)

• Your performances listed and promoted via HOLA's website and social media pages (Facebook and Twitter) that reaches thousands of people in the entertainment industry.

• Casting notices that will alert you to employment opportunities tailored to the Latino actor.

• Advocacy to combat stereotypes of the Latino/Hispanic community in media and entertainment as well as the opportunity to join in solidarity with the Latino/Hispanic acting community.


Application for regional memberships accepted by telephone order only. Call HOLA toll-free at (888) 524-HOLA or (888) 524-4652. (VISA, MasterCard and American Express accepted.) Please submit your headshot (in .jpg format) and resume in a Word document or in Portable Data Format (.doc or .docx; or .pdf) via e-mail to HOLA.

Why Join HOLA? Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About HOLA

WHY JOIN HOLA?

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is HOLA an agency or management company?

No. While we work similarly to an agency or an artist management company, we do a lot more. In essence, HOLA is a membership organization, a not-for-profit arts service and advocacy organization that offers jobs and casting opportunities, workshops and seminars and special events to its membership.

• Does one have to audition for HOLA?

No. HOLA is a membership organization. Just pay the annual membership and you become an HOLA member.

• I am a new actor. Does HOLA apply to me and how so? (Or conversely, I have a fair amount of experience. How does HOLA apply to me?)

HOLA members range from the beginner to the established and everywhere in between. HOLA will apply to you at every stage of your career.

• Do I have to speak Spanish (or Portuguese) to be an HOLA member?

No. HOLA members speak English only, Spanish only, or both languages fluently. Our Brazilian members speak Portuguese as well as English. There is no requirement for any member to speak Spanish (or Portuguese) to be an HOLA member.

• What kind of casting notices do you receive?

HOLA receives all kinds of casting notices— from union and nonunion, through the disciplines of film, television, theater and voiceover. The majority of our notices are distributed to our membership. There are some instances, whether because of short notice or because of the search for something very specific, that HOLA makes referrals to certain talent.

• I have signed representation. Would that be in conflict with HOLA?

No. In fact, we would put your signed representative’s name and number on your online profile. It would be another way to promote yourself without conflict.

• If I book a job through HOLA, do I owe you a commission?

No. We are not an agency or artist management company. You are under no obligation to give us a commission. (But if you want to show your appreciation with a donation, we’ll be forced to take it, I suppose.)

• I am in the process of getting my citizenship. Could I still join HOLA?

Yes. As long as you can legally work in the U.S., you can join HOLA.

• Does HOLA have a social media presence?

Yes. We are on Facebook, Twitter and have our own channel on YouTube. In addition, we are on Wikipedia and have our own blog, titled El Blog de HOLA.

• What if I am not an actor but I like what you do?

You could support HOLA by becoming a Friend of HOLA and donating to the organization. If you are a producer or director, a Friend of HOLA donation allow us to promote your productions!

All About Becoming an HOLA Member or a Friend of HOLA

Wanna be an HOLA member? Wanna know more about HOLA first?

HOLA is a not-for-profit arts service and advocacy organization founded in 1975.

HOLA members get their headshots and resumes on our web directory. In addition, HOLA receives casting notices from various sources that we pass on to our members (or in specific cases, help refer actors to the casting director).

HOLA offers low-cost workshops and seminars, professional counseling, special events and networking activities. We also produce the HOLA Awards which honor outstanding achievement by Latinos in entertainment.

HOLA has a Facebook page and a Twitter page in addition to this blog (imaginatively titled El Blog De HOLA). Whenever a member is doing a project, we can promote via e-mails we send out, through our Members in Performance page on the website or in El Blog on our HOLA Member Bochinche column (only good bochinche, never bad bochinche). It functions as another outlet to promote your work. HOLA is also on YouTube and on Wikipedia.

What if you are not an actor? You can support HOLA by being a Friend of HOLA. For more information, click here.

To become an HOLA member online (New York metropolitan area), fill out the member application form here.

Horatio Sanz and Fred Armisen Are Creating Más Mejor – A Digital Hub for Latino Comedy

Fred Armisen and Horatio Sanz.

The Hispanic population is the fastest-growing segment in the United States, accounting for 17 percent of the U.S. population, according to 2014 census estimates. Despite the fact that there are 55 million Latinos, however, the amount of original content targeting the demographic is lagging. And comedy is one of the largest gaps, especially within the digital space. "There is no real hub for high-quality Latino comedy," noted "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Horatio Sanz. Along with former castmate and "Portlandia" star Fred Armisen, Sanz has signed on to groom emerging Latino comics for a new venture from Broadway Video, SNL creator Lorne Michaels' production outfit.

Broadway Video plans to launch Más Mejor ("More Better") on Monday, January 11, 2016, with talent that so far includes sketch comedy troupe Room 28 and stand-up comic Gina Brillón, who in June performed on NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers".

Más Mejor will target young millennial Latinos, who increasingly are moving away from watching traditional TV. "They're much more digitally savvy than your average non-Latino," noted Britta von Schoeler, who will head up Más Mejor while remaining president of Broadway Video Enterprises, the production company's distribution and licensing arm.

For more information, read the Tim Baysinger article in Ad Week by clicking here.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Awarded "Genius Grant" by the MacArthur Foundation

MacArthur Fellow
Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Photo by Eric Ogden for Billboard.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of the hit Broadway musicals In The Heights and Hamilton, has been awarded a prestigious Genius Grant by the MacArthur Foundation.

A composer, lyricist and performer, Miranda was recognized for "reimagining American musical theater in works that fuse traditional storytelling with contemporary musical styles and voices."

The MacArthur Fellows Program, MacArthur Fellowship, or "Genius Grant" is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 40 individuals, working in any field, who "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work and are citizens or residents of the United States.

According to the Foundation's website, "the fellowship is not a reward for past accomplishment, but rather an investment in a person's originality, insight, and potential." The current prize is $625,000 paid over five years in quarterly installments. This figure was increased from $500,000 in 2013 with the release of a review of the MacArthur Fellows Program. The award has been called "one of the most significant awards that is truly 'no strings attached.'"

Miranda joins an illustrious list of MacArthur Fellows including cultural anthropologist Alfonso Ortiz; historian Ramón A. Gutiérrez; community organizer Ernesto J. Cortés, Jr.; community developer Hipólito (Paul) Roldán; farm labor leader Baldemar Velásquez; community development leader María Varela, human rights lawyer José Zalaquett; writer and artist Guillermo Gómez Peña; artist and cultural critic Amalia Mesa-Bains; physician Pedro Greer; radio producer Hugo Morales; writer and poet Sandra Cisneros; journalist Alma Guillermoprieto; voting rights advocate Joaquín Ávila; writer and performance artist Luis Alfaro; physicist Juan Maldacena; artist Pepón Osorio; photographer Alfredo Jaar; civil rights policy advocate Cecilia Muñoz; poet Lucía M. Perrillo; artist Íñigo Manglano Ovalle; photographer Camilo José Vergara; archaeologist Guillermo Algaze; composer Osvaldo Golijov; agronomist Pedro A. Sánchez; businessman and activist Rueben Martínez; sculptor Teresita Fernández; theoretical chemist Todd Martínez; computer scientist Luis van Ahn; cosmologist Matías Zaldarriaga; forensic anthropologist Mercedes Doretti; saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenón; choral conductor and composer Francisco Núñez; jazz percussionist and composer Dafnis Prieto; fiction writer Junot Díaz; and community leader Juan Salgado.

For more information, click here or here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

E3Outlaws Productions, and its producer, Enmanuel García Villavicencio, are presenting its third annual eARTh Theater Festival/Lorca Al Desnudo. This year's festival, a tribute to the life and work of Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca, will take place in October in the Teatro Rafael Villalona at the Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en EEUU, located in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood. A listing of the productions is below (HOLA members are listed in boldface.)

• Lorca vive
Produced by E3Outlaws Productions
Text by Federico García Lorca
Adapted and directed by Enmanuel García Villavicencio
With María Cotto, Caridad del Valle, Fabio Espinosa, Alexandra Manzano, Jei Osorio

• Yerma 
Produced by ArtSpoken Performing Arts Center
Based on the play of the same name by Federico García Lorca
Adapted and directed by 2015 HOLA Awards recipient Yoshvani Medina
With Maritza Lazcano

• Genios: Lorca y Dalí
Produced by Teatro del Aire
Written by 2015 HOLA Awards recipient Julie de Grandy
Directed by 2015 HOLA Awards recipient George Riverón
With 2015 HOLA Awards recipient George Riverón and Sergio Freijo

• Fuego en Granada
Produced by Group of the Arts (GOTA)
Written by Tomás Urtusástegui
Adapted and directed by J. Edgar Mozoub
With Paul Montoya, Samuel Garnica, Telba Cavero, Yvette Quintero, Sergio Freijo

• Elenita
Produced by Teatro Experimental Blue Amigos (TEBA)
Text by Federico García Lorca
Adapted by 2015 HOLA Awards recipient Héctor Luis Rivera
Directed by Raúl Rivera
With Lorendy Rosario, Digna Carvajal, Yanet Betances, Ana Lorena Mejía, Edú, Amado Marte, Sebastián Estrada

• La casa clown de Bernarda Alba
Produced by Barraca Teatro
Text by Federico García Lorca
Adapted and directed by Daniel Galeano Rojas
With Daniel Galeano Rojas, et al.

For more information, including dates and times of performances, click here, here or here (note that the latter two links are in Spanish).

If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so, by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?

HOLA Member Bochinche

Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

2015 HOLA Awards recipient Pablo Andrade, shown at right, is currently filming the short film The X Job (written and directed by Gerard Méndez).

Rhina Valentín will perform in the solo show Freestyle Friday. Written by Valentín and Andrés Chulisi Rodríguez and directed by Rodríguez, it will be presented at Monique's Lounge 108, located in Manhattan's El Barrio neighborhood. For more information, click here or here.

Vivienne Jurado, shown at left, booked a co-starring role in the upcoming NBC television series "Shades of Blue" (starring Jennifer López, Ray Liotta and Drea de Matteo).

Marcos Sotomayor will guest star on an upcoming webisode of season 3 of the webseries "Black Actress" (created and written by Andrea Lewis and produced by Issa Rae).

Joel Luna and Milu Film Studios will produce and film the short film Impacto (written and directed by Luna). Production is scheduled to begin in November in New York City. Casting has not yet been announced.

If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so, by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?

Latinos in the U.S. Really Need a Viola Davis

[Emmy Award winner Viola] Davis has deservedly been championed across the press and social media for her speech, which went on to cite the trailblazing work of other black actresses and industry figures who she says redefined what it means “to be a leading woman, to be black.” 

As challenging as it is for black [African American] women to find roles, there’s another group of women her words apply to who are even less visible on television. While black women accounted for 13% of female characters on prime-time television this year, Latinas made up just 4%, according to a report by the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film. 

Yet Latinos are actually the largest minority group in the U.S., accounting for about 17% of the population, compared to 13% for black Americans.

These statistics don’t diminish Davis’s point. Black women most certainly are still underrepresented, as are other minorities. Women overall get only 40% of speaking roles on all broadcast, cable, and Netflix programs, according to the report. So although the proportion of black female characters looks like it matches the percentage of the U.S. population that’s black, black women (and all women) are starting at a disadvantage because overall they have a smaller piece of the pie. –Marc Bain, Quartz

Read more in Marc Bain's blog in Quartz by clicking here. 

HOLA Member Bochinche

Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

Danisarte is presenting Soliluna, a musical, bilingual interactive series of folktales from the five continents. Created and directed by Alicia Kaplan (with technical direction by Hernán Acuña), the show features an all-HOLA member cast, Inma Heredia and 2015 HOLA Awards recipient Luis Galli. The production will take place in October at La Nacional, located in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. For more information, click here. [Clockwise from top left: Heredia, Galli, Kaplan.]

Éric-Dominique Pérez booked a role in the TLC television show "Suddenly Rich".

Víctor Cruz, shown at left, and April Hernández-Castillo were interviewed by Latina magazine where they spoke about the feature film The Stockroom, in which they both star. The feature film, also starring Luis Antonio Ramos, Iván Camilo, Tracy Pérez and Liza Colón-Zayas, was also written, produced and directed by Cruz (and co-produced by Elaine Del Valle). It is an official selection of the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York City (with a screening on Friday, September 25, 2015). To see the blog (including the video interview), click here. For more information on the Urbanworld screening (including how to buy tickets), click here.

Velvet Mafia Productions and its producer, Francisco Fuertes, are pleased to announce that its short film Yo, la peor de todas was accepted into the St. Lawrence International Film Festival, scheduled to take place in October in four cities– Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and Brockville, Ontario, Canada; Canton, New York, USA, and Potsdam, New York, USA (all of these cities are on or near the St. Lawrence River, which borders both countries). Written and directed by Francisco Lupini Basagoiti, the film stars Carmen Cabrera. For more information, click here and here. 

Emilio Delgado and Sonia Manzano appeared on an episode of the radio program "Ask Me Another" (NPR), where they talk of their stint on "Sesame Street" as Luis and María (PBS), as well as sing a song together. To listen to the radio interview, click on the image below.

If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so, by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?

HOLA Member Bochinche

Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

Samuel Garnica, shown at right, co-starred in July in the zarzuela El laurel del Apolo. Written by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, with original music by Marios Aristopoulos, it was directed by Estefanía Fadul as part of the theater's Van Lier Directors Fellowship and featured Carmen Cabrera, Gerardo Gudiño, 2015 HOLA Awards recipient Franco González, and Inma Heredia. The production took place at Repertorio's namesake theater in Manhattan's Rose Hill neighborhood. He is following this up with a role in Fuego en Granada. Written by Tomás Urtusástegui, it is adapted and directed by J. Edgar Mozoub, and will be presented in October as part of the Lorca Al Desnudo III/eARTh Theater Festival at the Teatro Rafael Villalona, located at the Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en EEUU in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. The production will also star Paul Montoya and Telba Cavero.

Kathy Tejada, shown at left, will star in Amores jíbaros, a double bill of plays by Myrna Lluch (Un jíbaro con melao and Siña Cocó la hechicera). Directed by 2015 HOLA Awards recipient Héctor Luis Rivera (also see below), it will be presented by TEBA as part of the En Un Acto Theater & Film Festival, scheduled to take place at the Broadway Blackbox Theater, located in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood. The production also stars Kevin Pérez, Edú, and Erika Reyes. For more information, read the Arte NY blog about the production by clicking here (note that the link is in Spanish).

2015 HOLA Awards recipient Héctor Luis Rivera (also see above and below) is acting in the short film Dondequiera que vayas (written and directed by Danilo Arroyo).

Billy Martin Mejía, shown at right, was profiled in the blog Héctor Luis Sin Censura (edited by 2015 HOLA Awards recipient Héctor Luis Rivera, also see above) and the Arte NY blog, where the upcoming Otro Teatro NY production of La danza de Mingó (which Mejía is directing) is mentioned. Written by Haffe Serrulle, the play is based on the life of Dominican activist Florinda Muñoz Soriano (also known as Mamá Tingó), and star Angie Regina, Francis Mateo and Maité Bonilla. The production will premiere in September (with a later run in November) at El Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en EEUU, located in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood. The production will star Angie Regina, Francis Mateo and Maité Bonilla. To read the blogs, which are in Spanish, click here and here.

Eduardo Ramos, shown at left, was featured in a photo series by photographer Ysa Pérez that were published in GQ Magazine. To see the photo series, click here or here.

Francisco Fuertes is co-starring in and co-produced the short film Tú. Yo. Baño. Sexo. Ahora. (You. Me. Bathroom. Sex. Now.) Written and directed by Francisco Lupini Basagoiti, the film has been hitting the international film festival circuit hard, winning several awards along the way. It has been selected as a Festival Favorite by the audiences at the Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ Festival in Palm Springs, California. For more information, click here.

Marcos Sotomayor, shown at right, has been busy as of late. He has recurring roles in the webseries "Whatever It Takes" (created, written and produced by Johanna Tolentino), and "Bunny and Tai" (created, co-written, and executive produced by Taína Elena Hernández). He also has a lead role in the short film Cleared (written and directed by Gilberto Flores). Finally, he acted in a webisode of the Comedy High webseries "Shlongologues". He also works as a producer and director of photography. For more information on all things Sotomayor, click here. To see a webisode of "Bunny and Tai" with Sotomayor, click on the video below.



If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so, by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?