Meet the Honorees of the 2016 HOLA Awards: MODESTO LACÉN

A native of Loíza, Puerto Rico, Modesto Lacén has been acting for the past 23 years on film, television, theater and radio in Puerto Rico, United States and Colombia. From elementary school to his receipt of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Puerto Rico, Modesto committed himself to his pursuit of creative expression and a lifelong career in the performing arts. Understanding the value of academic education, he graduated magna cum laude and fluently speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese. His training includes the Public Theater, Circle in the Square and NYU's School of Continuing Studies, from which he obtained a Certificate in Arts Administration.

He’s worked more in the silver screen than any actor of his generation, with over 30 films under his belt. Some of his film credits are; Animal, alongside Terrence Howard; Back in the Day (also working as acting coach for actor/rapper Ja Rule); Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights; and the upcoming Puerto Rican movies Sol de medianoche, El Chata, Dos caminos and Prótesis. Recently he just wrote and directed his first short film That Smell of Pork Roast, expected to hit the film festival circuit in 2017. His TV credits include roles in "Second Honeymoon" for CBS alongside Roma Downey and Tim Matheson; "Kidnapped in Paradise" for Universal TV, and most recent the international hit telenovelas "Celia" and "The White Slave". "Celia", the biopic of the late salsa singer Celia Cruz, was shot in Colombia in 2014 and since its premiere in Telemundo US has been the #1 show on every country in Latin America, currently airing in Panamá, Mexico and for a second time in Puerto Rico. Modesto played the lead and inseparable companion of Celia Cruz, Pedro Knight. Likewise, "The White Slave", a love story set in 1820s Colombia has been the biggest success Caracol TV has ever had. Airing all over Latin America, recently premiered in Spain and Russia and could also be seen in Netflix. Modesto played Tomás, a series regular and father of Victoria, the lead role played by Nerea Camacho (also the youngest Goya Award winner in history).

His work on stage is also extensive and most recently includes Celia: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz, the smash Off-Broadway musical on which he originated the role of Pedro Knight. The show won stellar reviews and accolades from critics, theater community and celebrities such as Madonna, Paul Simon, Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, Jimmy Smitts, Luis Guzmán, LaChanze, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Omer Pardillo, La India and Gilberto Santa Rosa, to name a few. The international tour included New York, Miami, Canary Islands and Chicago; La Barbería, the Off-Broadway comedy about a Dominican barbershop in Washington Heights (HOLA Award); DC-7: The Life of Roberto Clemente, the award-winning musical about the life of the late Puerto Rican baseball player (ACE and ATI Award - Best Actor) presented in NYC, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC; this play was renamed Clemente: The Legend of 21, and was presented in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Other credits include Sophy a Raphael... Hasta siempre mis jibaritos, Barceló con hielo, Infinito Enquanto Dure, Hamlet, The Boys in the Band, Medea, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Godspell, Blue Surge, A Serpente, A Flea in Her Ear, Ser o no Cer…vantes (HOLA Award), Réquiem por Yarini (HOLA Award) and  ...Gardel. Founder of the multidisciplinary company Artocarpus, Inc., its first project due in 2017 will be the play Checkmate by Rafael Albarrán.

Modesto Lacén will receive the HOLA Excellence in the Telenovela Genre Award at the 2016 HOLA Awards on Wednesday, November 2, 2016. For more information, click here.