Meet the Masters of Ceremonies of the 2015 HOLA Awards – JAVIER E. GÓMEZ and MÔNICA STEUER

Javier E. Gómez is an award-winning actor, producer and journalist based in New York.  He has a Bachelor’s Degree in broadcast journalism from the City College of New York, a Master’s Degree in business journalism from Baruch College, and a Conservatory Degree in Meisner acting from the William Esper Studio.

He is currently the host of "Diálogo Abierto", the Spanish-language news and talk show on BronxNet TV.  He just completed principal photography for Don’t Look, a new horror feature film directed by Luciana Faulhaber.  He is a co-executive producer of the project, and a co-founder of Enuff Productions, a film company established to nurture the work of multicultural artists. In 2011, he was also a co-producer of the Broadway revival of Godspell.

As an actor, he appeared Off-Broadway in the Sonia Manzano (of “Sesame Street” fame) musical No Dogs Allowed, at the Atlantic Theatre. Other New York stage credits include Día de Los Muertos, The Smell of Popcorn, My Favorite Year, Apathy: The Gen X Musical, Measure for Measure, The Rocky Horror Show, Passion and Threepenny Opera. Spanish-language stage work includes work at IATI, Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, Teatro Círculo, Repertorio Español and Danisarte.  On television, Javier had a recurring role in “Psychosis”, a Sunday primetime series directed by Sonia Valentín for Telemundo.

Paralleled to his acting work, he has worked as a journalist with El Diario/La Prensa, Pie Derecho Magazine, El Nuevo Día Newspaper, and Reuter’s Dollars and Sense Magazine, among other outlets. He also served as Press Officer for Governor George E. Pataki, NY State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, and Bronx Borough Presidents Fernando Ferrer and Adolfo Carrión.  In addition, he served as Communications Director for the Latino International Theater Festival of New York (TeatroStageFest) and the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.

Winner of four National Hispanic Publications’ Print Award for outstanding reporting while at El Diario, Javier is the founder of High Pitch, a public relations firm specialized in Hispanic Media, Latino community/public affairs, government, political campaigns, special events, and not-for-profit organizations. Strongly committed to public service and community work, he often volunteers his time to different cultural and educational organizations. In 2010 he received the Excellence in Community Service Award, granted by Comité Noviembre. For more information, click here.

Mônica Steuer is an internationally renowned actress who has worked in several countries including the USA, Mexico, Scotland, Peru and Puerto Rico. Extremely versatile, she has been cast as American, German, French and Latin American as well as in nondescript roles. She graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC, receiving the Charles Jehlinger Award for Best Actress and the Grace Kelly scholarship.

In the USA, her stage work includes plays from such well-know authors as Christopher Marlowe, Calderón de la Barca, Anton Chekhov, Federico García Lorca, George Bernard Shaw and Nelson Rodríguez; among many others.

On film, she has shared the screen with Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Leguizamo, Harvey Keitel and most recently with Gina Rodríguez, Ana Ortiz and Lin-Manuel Miranda, where she had the pleasure to co-star alongside with him.

Her leading role in the award winning comedy Destiny Has No Favorites, shot in Peru, earned her the Golden Paoa Award for Best Actress at the Viña del Mar International Film festival in Chile. Destiny was screened in several film festivals around the world, including the acclaimed Cannes Film Festival in France.

Shut Up and Do it! and The Position, films where she also played the female lead, both earned best film awards. The first was elected Best Indie Film by the American Latino TV Awards and the latter won ‘Best Short’ at The Big Apple Film Festival.

On television, she has guest-starred on "Law & Order: SVU" alongside Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni and she was a series regular on the webseries "Haute & Bothered" on teen.com.

As a voiceover artist she has been extremely successful. Fluent in English, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and basic French, she has recorded numerous commercials, industrials, audiobooks and educational tapes, as well as having done looping and dubbing for many different types of media. She can always be heard on the radio and on TV in a variety of spots and for the past 9 years she has been the voice for Macy's in Spanish.

When she is not working, she enjoys traveling, nature, outdoor activities such as hiking and playing volleyball, and she is a fierce ping pong player as well! She appreciates the company of family and friends and she is a huge animal lover and advocate.

Mônica has been the recipient of several awards (including HOLA Awards) both for her stage and film work and she also holds a B.A. in Psychology from the United States International University where she graduated magna cum laude. For more information, click here.


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.