Meet the Honorees of the 2015 HOLA Awards: ANDY GARCÍA

Andy García (HOLA Lifetime Achievement Award) is one of Hollywood's most private and guarded leading men. As such he has created a few iconic characters while at the same time staying true to his acting roots and personal projects.

He was born on April 12, 1956, in Havana, Cuba, to Amelie Menéndez, a teacher of English, and René García Núñez, an attorney and avocado farmer. His family was relatively affluent. However, when he was two years old, Fidel Castro came to power, and the family fled to Miami Beach. Forced to work menial jobs for a while, the family started a fragrance company that was eventually worth more than a million dollars. He attended Natilus Junior High School and later at Miami Beach Senior High School. Andy was a popular student in school, a good basketball player and good-looking. He dreamed of playing professional baseball. In his senior year, though, he contracted mononucleosis and hepatitis, and unable to play sports, he turned his attention to acting.

He studied acting with Jay W. Jensen.  Following his positive high school experiences in acting, he continued his drama studies at Florida International University.

Soon, he was headed out to Hollywood. His first break came as a gang member on the very first episode of the popular TV series "Hill Street Blues" (1981). His credits include 8 Million Ways to Die (1986), The Untouchables (1987), Black Rain (1989), with Richard Gere in Internal Affairs (1990), The Godfather: Part III (1990). His performance in this last film earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and secured him international stardom and a place in cinematic history. Now a leading man, he starred in such films as Jennifer 8 (1992), Hero (1992), When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), Night Falls on Manhattan (1996), Desperate Measures (1998), Ocean's Eleven (2001), and his portrayal of renowned Cuban trumpet player Arturo Sandoval in "For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story" (2000).

[Mr. García will accept his 2015 HOLA Award via video.]

The 2015 HOLA Awards will be on Monday, October 12, 2015 at the Battery Gardens, in Battery Park at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, in New York City.