El Blog de HOLA

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-02-10T14:50:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Marco Antonio Rodríguez, shown at left, was inducted into Latino Leaders Magazine's list of "Dallas's 25 Top Young Latino Leaders of the Future."

Ayanery Reyes, shown below at right, e-mailed us to let us know that HOLA is still working for her even though she has recently moved to Los Angeles. She booked a role in the play Not One More Foot of Land after seeing the casting notice in the daily e-mail announcements HOLA sends out to its members. The play is written by Art Shulman and directed by Kristina Lloyd. It will have its world premiere for a February and March run at The Secret Rose Theatre in the NoHo Arts District of North Hollywood, California. For more information, click here.

In addition to his acting gigs (in the plays The Stranger to Kindness at The Kraine Theater in Manhattan's East Village in February and March and All About Meat (The Garcías) at the Duo Multicultural Arts Center in Manhattan's East Village, respectively), Antonio Miniño will be directing Riti Sachdeva's Scene/Unseen as part of the Planet Connections Festival. This production will have a June run at the 45 Bleecker Theater in Manhattan's NoHo neighborhood. For more information, click here.

Ellie Diez and Carlos Alberto Valencia are among the actors in Downsizing: The Ten-Minute Play Project. With original works by José Casado, Patricia Janvier, Adrian Kelterborn, Jon Lonoff, Jason Lucere, Karen Odyniec, Rebecca J. Roe, Lally Ross and Marcin Stawarz, the short plays are directed by Marco Aiello, José Casado, Christine Cirker, Michael H. Johnson, Adrian Kelterborn, David Kester, Natashe Nussberg, Kim Spurlock, Marcin Stawarz and Yaara Sumeruk. The production, presented by Our Workshop East, will have a March run at The Barrow Group's Mainstage Theatre, located in the theater district of midtown Manhattan.

Lorraine Rodríguez will soon be seen acting in the ABC's hidden camera, ethical dilemma series "What Do You Do?" with host John Quiñones.

Caridad De La Luz (also known by her nom de poésie La Bruja) is the featured poet at the Nuyorican Poets' Café for Friday, February 10, 2012, where she is set to perform a set of her work at the famed spot, located in Manhattan's Loísaida neighborhood.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Latina Journalists Navigate Sexuality And Professionalism

2012-02-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

Check out this article by Cristina Constantini of the Huffington Post which highlights the difference Latina journalists have to employ when working for the Latino and mainstream American markets, respectively, by clicking here.

(Pictured, journalist Lilia Luciano when she worked at Univisión, above at left, and at her current job with NBC News, above at right.)

From Voxxi: The Afro-Latino experience in the United States

2012-02-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

Check out this article by Rosalba Ruiz of Voxxi regarding the Afro-Latino experience in the United States of America by clicking here.

John Leguizamo Signs Development Deal With ABC For Sitcom Based On His Life In NYC

2012-02-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

Check out this article in the Huffington Post about the new development deal between John Leguizamo, shown at right, and ABC for a new single-camera sitcom by clicking here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-02-09T13:49:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Manuel Herrera, shown at left, along with Janny Landaverde, are hosting a radio program called "Acceso Directo." The entertainment news program will air Saturdays at noon Eastern time (9am Pacific time) at the internet radio station Radio Nación Latina. To tune in, go to their website here.

Luis Salgado is one of the investors of Peter and the Starcatcher. The acclaimed new American play is written by Tony Award nominee Rick Elice and will be directed by Tony Award winner Roger Rees and Drama Desk Award winner and Tony Award nominee Alex Timbers. Preview performances on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre begin Wednesday, March 28, 2012, with an official opening night slated for Sunday, April 15, 2012. For more information, click here or here. In the video below, get a behind-the-scenes look into the workshop of wood artisan John Long as he handcrafts the logo art for the show. For more information about the production, click here.

Emmanuelle Bordas will be singing in the musical revue Jukebox Part Deux: the 70’s. Produced by Jazz Vox, directed by Cilla Owens and accompanied by a five-piece band, the revue will take place Friday, February 10, 2012 at 9pm at the famed cabaret Don’t Tell Mama, located on Restaurant Row in the theater district of midtown Manhattan. For more information, click here.

"María Montez" is appearing live in the aptly named show María Montez LIVE. The show will feature an interview the former Queen of Technicolor by Walter Bárbaro and appearances by her sisters Teresita Montez and Ada Consuelo Montez, her publicist Chic Hazzard and others. Some of the people slated to appear include Dalia Davi, A.B. Lugo, Douglas Santiago, Robmariel Olea and Inés García (some of whom may or may not appear). María Montez LIVE will have a February run at the Teatro Bar Times Square in the Roy Arias Studios in the theater district of midtown Manhattan. For more information, click here.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

New NHFA Study: Latinos Missing in Action on Sunday Morning Network News Shows

2012-02-07T15:03:00.000-08:00

Check out this article in Latin Heat about a new study from the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (NHFA), which states that there is a dearth of Latino representation on the Sunday morning network news and politics programming by clicking here.

The National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (NHFA) is a not-for-profit organization was founded in 1997 by actors Esaí Morales (also an honorary HOLA member), Sonia Braga, Jimmy Smits (also an honorary HOLA member), Merel Juliá (also an HOLA Advisory Board member) and attorney Félix Sánchez to promote Latinos both in front of and behind the camera.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-02-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

José Roldán, Jr., shown at left, was cast in an educational video for Motion Inc. after the casting director spotted his profile on the HOLA online directory and called him in to audition. In addition, he is in pre-production for the short Infected. Written, directed and co-starring Roldán, the film will also star Jorge Álvarez and Jennifer Fernández.

J.F. Seary is performing some of her poetry at Club J'Adore in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood at a fundraiser for Sigma Lambda Upsilon LADYS (Leadership, Advancement, and Development of our Young Sisters) mentorship program. For more information on the program and the sorority itself, click here.

Vidal Silva Gil e-mailed us to let us know booked a trio of gigs. First, he closed out 2011 by acting in a promo commercial for Verizon. He then started 2012 off with a voiceover for José Cuervo and a role in a NYU student film.

Dennis Brito starred in the film The Ideal. Directed by Wes Tomasz Cieśla and written by Rivka Rappoport, the film also starred Iván Pérez and Kristen Brancaccio and had its NYC screening debut at Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan's East Village.

Caridad De La Luz (also known by her nom de poésie La Bruja) will have a concert in Mi Gente Café, located in the Castle Hill neighborhood of the Bronx. For more information, click here.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Why Join HOLA? Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

2012-02-02T14:11:00.000-08:00

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 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?

HOLA member 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 HOLA (Becoming an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA)

2012-02-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

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, fill out the member application form here.

To become a Friend of HOLA, click here.

If you have any more questions, check out our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page by clicking here.

We like to think of HOLA as "la comunidad del actor latino." We would love for you to be part of that community.

Become an HOLA member.
Become a Friend of HOLA.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-02-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Robmariel Olea, shown at left, was interviewed for the Dominican Republic-based online magazine En Segundos (www.ensegundos.net). To read the interview (which is in Spanish), click here.

Raoul Bretón and Marina Durell booked a on-camera national commercial for Church's Chicken.

Mike Smith Rivera will act in Youngblood's Brunchback Mountain. A series of five brand new short non-heteronormative plays written by Alex Borinsky, Angela Hanks, Patrick Link, Tony Meneses and Emily Chadwick Weiss, respectively, they will be directed by Jeremy Bloom, Nick Leavens, Colette Roberts, R.J. Tolan and Mark Armstrong, respectively. The show is set for a February run at the Ensemble Studio Theater, located in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. For more information, click here. In addition, he is associate producing Eddie Antar's play The Navigator. Directed by Leslie Kincaid Burby, the production stars Kelly Anne Burns, Joseph Franchini, Michael Gnat and Nicole Taylor and is scheduled for a February and March run in the Mainstage Theater of the WorkShop Theater Company located in the theater district of midtown Manhattan. For more information, click here or watch the teaser trailer below.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

AFTRA Sound Recording Agreement Ratified

2012-01-31T14:37:00.000-08:00

Check out this article by Jonathan Handel in The Hollywood Reporter regarding the ratification of a sound recording agreement with the major music labels by clicking here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-30T12:07:00.001-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Yanelba Ferreira just shot the trailer for the film short For Granted. Written by Gabe Wilkenshaw and directed by Brad Rego, the project also starred Ant Grant and Michael Galante. For more information, click here. In addition, she booked an episode of the webseries "New York Minute." Written, directed and produced by Cyril Mahé, it also stars Gustavo Azael Torres, Lane Kwederis, Cat Peña, Ziad Tayeh, Vincent Zapicchi and John Zion.

Rodney Roldán reports work on the television series "Damages" (FX).

Mike Smith Rivera booked voiceover work on "Dora the Explorer" (Nickelodeon).

Suni Reyes has just become and improvisation house team member of The People's Improv Theater (The PIT), located in the Rose Hill section of Manhattan. For more information, about The PIT, click here.

Gilbert Cruz booked a commercial for John Hancock Financial.

Marcelo Rodríguez (also known as Marcelo "El Guapo" Rodríguez) can be seen, alongside Carlos Cabrera and Hugo Savinovich, as a commentator for the Spanish-language versions of the wrestling programs "RAW," "Friday Night SmackDown" and "ECW Wrestling" on various television networks. All are productions of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

SAG-AFTRA Merger Means Tougher Admissions, Potentially Costlier Membership

2012-01-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

The respective national boards of directors of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) have agreed to merge, subject to an agreeing vote from the memberships of both unions.

What happens once the two unions (to be collectively called SAG-AFTRA) merge? Check out this article by Jonathan Handel of The Hollywood Reporter to find out more by clicking here.

AFTRA Board Says Yes To Merger With SAG

2012-01-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. (Jan. 28, 2012) – The National Board of Directors of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, AFL-CIO – a national union of more than 70,000 actors, broadcasters, singers, dancers, recording artist and other performers who work across the spectrum of media industries including television, radio, cable, sound recordings and digital media – today voted overwhelmingly to approve and recommend to the AFTRA membership a plan to merge with Screen Actors Guild.

The National Board met in a regularly scheduled meeting via videoconference in New York and Los Angeles to vote on the merger package put forward by the AFTRA and SAG Group for One Union (G1), which includes a Merger Agreement, Constitution and Dues Structure.

The vote was 94%-6% in favor.

The AFTRA National Board’s resolution will provide for the referendum material to be mailed to AFTRA members on or about Feb. 27, 2012, with a ballot return and tabulation deadline of March 30, 2012.

This time frame was created to avoid interfering with the ratification period for AFTRA members to vote on the tentative agreement for the AFTRA Network Television Code (“Front of the Book”) – the union’s largest contract that covers programming in all television day parts (except for scripted primetime programs on the major networks and the CW, which are covered under the AFTRA Exhibit A contract) and programming produced for digital media.

The AFTRA National Board unanimously voted to recommend the terms of the 2011-2014 Network Television Code agreement to AFTRA members for ratification. Ballots on the Network Television Code will go out on Monday, Jan. 30 with a return date of Feb. 22.

The Merger package outlines the merger plan, dues and finance structure, membership requirements and other basic attributes of the successor union, including the proposed name for the new union, which is SAG-AFTRA.

“I applaud the AFTRA National Board for their overwhelming approval of this historic merger package. The partnership we formed on the G1 was one of collegiality and consensus that went into laying the foundation for a new union. This plan embodies the thoughtful work and valuable perspectives from large and small markets across the nation of many working actors, broadcast professionals, recording artists and other performers who all worked together in solidarity through the G1,” said AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon. “I thank the G1 for their good work, and the National Boards for their approval and we will now present this plan to the members of AFTRA and SAG for their review and approval.

“We now have the opportunity to finally stand united through one union to secure more union work and better benefits for our members, and for the generations of entertainment and media professionals who follow us," she added.

On Friday, the SAG National Board of Directors overwhelmingly approved the same merger package with a vote of 87.1% - 12.9%. With AFTRA’s vote, a referendum will be sent out for a vote by members of both unions.

In voting for the package, AFTRA National Board members passed a resolution that read, in part:

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Board, in accordance with its authority under AFTRA’s Constitution, approves the merger documents and the merger of AFTRA and SAG into SAG-AFTRA, a unified, powerful union committed to organizing all work in our jurisdictions, negotiating the best wages, working conditions and health and pension benefits, preserving and expanding our members’ work opportunities, vigorously enforcing our contracts and protecting our members against the unauthorized use of their work; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Article XX of AFTRA’s Constitution is interpreted so as not to apply to a transaction, such as this merger, in which all of AFTRA’s rights, liabilities, contracts and collective bargaining agreements will be assumed, without impairment or interruption, by a successor union; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that AFTRA’s staff is directed to commence a vigorous campaign to educate our members about the benefits this merger in order to secure a resounding “yes” vote in the upcoming membership referendum; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the National Board expresses its deepest gratitude to and commends the members of AFTRA’s New Union Committee and AFTRA’s staff for their herculean efforts and extraordinary work in completing the merger documents and concluding the merger negotiations.

The G1 began meeting in June of 2011 and held a total of five rounds of meetings to create the successor union merger package. The meetings followed an historic Listening Tour conducted by AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon and SAG National President Ken Howard. The G1 voted to approve the merger package on Jan. 16.

Says SAG National President Ken Howard: ”This is a terrific outcome and I offer my sincere thanks and congratulations to AFTRA’s National Board and National President Roberta Reardon. Professional performers are now an important step closer to the strongest union representation possible. Just as our boards have, I believe our members will decisively approve this merger and that SAG-AFTRA will be a leader in shaping the entertainment and media industries.”

The proposed merger is expected to be addressed at tonight’s SAG Awards that will be telecast on TNT.

The AFTRA national board voted unanimously to recommend the terms for ratification. Ballots on the Network Television Code will be sent out Monday with a return date of Feb. 22, Simmons said in a statement.

The Network Television Code contract generates more than $250 million a year in member earnings and covers a variety of media and entertainment professionals, including sportscasters, broadcasters, actors, singers and talk show hosts. Current programs covered by this contract include programs “The Young and the Restless,” “Good Morning America,” “The View,” “The Voice,” "American Idol," “Saturday Night Live,” “Nightline,” “Dancing with the Stars,” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

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Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors Approves Merger Package with AFTRA

2012-01-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. (January 27, 2012) – The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) National Board of Directors today voted overwhelmingly to approve and recommend a plan to merge with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA). The board met in a regularly scheduled plenary meeting in the James Cagney Board Room at the Guild’s Los Angeles headquarters and voted after reviewing a merger package put forward by the SAG and AFTRA Group for One Union (G1) that includes a Merger Agreement and Constitution.

Collectively, these documents outline the plan of merger, dues and finance structure, membership requirements, and other basic attributes of the successor union. The same merger package must now be approved by AFTRA’s National Board of Directors which is scheduled to meet on Jan. 28, to review and vote on the package. Should the AFTRA board approve the merger package as well, a referendum will be sent out for a vote by members of both unions in the coming weeks.

The proposed name for the new union is SAG-AFTRA.

The resolution read:

“It was moved and seconded that the National Board of Directors, on the recommendation of the Merger Task Force, approves the proposed Merger Agreement between Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and further approves the proposed SAG-AFTRA Constitution. The National Board directs that the proposed Constitution and Merger Agreement be submitted for membership approval by mailed ballot referendum, in cooperation with AFTRA. The referendum materials and ballot shall be mailed on or about February 27, 2012, with a ballot return and tabulation deadline of March 30, 2012.”

Approved: 87.1% - 12.9%

The G1 held five rounds of meetings to create the successor union merger package. The meetings, which began in June of 2011, followed an historic Listening Tour conducted by SAG National President Ken Howard and AFTRA National President Roberta Reardon. The G1 finished its work January 16 with a vote approving the merger package debated and approved today by the SAG National Board.

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HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Lin-Manuel Miranda (shown third from left in this production photograph at left by Peter Cunningham), along with Betsy Wolfe, Colin Donnell and Celia Keenan-Bolger, will be seen in the City Center Encores! presentation of Merrily We Roll Along. The musical, based on a play by George Kaufman and Moss Hart, has a revised script by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, will feature famed director James Lapine at the helm, musical direction by Rob Berman, musical staging by Dan Knechtges and orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. The tuner will run in February at City Center in the theater district in midtown Manhattan. For more information, click here.

Robmariel Olea, shown at right, was interviewed for the Dominican Republic newspaper El Nacional. To see the article (in which HOLA also receives a mention), click here.

Modesto Lacén is playing the role of Bertrand Dupont in "Relaciones peligrosas" (Telemundo).

Mauricio Alexander reports work on "Law & Order" (NBC) and that he is filming his followup to his film (co-produced by X-Mas Tequila) titled A Special Holiday Digital Short.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Univision telenovelas with a twist: English subtitles

2012-01-26T10:23:00.000-08:00

Check out this article by Meg James in the Los Angeles Times about Univision's plans to add English-language subtitled closed captioning for their Spanish language telenovelas (soap operas) by clicking here.

Academy Awards Says NO To Puerto Rico/La Academia Hollywoodense Dijo NO a Puerto Rico

2012-01-24T14:29:00.000-08:00

The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences has chosen to exclude movies made in Puerto Rico from competing in the category of Best Foreign Language Film. There has been an understandable outcry in Puerto Rico for this arbitrary change in the rules.

Puerto Rico was nominated in 1990 for Lo que le pasó a Santiago (from Jacobo Morales). The film lost to Italy's Cinema Paradiso.

For more information in English, click here.

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La Academia de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas de Hollywood ha decidido a excluir de ahora y adelante las películas producidas en Puerto Rico para su competencia en la categoría de Mejor Película Extranjera. Ha habido una gran protesta en la Isla por esta decisión tan arbitraria.

Puerto Rico fue nominado en 1990 por Lo que le pasó a Santiago (del director Jacobo Morales), pero perdió a la nominación italiana Cinema Paradiso.

Para más información en español, haz clic aquí.

Latinos and the Oscars

2012-01-24T12:28:00.000-08:00

This year Mexican actor Demián Bichir, shown at left, was nominated for and Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film A Better Life (directed by Chris Weitz, coincidentally also of Mexican heritage). Other Latinos/Hispanics to be nominated for the 2012 Oscars include the Argentine-born and French-raised Bérénice Bejo, pictured above, at right, for Best Supporting Actress in the film The Artist; Spaniards Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, nominated for Best Animated Film for Chico & Rita; Mexican Emmanuel Luebezki, nominated for his cinematography of The Tree of Life; Brazilians Sérgio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown for Best Original Song for their song "Rio" for the film Real in Rio; and Spaniard Alberto Iglesias, nominated for Best Original Score for the American film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Over the 84-year history of the Academy Awards, Oscar nominations have been given to Latino/Hispanics from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay and the United States... and not just in acting.

• For a list of Argentine Academy Award winners and nominees, click here.

• For a list of Brazilian Academy Award winners and nominees, click here.

• For a list of Colombian Academy Award winners and nominees, click here.

• For a list of Mexican Academy Award winners and nominees, click here.

• For a list of Puerto Rican Academy Award winners and nominees, click here. (This list technically includes Joaquin Phoenix, who was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.)

• For a list of Spanish Academy Award winners and nominees, click here.

• For a list of Uruguayan Academy Award winners and nominees, click here.

• For a list of Latino/Hispanic Academy Award winners and nominees from the United States, click here. (This list includes an Mexican-American, an American of Mexican-Czech heritage, an American of Mexican-Basque heritage, a Cuban-American and a Puerto Rican born in Brooklyn.)

The list of Academy Award winners (as of press time) from Latin America and Spain is below.

ARGENTINA
Eugenio Zanetti (art direction); Gustavo Santaolalla [twice] and Luis Enríquez Bacalov (original score); Luis Puenzo and Juan José Campanella (foreign film).

MEXICO
Anthony Quinn (acting) [twice]; Emile Kuri [twice], Brigitte Broch, Eugenio Caballero and Pilar Revuelta (art direction); Robert Amram (short subject and documentary short subject; the first and only time a film was given Oscars in both categories in the same year); Guillermo Navarro (cinematography); Beatrice de Alba (makeup).

PUERTO RICO
José Ferrer, Rita Moreno and Benicio Del Toro (acting).

SPAIN
Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz (acting); Gil Parrondo [twice] and Antonio Mateos (art direction); Néstor Almendros (cinematography); Yvonne Blake and Antonio Castillo (costume design); José Luis Garci, Fernando Trueba, Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Almenábar (foreign film); Pedro Almodóvar (screenplay); David Martí and Montse Ribé (makeup).

Lincoln Art Exchange Announced for Independent Artists Who Cannot Afford Healthcare Costs

2012-01-23T17:58:00.001-08:00

Lin-Manuel Miranda, shown at left, has partnered with Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx to introduce an innovative program that allows artists of all disciplines the opportunity to exchange their creative services for medical care. The program, "Lincoln Art Exchange," is designed to address the growing number of independent and freelance artists who cannot afford to enroll in health insurance plans and have become an at-risk population that lacks access to quality health care. For more information, check out this article by Michael Gioia of Playbill by clicking here.

(Photo credit: Corey Hayes.)

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-23T16:58:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Caridad De La Luz (also known by her nom de poésie et de musique La Bruja) performed her music at The Delancey, located in Manhattan's Loísaida neighborhood. For more information on her and her music, click here.

Robmariel Olea, shown at right, was interviewed for the Dominican Republic newspaper Hoy. To see the article, click here.

Rodney Roldán nabbed a role on "FBI: Criminal Pursuit" (Investigation Discovery).

Emmanuelle Bordas booked a voiceover with Ibero-American for a public service announcement that talks of the dangers of texting while driving.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

News Corp., Partner to Create Spanish-Language Broadcast Network to Rival Univision, Telemundo

2012-01-23T14:33:00.000-08:00

Check out this article by Georg Szalai of The Hollywood Reporter which talks about how Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. wants to challenge U.S. Spanish-language broadcast networks Univision and Telemundo by launching a rival network (called MundoFox and part of Fox International Channels) in partnership with Colombia's RCN Televisión by clicking here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Jeffrey Hernández, shown at left, booked a role on the film short Todo Bien (directed by Eunsun Koh) after the director saw his profile on the HOLA talent directory and called him in to audition.

Antonio Miniño will play Diggory in MTWorks' workshop of On Egdon Heath, a new adaptation by David Stallings of Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native. Directed by Glory Kadigan, it will take place in February at the City College of New York in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood as part of the 2012 National NewBorn Festival. For more information, click here. He will also appear in The Stranger to Kindness, written by David Stallings and directed by Heather Cohn. Produced by D&A Productions, Goode Productions & Fab Marquee Productions, it will be presented as part of FRIGID New York in February and March at The Kraine Theater in Manhattan's East Village. It also stars Susan G. Bob and Mick Hilgers. For more information, click here.

Manny Jiménez acted in an episode of "Prime Suspect" (NBC).

Ángelo Mercado, Jr. just booked a role in the pilot "Frog Kissers," directed by Debra Kirschner.

Ángel Pastrana nabbed a role in From the Inside. Written by Nicole Vanessa Díaz and Richard Thomas Henle and directed by Henle, the play will have a March run in the Manhattan Repertory Theatre, located in the theater district of midtown Manhattan.

Suni Reyes is currently workshopping her new improv show Insane Harold at the People's Improv Theater (PIT) located in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Manhattan.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Fallece la actriz Graciela Mas / Actress Graciela Mas passes away

2012-01-23T10:05:00.000-08:00

Graciela Mas, centro, entre las actrices
Teresa Yenque (esq.) and Sarah Valle (der.).

FALLECE EN NY LA ACTRIZ CUBANA GRACIELA MAS- Figura legendaria de los escenarios del circuito latino de la Urbe de Hierro. No sólo una actriz apasionada y de talento, sino un ser humano espléndido. Su recuerdo quedará siempre en las crónicas de nuestra historia teatral. He aquí una breve semblanza, escrita por un de sus amigos cercanos, Iván Acosta:

Desde sus inicios en esta ciudad se integró al Teatro de Las Américas de Nueva York, bajo la dirección del también recientemente desaparecido, Miguel Ponce. En 1969, Graciela Mas trabajó en varias obras dirigidas por Ponce, junto a Orestes Matacena, Rubén Rabasa, Ileana Aste e Iván Acosta. Graciela era muy querida y admirada por todos sus compañeros de los distintos grupos de teatro latino en Nueva York.

El 23 de abril del 2011, Graciela asistió por última vez a la entrega de premios ACE, para recibir el Premio Extraordinario ACE 2011 por su trayectoria profesional.

Que en Paz Descanse, nuestra inolvidable y querida amiga y compañera, Graciela Mas.

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Graciela Mas, center, with actresses
Teresa Yenque (left) and Sarah Valle (right).

THE CUBAN ACTRESS GRACIELA MAS HAS PASSED AWAY- Legendary figure of the boards of the Latino theater scene in the Big Apple (New York). Not only a talented and passionate actress, but a splendid human being. Her memory will always be a part of the chronicles of New York's Latino theater history. Below is a brief summary of her life and career as written by on her close friends, Iván Acosta:

From her beginnings in this city, she joined the Teatro de Las Américas in New York, under the direction of the also recently deceased Miguel Ponce. In 1969, Graciela Mas acted in various plays directed by Ponce, together with Orestes Matacena, Rubén Rabasa, Ileana Aste and Iván Acosta. Graciela was much beloved and admired by all of her colleagues in the Latino theater scene in New York.

On April 23, 2011, Graciela made one of her last appearances at the 2011 ACE Awards, where she received the ACE Award of Extraordinary Achievement for the great work throughout the breadth of her career.

Rest in Peace, our unforgettable and dear friend and colleague, Graciela Mas.

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Hollywood Typecasting: Some Latina Actresses Are Forever Relegated To Roles As Maids And Abuelas

2012-01-21T14:15:00.000-08:00

Check out this article from the Huffington Post regarding the stereotyping of mature Latina actresses as the maid or grandmother (abuela in Spanish) roles. Teresa Yenque, Míriam Colón, Lupe Ontiveros and Altagracia Guzmán (the first two are HOLA members and are shown at right, from left to right) are featured in the article, which you could read by clicking here.

Postal Service honors José Ferrer on 2012 Forever Stamp / Servicio postal honra a José Ferrer en el Sello Forever 2012

2012-01-20T10:05:00.000-08:00

Actor José Ferrer will be immortalized on a First-Class Forever Stamp in 2012 as the 14th luminary celebrated in the U.S. Postal Service’s Distinguished Americans series.

Considered one of the most accomplished talents of his generation, Ferrer (1912-1992) won several Tony Awards for his work on stage and performed in more than 60 movies, garnering three Academy Award nominations. He received a Best Actor Oscar for his performance as the title character in Cyrano de Bergerac, becoming the first Hispanic actor to do so.

The Postal Service is proud to honor José Ferrer on a Forever Stamp,” said Stephen Kearney, manager, Stamp Services. “A renaissance man who spoke five languages fluently, Ferrer’s accomplishments extended to many areas of entertainment.”

The portrait featured on the stamp is an oil painting by Daniel Adel of Cold Spring, New York, U.S., based on a photograph of Ferrer. Adel worked under the direction of art director Antonio Alcalá of Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, a district of San Juan, Ferrer’s father, an attorney, moved the family to New York City when Ferrer was 6 years old. Always an excellent student, he passed the Princeton University entrance exam at age 15, but was considered too young to attend and spent a year in a boarding school, Le Rosey, in Switzerland. He entered Princeton at age 16 and graduated with the class of 1933. He conducted postgraduate work at Columbia University with the intention of becoming a teacher of languages. However, he had discovered his love of acting while in college, and in 1935, made his first appearance on Broadway, a one-line part in the play A Slight Case of Murder.

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El actor José Ferrer será inmortalizado en un Sello Forever de primera clase en el año 2012 como el 14^to luminar celebrado en la serie de Estadounidenses Distinguidos del Servicio Postal de los EE.UU.

Considerado uno de los talentos más exitosos de su generación, Ferrer (1912-1992) ganó varios Premios Tony por su trabajo en el escenario y actuó en más de 60 películas, obteniendo tres nominaciones para el Oscar. Él recibió un Oscar como Mejor Actor por su actuación como el personaje principal en la película Cyrano de Bergerac, siendo el primer actor latino a hacerlo.

"El Servicio Postal está orgulloso de honrar a José Ferrer en un Sello Forever”, comentó Stephen Kearney, gerente de Servicios de Sellos. “Un hombre del Renacimiento que hablaba cinco idiomas con fluidez, los éxitos de Ferrer se extienden a muchas áreas de entretenimiento.”

El retrato mostrado en el sello es una pintura al óleo por Daniel Adel, de Cold Spring, Nueva York, EE.UU., basado en una fotografía de Ferrer. Adel trabajó bajo la dirección del director de arte Antonio Alcalá, de Alexandria, Virginia, EE.UU.

Habiendo nacido en Santurce, Puerto Rico, un distrito de San Juan, el padre de Ferrer, un abogado, mudó a la familia a la Ciudad de Nueva York cuando Ferrer tenía 6 años de edad. Siempre un estudiante excelente, él aprobó el examen de admisión para la Universidad de Princeton a los 15 años de edad, pero lo consideraron muy joven para asistir a la universidad, así que pasó un año en un internado en Le Rosey, Suiza. Él empezó sus estudios en Princeton a los 16 años y se graduó con la clase de 1933. Él hizo sus estudios de postgrado en la Universidad de Columbia con la intención de convertirse en un maestro de idiomas. Sin embargo, él había descubierto su amor de actuar mientras estaba en la universidad, y en 1935, hizo su primera presentación en Broadway, un personaje con solo una línea, en la obra A Slight Case of Murder.

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HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Omar Pérez joins the cast of Luis Caballero's DC-7: The Roberto Clemente Story. Directed by Caballero, the Teatro SEA production is produced by Manuel A. Morán and choreographed by Luis Salgado. The actor joins Modesto Lacén, Lorraine Vélez, Josean Ortiz and Morán in the transfer to the off-Broadway house, The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, located in the theater district of midtown Manhattan for an open-ended run that starts in February. For more information on the show, click here or here.

Laura Riveros will be performing as F in the experimental theater piece Escalation in 9 Exegeses Performed by a Troupe of Exegetic Clowns. Written by Matt Reeck, it will be performed in February at Dixon Place, located in Manhattan's Loísaida neighborhood. For more information, click here. To buy tickets, click here.

Soledad del Río booked a voiceover with Ibero-American for a public service announcement that talks of the dangers of texting while driving.

Marina Durell started off the new year with a bang as she booked a national commercial for the pharmacy chain CVS.

Javier E. Gómez booked a role in the workshop production of Yes! The Musical. Written by Earl Wilson, Jr. and directed by Mercedes Ellington, the production will take place at the Theater at the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, located at the West Side of Manhattan.

Luis Galli will play the role of Mariano in the film Teresa, la novia del Libertador. The joint Cuban-Peruvian production will be helmed by Rocío Llado (whose last film Vidas paralelas was a huge hit on the worldwide film festival circuit). The suspense thriller will begin filming in March 2012.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Miss Bala opens in select theaters in LA and NYC

2012-01-19T14:17:00.000-08:00

Miss Bala

Written by Gerardo Naranjo and Mauricio Katz
Directed by Gerardo Naranjo
Produced by Pablo Cruz,
Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal

Starring Stephanie Sigman, Noé Hernández,
Irene Azuela and José Yenque

The film, which opens in Los Angeles and NYC on Friday, January 20, 2012 and is Mexico's official submission for the Academy Awards in the category of foreign-language film, has been much talked about ever since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and throughout its run at top festivals in Toronto, New York and Los Angeles.

Miss Bala Trailer Reloaded English from Miss Bala on Vimeo.

Storyline: With a title that translates as the punning "Miss Bullet," the Mexican film Miss Bala is based in part on the real-life story of a beauty pageant winner who was arrested alongside a drug gang and paraded before the media amid accusations of corruption behind her crown.

It aims to not only be a provocative, thoughtful action film for the art house, looking at the overwhelming problems of the drug-trafficking epidemic in Mexico, but Miss Bala also marks an ambitiously bold step forward for director Gerardo Naranjo.

Miss Bala is nominated for a 2012 Goya Award (Spain's highest film award) in the category of "Best Spanish Language Foreign Film" to take place in Madrid, Spain on Sunday, February 19, 2012. For more information, click here.

SUPPORT LATINO WORK.

HOLA mentioned in Back Stage

2012-01-19T10:40:00.000-08:00

Frank Nestor of the national trade publication Back Stage wrote an articl e titled "TheaterWorks' 'The Motherf**ker With the Hat' Raises Casting Questions" about the casting choices that take place for the Stephen Adly Guirgis-penned play at TheaterWorks Hartford. You could read it by clicking here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-17T16:53:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

The film Blackthorn (written by Miguel Barros, directed by Mateo Gil and starring Sam Shepard, Stephen Rea, Eduardo Noriega and Fernando Gamarra) is nominated for 11 Goya Awards, including nods for Best Screenplay and Best Picture. The Goyas are Spain's equivalent of the Academy Awards and are set to take place on Sunday, February 19, 2012.

Rodney Roldán nabbed a role in the television program "Killer Voices" (Investigation Discovery).

Alicia Kaplan will star in the Vermont Stage Company production of Sarah Ruhl's play The Clean House. Directed by the theater's new artistic director Cristina Alicea, the production also stars Dana Block, Deanna McGovern, Paul Ugalde and Ruth Wallman and is scheduled for a January and February run at Flynnspace in Burlington, Vermont. For more information, click here.

Duo Multicultural Center for the Arts is presenting All About Meat (The Garcías). A new comedy written and directed by Michelangelo Alasá, it stars Mario Bósquez, Cat Lippencott, Cristina Madero, Antonio Miniño, Elisa de la Roche, Facundo Rodríguez, Andrés de Vengoechea and Israel Viñas and is scheduled for a March and April run at Duo's eponymous theater located in Manhattan's East Village. For more information, click here.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Teresa Yenque. Excellence at Work.

2012-01-17T12:16:00.000-08:00

Teresa Yenque, shown at left, was mentioned in a Jezebel article touting her as "The Only Living Maid in Law & Order's New York." She has played either a maid or a grieving relative of a victim on no less than seven episodes of the NBC television series "Law & Order" and "Law & Order Special Victims Unit." The website also said that she was playing stereotypical roles.

Octavia Spencer spoke to the idea of playing a maid in her acceptance speech for her 2012 Golden Globe for her work in The Help. She said, "You know, with regards to, domestics in this country, now and then, Dr. [Martin Luther] King said it best, 'All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance,' and I thank you for recognizing that with this film." Click here and here for more info.

Lupe Ontiveros also speaks about playing a maid in this video.

And while having a Latina play a domestic may be stereotypical, we do salute the consistently stellar work she brings to the stage and screen.

Besides, we know a lot more about this well-rounded, talented artist.

This longtime HOLA member was recently honored with a 2011 HOLA Award of Special Recognition for her over 40 years of work in film, television and theater.

Her film credits include Critical Condition, The Yards, Abuela's Revolt, La ciudad (The City), The Blue Diner (which starred her son José Yenque), Trust the Man, Liberty Kid, Cedar Rapids, Musical Chairs, and others. Her television credits include the recurring role of Carmela on "Ed," "30 Rock" (where she played Salma Hayek's grandmother), "The Division," "Rescue Me," "The Sopranos," "Hope and Faith" and the abovementioned "Law & Order" and "Law & Order Special Victims Unit" episodes. For more information, click here.

Onstage, she appeared on numerous theaters across New York City and regionally across the U.S.. She also appeared on Broadway in the Roundabout Theatre revival of Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire at New York's famous Studio 54. The revival starred Natasha Richardson and John C. Reilly. This blogger saw that production and in this blogger's humble opinion, Ms. Yenque stole every scene in which she appeared.

She is a jewel in the Latino theater scene (and New York and American theater scenes). Her work in film and television has been always been memorable and of the highest caliber. In her own words, "Nobody knows Teresa Yenque... by name. They know my face though. And when people stop me in the street and tell me that I made them laugh in this film or made them cry in this show, I feel good because it means I am accomplishing my mission as an artist."

Hopefully, more people will know her name as well as her face. Someone of her talent deserves that much.

Teresa Yenque.
Excellence at Work.

Ban on Ethnic Studies in Arizona and Some of the Books That Are Banned (And How to Buy Them)

2012-01-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

In May 2010, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona signed into law a ban on "ethnic studies" throughout the state of Arizona.

The law prohibits the teaching of any classes that promote “the overthrow of the United States government,” “resentment toward a race or class of people,” “are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or “advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

For more information on the law, click here.

James E. García, Linda Váldez and Donald H. Smith, writing for the National Institute for Latino Policy (NiLP), expressed their viewpoints on the controversial law. Read them here.

Matt Barbot of Remezcla highlights that the law has led to book bannings, including some surprising choices of books that are banned. He lists some of them (and how to buy them) on his blog, which you could read here.

SAG/AFTRA Merger: What's Next as Committee Approves Key Proposal (Analysis)

2012-01-16T15:57:00.000-08:00

Check out this analysis by Jonathan Handel of The Hollywood Reporter on the ongoing process regarding merger of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) by clicking here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-16T14:35:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Vanessa Verduga has many projects on her plate. She is filming the second season of the webseries "Justice Woman." A comedy that follows the story of Assistant District Attorney Sofía Escala (played by Verduga), who is determined to fight injustices within the legal system, the series is written by and stars Verduga. The series also stars Lee J. Kaplan, Luke Guldan, Mary S. Porter, Omar González, Nina Rochelle, Colin Blackard, Alison Ryan, Lino Del Core, Chiz Schultz, Jessica Fontaine, Tom Mahon, Stephen Sheffer andJosh Rodríguez with webisodes being helmed by Verduga, González, Del Core and Robert Gregson. It will premier in March 2012. For more information, click here or here. She is also co-producing the film H.O.M.E. (The Passenger) by Gaslight Films. Written by Héctor Carosso and Daniel Maldonado and directed by Maldonado, the film will go into production this winter. For more information, click here. For more information on Verduga, click here or here.

Josean Ortiz and Fanny Rybin star in the world premiere of the Nicolás Dorr play Breve temporada de invierno. Directed by Ortiz, the two-hander is scheduled for a January run at Roy Arias Theaters in the theater district of midtown Manhattan as part of the Times Square International Theater Festival.

Emmanuelle Bordas will be singing in the world premiere of French Lessons. An opera based on Eugène Ionesco's play, French Conversation and Diction Exercises for American Students, it was composed by Ionel Petroi and directed by Susan González. The opera will have two performances in January at Lang Recital Hall at Hunter College in the Upper East Side section of Manhattan. For more information, click here.

The hit Teatro SEA musical DC-7: The Roberto Clemente Story is moving off-Broadway. Written and directed by Luis Caballero, produced by Manuel A. Morán and starring Modesto Lacén in the title role. The show (with choreography by Luis Salgado) will start performances for an open run in February at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre in the theater district of midtown Manhattan. The cast also includes Morán, Josean Ortiz, Lorraine Vélez, Anthony Cotto, Xiomara Rodríguez, Fidel Vicioso, Johanna Rodríguez, Omar Pérez and María del Mar González.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-15T15:50:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Robmariel Olea, shown at left, was featured in an article for Listín Diario, based in the Dominican Republic. To read the article (which also mentions HOLA), click here (note that the article is in Spanish).

Iván Camilo, Maité Bonilla and Rosie Berrido appear in the film Under My Nails. The film was accepted as an official entry of the Rencontres de Cinéma Sud-Américain Film Festival in Marseille, France. The film was written by Kisha Tikina Burgos, directed by Ari Maniel Cruz and also features Burgos, Marilú Acosta, Dolores Pedro, Enrique Juliá, Miranda Purcell and Antonio Pantojas in the cast.

Mauricio Bustamante will be playing Malvolio in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, or What You Will. Produced by the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, the production is directed by Geoffrey Horne, features Norberto Briceño and Eric Campos in the cast and is scheduled for a late January run in the Marilyn Monroe Theatre, located in the Union Square area of Manhattan. For more information, click here.

Ávila Productions is presenting the world premiere of Begonya Plaza's Teresa's Ecstasy. Directed by Will Pomerantz, the production stars Shawn Elliott, Linda Larkin and Plaza and will have a March and April run at the famed Cherry Lane Theatre, located in Manhattan's West Village. For more information, click here.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

For Many Latinos, Racial Identity Is More Culture Than Color

2012-01-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

Check out this article by Mireya Navarro in The New York Times regarding Latinos/Hispanics and racial identity by clicking here.

ABC's "Work It" Doesn't Quite Work Out

2012-01-14T15:08:00.001-08:00

The controversial (and critically-panned) ABC television series "Work It" was cancelled after two episodes. The show, which offended both the LGBTQ and the Puerto Rican/Latino communities, had received almost universally bad reviews. For more information, read a Huffington Post article about it by clicking here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-14T14:27:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, shown at left, opened this year's American Songbook series at New York's Lincoln Center with a mash-up of the work of Stephen Sondheim, Shawn Carter (also known as Jay-Z), Alicia Keys, Billy Joel and others, and his new project The Hamilton Mixtape. It took place in January at the Allen Room of Lincoln Center, located in the West Side of Manhattan. To read the New York Times review of the show, click here.

Raúl Esparza, shown at right, will next return to Broadway in Leap of Faith. Based on the Steve Martin and Debra Winger film directed by Richard Pearce and written by Janus Cercone, the musical has a libretto by Cercone and Warren Leight with songs by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater and directed by Christopher Ashley. He will play conman Jonas Nightingale (the Steve Martin role). It will begin performances on April 3, 2012 at the St. James Theatre and is scheduled for a late-April opening. Tickets go on sale January 23, 2012 via Telecharge. For more information, click here.

Caridad De La Luz (also known by her nom de poésie La Bruja) is performing alongside Rob Vassilarakis (Simply Rob) and Fit to Flow at a fundraiser hosted by Richard (Ovados) Santiago for Kids with Voice and Teens with Dreams at Mamosa Lounge, located in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. For more information, click here.

Luis Bordoy has started filming The Wailing. The film also stars Mike Smith Rivera and Tony Chiroldes and is produced by Latin Horror and La Sayona Productions and boasts Edwin Pagán as producer and director of photography, Ydaiber Orozco as associate producer and casting director and Leonardo Rodríguez as producer and director.

The Asociación de Cronistas de Espectáculos de Nueva York (ACE) is presenting their 44th annual ACE Awards. The awards covers multiple disciplines and will take place in the spring of 2012. The theater winners, which were announced this January include HOLA members Alfredo Huereca, Frank Robles, Míriam Cruz, Gerardo Gudiño, Modesto Lacén, Raoul Bretón and Ismael Cruz Córdova. In all, Repertorio Español walked away with 13 awards for four different productions, while SEA nabbed six, Teatro LATEA nabbed four, TEBA won 3 and Maldonado-Toro Productions and World View came up with a pair a piece.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Shakespeare Theatre Company Acknowledges There is Much To Do Over MUCH ADO

2012-01-13T10:21:00.000-08:00

As some of you may already know from numerous online media sources, there was a controversy recently with the just-shuttered production of Much Ado About Nothing, presented at the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) in Washington, D.C. Directed by Ethan McSweeny, the regional theater production took place at the 775-seat Sidney Harman Hall, exterior shown at right, from November 25, 2011 through January 7, 2012.

The play was transformed from its original setting of sixteenth century Sicily and transported to 1930s Cuba. The controversy arose when the director changed the names of two of the minor characters (Hugh Oatcake and George Seacoal in the original) to Juan Huevos (originally Juan Arroz) and José Frijoles.

Peter Marks of the Washington Post referred to the change as cringeworthy and that "the joke is coarser than this 'Much Ado' deserves, and the glib cultural referencing in general comes across as a little patronizing."

After hearing from many in the Latino arts community (including theater professional/blogger Marisela Treviño Orta and theater director Tlaloc Rivas), Shakespeare Theatre Company Artistic Director Michael Kahn, shown at left, agreed to change the names of the characters back to their original versions. He also wanted to have a conversation on the topics of culture, race and theater to better educate himself, his theater and his theatergoing audience. To that end, the theater had panel discussions exploring those topics.

However, for HOLA, as an organization of Latino actors, the central issue involved the casting for the show. The casting breakdown never specified that the characters (who are supposed to be Cuban in this conception) are Latino/Hispanic. They were given no description other than gender; however, a later casting notice specifically referred to a character as being African American, which stood in sharp contrast to the earlier, original breakdown which lacked any specificity with regards to character ethnicity.

Consequently, the show was cast with mostly non-Latinos playing Latino characters.

Rebecca J. Ritzel of Washington City Paper cited, "And it seems worth noting, at the risk of sounding like a postcolonial killjoy, that there’s only one Hispanic actor in the cast, and that only the lower-class characters speak with Cuban accents. Everyone else sounds fresh off the boat from Great Britain, speaking in clear, digestible pentameter."

As such, HOLA contacted the theater company and expressed our concerns with regards to casting. We received a lovely response from Alan Paul, Associate Director for the theater company.

In part, it reads, "We have listened very carefully to the criticisms our productions has received, and I can assure you that the criticisms and discussions this production have brought up have increased our racial sensitivity to the Latino community." Check out this article in the Huffington Post for more info.

He continues, "As you [HOLA] mention in [your] letter, we could have (and sadly did not) approach HOLA for help casting our production." As a result, the theater has reached out to HOLA to meet and audition Latino actors in our ranks in the near future for their upcoming productions.

We would like to publicly commend this renowned institution for its sincere and meaningful steps it is taking to address the concerns of the Latino community in general and the Latino actor community in particular.

HOLA is excited to showcase the considerable talents of our members to STC and we are confident that this will help to open much needed doors for Latino actors on the classical stage.

We'd like to further echo what Marisela Treviño Orta stated in the Huffington Post article, "I think it is heartening that STC is willing to engage with the larger theatre community community and Latino community about their production choices instead of just putting up a wall of silence." Added Tlaloc Rivas, "I thought what they did was very, very, important. It's kind of unprecedented for a theatre company that large to actually respond."

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HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Marco Antonio Rodríguez reported that he recorded a Spanish-language radio spot for T-Mobile.

Caridad De La Luz (also known by her nom de poésie La Bruja) is the new host of the Babble in the Bronx poetry series at Mi Gente Café, located in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx. For more information, click here.

The film Changing Diego is having its premiere this month. Written by Abraham Aponte and directed by Will Fonseca, the feature stars Anthony Cruz, Yomaris Maldonado, Elliott Mayor,
Yanelba Ferreira, Michael Díaz, Sean Manning, Ura Yoana Sánchez, Glenys Javier, Edison Carrera, Lorena Jorge, Rachel Strauss, Jenn Pinto, Noriko Sato and Gloria Zelaya in the cast and is scheduled to premiere at Anthology Film Archives, located at the Loísaida neighborhood of Manhattan. For more information, click here.

J.W. Cortés, Silvia Tovar, Martín Chávez and A.J. Mercedes star in the film I'm Okay. Written by Chávez and directed by Tovar, it also had Edwin Pagán on cinematography duties. For more information, click here.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Black and Latino (from mun2)

2012-01-12T10:51:00.001-08:00

HOLA Legends: Ruth Fernández

2012-01-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

Ruth Fernández Cortada (1919 – 2012) was a Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate. According to the "Comisiones Nacionales para la Celebración del Quinto Centenario" (National Commission for the Celebration of the Fifth Centennial), she is said to be one of three artists whose contributions have helped unite Latin America. The other two artists named were Libertad Lamarque from Argentina and Pedro Vargas from Mexico.

She was born on May 23, 1919 in the Bélgica sector of barrio Cuarto in Ponce, Puerto Rico to Santiago Fernández and Rosa María Cortada. Her mother died when she was three years old and she was raised along with her four other siblings by her grandmother. She received her primary and secondary education in her hometown. As a child she learned to play the piano and was very active in her school and community's activities. In high school she organized her own musical group. She became a professional singer at the age of 14 when she would go to the local radio stations, WPRP and WPAB, and sing for 50 cents a day, in 1935. She was heard by Mingo, a bandleader of a locally popular band and was hired. She then performed in nightclubs, dances and casinos.

She started to gain popularity and in 1941, at age 22, she was signed by Columbia Records with whom she recorded her first hit song, "Cuando Vuelvas" ("When You Return"), a theme written by Myrta Silva. At her first appearance in New York at The Latin Theater, the master of ceremonies, Héctor del Villar, introduced her as "El Alma de Puerto Rico hecha canción" (The Soul of Puerto Rico made into song). That nickname or introduction was to stay with her forever.

When Fernández returned to the island, she enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico with the intention of becoming a social worker. However, she once again joined Mingo and his band, the "Whoopee Kids," and toured with them throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America.

She was the very first successful Afro-Puerto Rican female singer, and as such, she broke color barriers and stereotypes. On one occasion the Mingo band was contracted to perform in the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. The director of the orchestra told her that according to the hotel's rules, she had to enter through the kitchen door like all other black musicians (a de facto integration rule, illegal at the time in Puerto Rico, but still in place at the time out of concern for American patrons of the hotel). She, however, did not follow the instructions and entered through the main entrance. She went on stage and performed before the astonished audience. During World War II and the Korean War, she traveled overseas to entertain the soldiers of Hispanic descent.

When she returned to Puerto Rico, she decided to go solo. In 1954, at age 41, she participated in the first televised musical television show in the history of Puerto Rico, "El Show Libby's." She also had many other "firsts": she was the first woman to sing in a Puerto Rican orchestra; the first Puerto Rican woman to sing "popular" music at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City; the first Latina singer of romantic music to sing in the Scandinavian countries (with some notable success in Norway), and the first Latina to record with a North American band. She recorded an album with the Orquesta Panamericana (under the direction of Lito Peña), which included what has since become a Puerto Rican folk standard, the bomba song "(La Bomba) ¡Ay, qué rica es!"

Her performances in the United States were transmitted coast to coast under her contract with the CBS radio network. She also performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. Among the many countries in which she has performed are Italy, France, Spain, Norway, Venezuela, Mexico, Panama and Cuba.

She also appeared in two Spanish-language films (Frente al destino in 1964 and Caña brava in 1966), and has a notable role in the Afro-Puerto Rican documentary Raíces, produced by the Banco popular de Puerto Rico.

She was twice married; both marriages ended in divorce. One of her husbands was Tito Henríquez, another popular Puerto Rican singer. Occasionally, they would sing duets together, even after their divorce. Composer Rafael Hernández Marín considered their duo rendition of his song "Venus" the definitive version of the song.

She had no children of her own; because of her public acknowledgement of her nephews and nieces, and because of her philantrophic work with children, many Puerto Ricans nicknamed her "Titi Ruth" (Auntie Ruth), a term popularized by Puerto Rican comedian José Miguel Agrelot.

She always stressed the positive in her life and in her interaction with people. Her most often repeated quote is "¡Arriba, corazones!" ("Hearts, go up!"). Her signature song is "Gracias, Mundo" ("Thank you, World"), which, in a way similar to Louis Armstrong's "What A Wonderful World," in that it depicts the planet in a very optimistic way. On many occasions, particularly at charity telethons, she would be asked to sing the song as a closer, which she would do willingly.

Among the many awards and recognitions which have been bestowed upon her are:

The Medal of Vasco Núñez de Balboa from Panama;
The Order of Francisco de Miranda from Venezuela;
an Honorary Doctorate from the World University and
the declaration of a "Ruth Fernández Day" in the cities of Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, and in Puerto Rico.

In 1963, Pablo Casals wrote and dedicated the song "Ven a Mi" ("Come to Me") to her. In her hometown of Ponce, she is recognized as one of Ponce greatest musicians at the Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens. In 1985, she was given a tribute in recognition of the 50 years which she has dedicated to the artistic world with the participation of Mario Moreno "Cantinflas", Libertad Lamarque, Pedro Vargas, Olga Guillot and many others. She was also named by Quincentennial commission as one of the three Latin American artists who have contributed the most in uniting Latin America.

In 2000, she was paid a tribute in the Antonio Paoli Hall of the Luis A. Ferré Center for the Performing Arts in Puerto Rico. During the tribute she was proclaimed "The Singer of the Century" of Puerto Rico.

She was elected into the Senate of Puerto Rico, representing the district of Ponce as a member of the Partido Popular de Puerto Rico (Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico). As a legislator, shesought many reforms and better working conditions for the artistic class. She also sought after the interests of Puerto Ricans living in the United States; a tenement in The Bronx, New York, U.S.A. is named after her, Ruth Fernández Apartments. In 1990, she was selected by Imagen magazine as one the ten most powerful women in Puerto Rico.

At one time, she led the House of the Puerto Rican Artists organization. Her controversial tenure, spanning over a decade, ended with the granting of $500,000 to an actor's collective, with which they purchased the Teatro Coribantes, near San Juan's financial district (Hato Rey).

She retired from all activities in the 2000s. She acknowledged suffering from Alzheimer's disease, but 2010 newspaper interviews depicted her as having occasional moments of (very candid) lucidity. She died on January 9, 2012 in San Juan, Puerto Rico of a septic shock and pneumonia.

QEPD / RIP Ruth Fernández Cortada "Titi Ruth"

Singing "Gracias Mundo"

Singing "Venus" with Tito Henríquez

Singing "En mi viejo San Juan" with Rocío Jurado

In character as Dolores Santa Cruz singing "Po po po" (from the zarzuela Cecilia Valdés)

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Modesto Lacén, shown at left, was listed as one of the top 10 "Boricuas famosos que viven en Estados Unidos" (Famous Puerto Ricans who live in the United States), according to the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora. To find out who made the list (which also includes an Oscar winner, a Grammy and Latin Grammy winner), click here.

Ten Dominican actresses were highlighted in the article "Promesas del cine dominicano" (The Future of Dominican Film) from the Dominican Republic magazine Mujer Única. They are Mariluz Acosta, Maité Bonilla, Dalia Davi, Laura Gómez, Sarah Jorge, Mino Lara, Robmariel Olea, Yanillys Pérez, Virginia Sánchez and Paola "Pie" Soto. For more information on Mujer Única, click here. (Sánchez, Jorge and Olea made the cover, shown at right.)

Gladys K. Nilsen e-mailed us to let us know that she booked a Spanish-language commercial for Assurance Wireless.

Rodney Roldán reports work on "Gossip Girl" (WB) and "The Good Wife" (CBS).

Repertorio Español is presenting Karen Zacarías' play Mariela en el desierto. Directed by Jerry Ruiz, the play is scheduled to premiere in February at Repertorio's namesake theater in the Rose Hill section of Manhattan. The cast is comprised of Zulema Clares, John Concado, Robert Hager, María Helan, Alfredo Huereca and Teresa Yenque.

Thalía Spanish Theatre is presenting Tango 5 Senses/Tango 5 Sentidos. Created, designed and directed by Ángel Gil Orrios, with original music composed and arranged by Latin Grammy winner Raúl Jaurena, the program featuring singers Marga Mitchell and Pablo "Pulpo" Pereyra, and dancers Carlos Paredes, Carolina Jaurena, Mariana Parma and Carlos Acuña. The musicians include Jaurena, Mauricio Najt, Beledo, Sergio Reyes, Avigail Malachi and Mauro Satalino. The spectacle is scheduled for a January, February and March run in Thalía's eponymous theater located in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Queens. For more information, click here.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Republican U.S. Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney is Mexican?!

2012-01-09T15:48:00.000-08:00

Is Republican U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney of Mexican descent? Sort of (although he would totally be eligible for dual U.S.-Mexican citizenship).

Check out this article by Gabriel Lerner in the Huffington Post by clicking here.

Check out video interviews with Romney's Mexican relatives on NBC's "Rock Center" by clicking here and here.

Why Join HOLA? Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

2012-01-09T08:27:00.001-08:00

WHY JOIN HOLA?
Frequently Asked Questions

• Is HOLA an agency or management company?

• 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?

HOLA member 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?

• What kind of casting notices do you receive?

• 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?

• 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 HOLA (Becoming an HOLA Member or Friend of HOLA)

2012-01-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

Become an HOLA member.
Become a Friend of HOLA.

Negra & Beautiful: The Unique Challenges Faced By Afro-Latinas

2012-01-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

Check out this article by Damarys Ocana in Latina about the unique challenges faced by Afro-Latinas by clicking here.

11 Latin Movies You Probably Didn’t See Last Year and Should

2012-01-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

Check out this article by Vanessa Erazo and Eddy Martinez in Remezcla about the 11 Latin movies you probably didn't see last year and should by clicking here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Ydaiber Orozco, shown at left, is starring in the Jon Kakaley play A Hole in His Heart. Also starring Kakaley, the play is directed by Jake Turner, features Brian Podnos, Arthur Gerunda, Daniel Genalo and Mark Hennessy in the cast and will have a January run at Atlantic Theater Stage 2 in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. For more information, click here. After casting her, the producer e-mailed HOLA to tell us that the role "was originally written for a Caucasian but that [she] impressed... so much at the audition," that she was cast. Adds the producer, "We cast her because she was the best actor we saw, and I will always cast talent over type (particularly when it comes to lead roles)."

Jean-Marc Berne is on the production team for the animated television series "The Octonauts," set to premiere this month on the Disney Jr. network For more information, click here.

Yanelba Ferreira booked a supporting role in "Driving Me Crazy," a new hybrid scripted/reality TV show demo. Tony Ducret is the producer and Vinnie Kralyevich is the executive producer.

John Leguizamo is doing a Spanish-language version of his hit Broadway self-penned solo show Ghetto Klown for a brief New York engagement before taking it on tour in Latin America. The show, with direction by Fisher Stevens, will be performed in mid-January at Repertorio Español in the Rose Hill area of Manhattan. For more information, click here or here.

Mel Nieves will act as Don Miguel in the Royal Family Productions play Don Pedro de la Cebolla. Written by Matthew Harrington and directed by Rachel Harrington, the piece will premiere in January 2012 at Women's Interart Center in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan as part of its Emerging Director's Program. A teaser for the production (not starring Nieves) is below.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

HOLA Member Bochinche

2012-01-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Raoul Daniel Luna wrote and stars in the webseries "Still With It." Take a look at a webisode below.

Bill Santiago is set to do a three-evening standup comedy stint at the end of January at Laughs Unlimited in Sacramento, California. For more information, click here. For more information on Santiago (including video of his work), click here.

Lucio Fernández directed the documentary Cubanoson: The Story. The documentary highlights Papo Ortega's Cubanoson, New York's Cuban Orchestra. Produced by MeLu Films in association with Cubanoson Productions and El Gitano Discreto Productions, it can be seen below.

Freia Canals and Denise Kornitz co-wrote and co-star in Alita the Show. The show, also featuring Marcelo Woloski on percussion, is billed as "a bilingual show for the entire family" and will be presented in mid- to late-January as part of the inaugural Times Square International Theater Festival (curated by Roy Arias and Alfred Presser) at the Roy Arias Studios and Theaters, located in the theater district of midtown Manhattan. For more information about the Argentinian-Spanish-American production, click here.

Martín Untrojb's voice can be heard in a voiceover for a national McDonald's commercial.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Box Office Shocker: Movie Attendance Falls to Lowest Level in 16 Years

2011-12-31T16:31:00.000-08:00

Check out this article by Pamela McClintock in The Hollywood Reporter regarding the year in attendance and earnings numbers from the U.S. film market by clicking here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2011-12-31T16:10:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Yanelba Ferreira, shown at left, booked a role in the web series "Happy Cancer Chick." Written by Linda Nieves-Powell and Jenny Lídice Saldaña and directed by Nieves Powell, Ferreira will play the sister of the series lead, played by Saldaña. The webseries will premiere in March 2012. (She booked the gig after reading about the casting notice on one of HOLA's e-mail announcement notices and submitting herself. Coincidentally, her mother auditioned for the role of Saldaña and Ferreira's mother-- and booked the gig as well.)

Caridad De La Luz is scheduled to ring in the new year by performing with Grammy-nominated bandleader Bobby Sanábria and his Quarteto Aché at the famed Nuyorican Poets' Café located in Manhattan's Loísaida neighborhood.

Robin De Jesús is scheduled to act in the production of Two Gentlemen of Verona (a rock opera). Based on Shakespeare's play of the same name, the musical was created by Galt MacDermot, John Guare and Mel Shapiro. It will be directed by Amanda Dehnert, with musical direction by George Fulginiti-Shakar and choreography by Spencer Liff. Scheduled for a late January run, the production will also star Terence Archie, Florrie Bagel, Tom Deckman, Eleasha Gamble, Arielle Jacobs, Javier Muñoz, Manu Narayan, Ken Page, Danny Rutigliano and Juan Carlos Sánchez and will take place at Sidney Harman Hall in The Shakespeare Theatre Company in the North West section of Washington, District of Columbia. For more information, click here.

Mauricio Alexander wrote, directed and stars in the humorous holiday short, called A Special Holiday Digital Short. Also starring Angel Picard-Ami, Leyla Tatiana Rosario and the voice of Anna Lamadrid, it was produced by X-Mas Tequila, in association with Alexander Media and can be seen on the popular website Funny or Die or below.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

HOLA on Bronx Journal

2011-12-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

Check out HOLA Executive Director Manny Alfaro and HOLA Associate Director A.B. Lugo in this episode of the local New York program "Bronx Journal" (hosted by Miguel Pérez) by clicking below.

WELCOME NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS - NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2011

2011-12-29T14:09:00.000-08:00

Below is a list of new (and returning) HOLA members who joined between November 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. (Note that "returning members" refer those members who have returned to HOLA after having their memberships expire for some time and do not include renewing members.)

(Top row, left to right): Shakira Barrera, Stalin Bocanegra; (second row, left to right): Diana Cano, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ellie Diez; (third row, left to right): Abdel González, Carlos Lobo; (fourth row, left to right): Eddie Marrero, Kevin Martínez Rivera; (fifth row, left to right): Ángel Pastrana, Malena Ramírez, Alfonso Rey; (sixth row, left to right): Ysmael Reyes, Mafer Rodríguez; (seventh row, left to right): Ramiro Sandoval, J.F. Seary; (bottom row, left to right): Stephen Suárez, Raúl Torres.

Not pictured: Nicky Figueredo, Nidia Medina, Melissa Mercado, Marta Lucía Saldarriaga.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2011-12-23T13:29:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

The Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en los Estados Unidos recently held their second annual Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado, after which awards were presented. Yanelba Ferreira, Ronald Sarcos and Claudio Marcel Weisz were among the acting nominees. Best Actor honors went to Wilmar Saldarriaga, while Ydaiber Orozco nabbed Best Actress honors.

Abraham Makany is slated to act in the Mac Rogers play Advance Man. Directed by Jordana Williams and presented by Gideon Productions, the show is scheduled for a January run at the Secret Theatre in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens. For more information, click here.

Mike Smith Rivera is scheduled to act in the production New Year's Brunchin' Eve. Billed as "five brand new short plays about the end of the old and the beginning of the new," they were written by Dylan Dawson, Meghan Deans, Eric March, Willie Orbison and Erica Saleh, respectively, and directed by R.J. Tolan, John Giampietro, Tom Wojtunik, Collette Robert and Linsay Firman, respectively. Produced by and at Ensemble Studio Theatre (located in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen area), along with Youngblood, it is scheduled for a performance on New Year's Eve (natch). For more information (and how to buy tickets), click here.

José Ignacio Vivero and Susannah Dalton created the webseries "Wilbur's Wisdom." Produced by PinPuppets, the first episode of the stop-motion animated series features the voices of Paul de Vries and Skylar Osterman and can be seen below. To see more episodes, click here.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

HOLA Legends: Katy Jurado

2011-12-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

Katy Jurado (1924 – 2002), born María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico, was an actress who had a successful film career both in Mexico and in Hollywood. She made seventy-one films during her career. She became the first Latin American actress nominated for an Academy Award, as Best Supporting Actress for her work in 1954's Broken Lance, and was the first to win a Golden Globe. Like many Latino actors, she was typecast to play ethnic roles in American films. By contrast, she had a greater variety of roles in Mexican films; sometimes she also sang and danced.

One of three children, she had a privileged childhood. Both her maternal and paternal families were wealthy, six generations earlier, they had owned much of the land that became the U.S. state of Texas. Both families lost much of their wealth during the Mexican revolution. Family's lands were confiscated by the federal government for redistribution to the landless peasantry. However, she still lived well. Her father was a cattle baron and orange farmer, and her mother was a well-known opera singer who gave up the stage to marry and raise a family. Her cousin, Emilio Portes Gil, was president of Mexico beginning in 1928. Despite the loss of property, the matriarch of the family, her grandmother, continued to live by her aristocratic ideals.

She moved with her family to Mexico City in 1927 and studied journalism. Discovered by Director Emilio Fernández when she was sixteen, she went against family wishes and began pursuing a career in acting. To get around her family's objections, she slipped from the grasp of her family's control by marrying the Mexican actor and writer Víctor Velázquez against her parents' wishes. Together, they had a son and a daughter, Victor Hugo and Sandra. The marriage ended in divorce in 1943, and the children remained with her family in Mexico when she traveled to the United States to work.

She began acting in Mexican films starting in 1943, with the movie No matarás (Thou Shalt Not Kill), and went on to appear in sixteen more films over the next seven years during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Her very particular features were the key of her notable success. Blessed with a stunning beauty and an assertive personality, she specialized in playing determined women in a wide variety of films. Her looks, evocative of the indigenous peoples of Mexico, allowed her to carve a niche for herself in the Mexican cinema. However she typically was cast as a dangerous seductress/man-eater, a popular type in Mexican movies.

During her early years in the Mexican cinema she appeared with stars like Carmen Montejo, María Elena Marqués, David Silva and others. In 1943, she had her first success with her third film La vida inútil de Pito Pérez, for which she received an Ariel, the Mexican equivalent of the Oscar. In 1948, her performance in Nosotros los pobres, opposite the well-known Mexican actor Pedro Infante, brought her fame. She worked with Infante once again in El seminarista (1949). In 1951, she starred in Cárcel de mujeres, with the Spanish star Sara Montiel. Her popularity with audiences also landed her a radio show in Mexico.

In addition to acting, she worked as a movie columnist, radio reporter and bullfight critic to support her family. She was on assignment when Director Budd Boetticher and actor John Wayne spotted her at a bullfight. Neither knew at the time that she was an actress. However, Boetticher, who was also a professional bullfighter, cast her in his 1951 film Bullfighter and the Lady, opposite Gilbert Roland as the wife of an aging matador. At that time, she had very limited English language skills. She memorized and delivered her lines phonetically. Despite this handicap, her strong performance brought her to the attention of Hollywood producer Stanley Kramer. Kramer cast her in the classic Western High Noon, starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. She quickly learned to speak English for the role, studying and taking classes two hours a day for two months, delivering a powerful performance as the saloon owner Helen Ramírez, former love of reluctant hero Will Kane, in one of the most memorable films of the era. She earned a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and gained widespread notice in the American movie industry. Only two other Mexican actresses have been nominated for Golden Globes (and Oscars) since then: Salma Hayek in 2002 for Frida and Adriana Barraza for Babel.

Already established herself as an actress in Mexico in the 1940s when she came to Hollywood, she became a regular in Western films of the 1950s and 1960s. She worked with many Hollywood legends, including Gary Cooper in High Noon, Spencer Tracy in Broken Lance, and Marlon Brando in One-Eyed Jacks, and such respected directors as Fred Zinneman (High Noon), Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid) and John Huston (Under the Volcano).

In 1954 she replaced Dolores del Río in the film Broken Lance for which she received an Academy Award nomination, playing Spencer Tracy's Comanche wife and the mother of Robert Wagner.

Despite her notable Hollywood success in the early 1950s, she continued with some performances in Mexico. In 1953 she starred in the Luis Buñuel's box-office success El bruto, for which she received an Ariel Award. The same year she starred in Arrowhead with Charlton Heston and Jack Palance, playing a Comanche. In a 1955 interview with Louella Parsons, shecommented on the mostly American indigenous roles she was given: " I don't mind dramatic roles. I love to act, any character at all. But just once I would like to be my Mexican self in an American motion picture."

On the set of The Badlanders (1958), she met her costar Ernest Borgnine, who became her second husband on December 31, 1959. The couple founded the movie production company SANVIO CORP. With her husband's support, she starred in Dino de Laurentis Italian productions like Barabbas and I braganti italiani. However her tumultuous marriage with Borgnine ended in divorce in 1963. He called her "beautiful, but a tiger."

In 1958 she starred in Broadway in the Tennessee Williams play The Red Devil Battery Sign, with Anthony Quinn and Claire Bloom. She had a torrid affair with the actor Marlon Brando. Brando, who was involved at the time with Movita Castañeda and was having a parallel relationship with Rita Moreno, was smitten with Katy Jurado after seeing her in High Noon. He told Joseph L. Mankiewicz that he was attracted to "her enigmatic eyes, black as hell, pointing at you like fiery arrows." She recalled years later in an interview that "Marlon called me one night for a date, and I accepted. I knew all about Movita. I knew he had a thing for Rita Moreno. Hell, it was just a date. I didn't plan to marry him." However, their first date became the beginning of an extended affair that lasted many years and peaked at the time they worked together on One-Eyed Jacks (1960), a film directed by Brando. "Marlon asked me to marry many times, but for me my children were first," she said. She also maintained a close friendship with stars like Anthony Quinn, Burt Lancaster, Sam Peckinpah, Frank Sinatra, Dolores del Río, John Wayne and many others. Early in her career in Hollywood, she had an affair with John Wayne; she later claimed that he wanted to marry her.

As her career in the U.S. began to wind down, she was reduced to appearing in the movies Smoky (1966) with Fess Parker and Stay Away, Joe (1968), playing the half-Apache mother of Elvis Presley. In 1966 she reprised her role from High Noon (1952) in a TV pilot called "The Clock Strikes Noon Again" which co-starred Peter Fonda as the son of Will Kane. In 1968, she became depressed and attempted suicide by ingesting sleeping pills. She had left a suicide note for her family and was discovered in time to save her life. After her suicide attempt, she moved back to Mexico permanently, though she continued to appear in American films as a character actress. She revived both her personal and professional lives and, in 1972, married again, on a private island she owned off the coast of southern Mexico.

She again appeared on television and in films during the 1970s. Tragedy stuck when her son died in an automobile accident in 1981 at the age of 35. In the following years she worked on television both in The United States and in Mexico. She did guest appearances on "Playhouse 90" and "The Rifleman." She also co-starred in the short-lived television series "a.k.a. Pablo" in 1984, a situation comedy series for ABC, with Paul Rodríguez.

In 1984, she acted in the Mexican-American production Under the Volcano, directed by John Huston. In 1985, she was named film promotion commissioner for the Mexican state of Morelos. In that position, she issued filming permits, found locations for movies, and arranged accommodations for film crews. The position provided her with the opportunity to arrange and develop national and international motion pictures in her beloved Mexico. Her last American film appearance was in Stephen Frears's Western The Hi-Lo Country, capping a half-century-long American movie career. In 1992 she was honored with the Golden Boot Award for her notable contribution to the western movies. In 1998, she completed a timely Spanish-language film for director Arturo Ripstein called El evangelio de las maravillas about a millennium sect. She won the best supporting Actress silver Ariel for this role. In 2002, she appeared in her last movie Un secreto de Esperanza.

Towards the end of her life, she suffered from heart and lung ailments. She died of kidney failure and pulmonary disease on July 5, 2002, at the age of 78 at her home in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. She was buried in Cuernavaca, at the Panteón de la Páz cemetery. She was survived by her daughter.

With Pina Pellicer and Karl Malden in One-Eyed Jacks (1960, directed by Marlon Brando)

Trailer of High Noon (1952)

With Pedro Infante in Nosotros los pobres (1947)

Tribute

HOLA Member Bochinche

2011-12-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Marcelino Feliciano, shown at left, booked a role in the play Jackson Heights, 3AM. Conceived and directed by Ari Laura Kreith, the series of plays were produced by Theatre 167 and written by Jenny Lyn Bader; J. Stephen Brantley; Ed Cardona, Jr.; Les Hunter; Tom Miller; Melisa Tien; and Joy Tomasko. Scheduled for a January and February run, it is scheduled to take place at Public School 69 at the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens and then in Queens Theater in the Flushing Meadows Park of Queens. The cast also features Roberto Araujo, Varín Ayala, Farah Bala, Cynthia Bastidas, Rajesh Bose, J. Stephen Brantley, Arlene Chico-Lugo, Ross DeGraw, Nick Fehlinger, Kevin Hoffman, John P. Keller, Alex Kip, Ephraim López, Neal Mayer, Nina Mehta, Sergey Nagorny, Flor De Liz Pérez, Indika Senanayake, Josie Whittlesey and Shivantha Wijesinha. For more information, click here. (Mr. Feliciano booked the gig after the casting director saw his headshot on the HOLA online talent directory.)

Sarah Elizondo and Gloribell Mercado, shown at right, from left to right, booked roles in a Del Exilio music video after the director saw their headshots on the HOLA online talent directory.

Yanelba Ferreira was cast as the lead for the short film For Granted (written by Gabe Walkinshaw and scheduled to be directed by Joe Williams; produced by Amago Productions). It is slated to shoot the first weekend of January.

Ismael Cruz Córdova can be seen in the recurring role of Jimmy Patrick on "The Good Wife" (CBS).

Mel Nieves announced that his play Undertow is an official selection of the 2012 Downtown Urban Theater Festival (DUTF), to be presented at Here Theater in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood in March 2012. For more information, click here.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Betcha Didn't Know...?

2011-12-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

Some of the most notable names from the dawn of film and television are of Latino descent. Here are some of them.

In this edition, a famous game show hostess, a wrestler, an heiress, a newsman, and two actors.

Vanna White (1957- ), born Vanna Marie Rosich, is a television personality and film actress best known as the hostess of "Wheel of Fortune" since 1982. Born in Conway, South Carolina, U.S.A. to a Puerto Rican father and a mother of Italian-German descent. When her parents divorced, her mother remarried and she took the last name of her stepfather. After "Wheel of Forune" hostess Susan Stafford left in October 1982, White was chosen as one of three substitute hostesses (along with Vicki McCarty and Summer Bartholomew) to co-host the show. On December 13, 1982, she became the show's regular hostess, where her popularity grew. Her 1987 autobiography, Vanna Speaks!, was a best-seller. She also has made cameo appearances on television shows such as "227," "Simon and Simon," "Married... With Children" and "Full House"; and in films such as Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult. On April 20, 2006, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She married restaurant owner George San Pietro in December 1990 and they divorced in November 2002. They had two children, a son born in 1994 and a daughter born in 1997. She is an avid crochet and knitting enthusiast and has a line of yarns called "Vanna's Choice" through Lion Brand Yarns.

Hulk Hogan (1953- ), born Terrence Gene Bollea, is a professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician. Born in Augusta, Georgia, U.S.A. and raised in Tampa, Florida, U.S.A., he enjoyed mainstream popularity in the mid-1980s through the early 1990s as the all-American character "Hulk" Hogan in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF—now the WWE), and was notable in the mid-to-late 1990s as Hollywood Hogan, a villain, in World Chanmpionship Wrestling (WCW). Following WCW's fold, he made a brief return to WWE in the early 2000s, revising his heroic character by combining elements of his two most famous personas. The son of an Italian father and a mother of French-Italian-Panamanian heritage, he was a wrestling fan and also a skilled musician, spending ten years playing bass guitar in several Florida-based rock bands. He started training with wrestler Hiro Matsuda in 1976 and made his professional wrestling debut the following year. He was later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005. He is a 12-time world heavyweight champion (six titles with WWF/WWE and six titles with WCW), as well as a former WWE World Tag Team Champion with Edge. In his first reign as WCW World Heavyweight Champion, Hogan held the title for 469 days from July 17, 1994 to October 29, 1995—the longest reign of all time for this championship. His crossover popularity led to several television and movie roles. Early in his career he played the part of Thunderlips in Rocky III (1982). Other film credits include No Holds Barred (1989), Suburban Commando (1991), Mr. Nanny (1993), Santa with Muscles (1996), and 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain (1998). He starred in the television series, "Thunder in Paradise" and "Hogan Knows Best," the latter of which was a reality television series that followed the lives of his family. He released a music CD, Hulk Rules, as Hulk Hogan and The Wrestling Boot Band.

Gloria Vanderbilt (1924- ), is an American artist, author, actress, heiress and socialite most noted as an early developer of designer blue jeans. Born the only child of railroad heir Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt and his second wife, Gloria Morgan in New York, New York, U.S.A., she is a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family of New York. She became heiress to a half share in a five-million-dollar trust fund upon her father's death from cirrhosis when she was 18 months old. Her maternal great-grandfather, Hugh Judson Kilpatrick (1836–1881), was a Union Army general during the American Civil War who also served as the U.S. minister to Chile. Her maternal grandmother, Luisa Kilpatrick, née Luisa Valdivieso Araoz, was a member of a wealthy Spanish family that settled in Chile in the 17th century. Her mother's twin sister, Thelma, pronounced her name the Spanish pronounciation (TEL-ma). She studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse with teacher Sanford Meisner and studied art at the Art Students League of New York. She became known for her artwork, giving one-woman shows of oil paintings, watercolors, and pastels. This artwork was adapted and licensed, starting about 1968, by Hallmark Cards (a manufacturer of paper products) and by Bloomcraft (a textile manufacturer), and Vanderbilt began designing specifically for linens, china, glassware and flatware. During the 1970s, she ventured into the fashion business, first with Glentex, licensing her name for a line of scarves. In 1976, Indian designer Mohan Murjani's Murjani Corporation, proposed launching a line of designer jeans carrying her name embossed in script on the back pocket, as well as her swan logo. Her jeans were more tightly fitted than the other jeans of that time. The logo eventually appeared on dresses and perfumes as well. Along with her jeans, she launched a line of blouses, sheets, shoes, leather goods, liqueurs, and accessories. Jones Apparel Group acquired the rights to Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans in 2002. She was one of the first designers to make public appearances, which was a difficult thing for her because of her shyness. In 1978, Gloria Vanderbilt sold the rights to her name to the Murjani Group. She then launched her own company, "GV Ltd.," on 7th Avenue in New York. In the period from 1982 to 2002 L'Oreal launched eight fragrances under the brand name Gloria Vanderbilt. In 2001, she opened her first art exhibition, "Dream Boxes," at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester. A critical success, she launched another exhibition of 35 paintings at the Arts Center in 2007. Two years later, she returned to the Arts Center as a panelist at its Annual Fall Show Exhibition, signing copies of her latest novel, "Obsession: An Erotic Tale." She is the author of four memoirs and three novels, and is a regular contributor to The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and Elle. Today, Vanderbilt is not involved in the fashion or home furnishings business, and is in no way affiliated with the clothing and accessories company that uses her name. She has been married four times (to agent Pasquale DiCicco, conductor Leopold Stokowski, director Stanley Lumet and author Wyatt Emory Cooper, respectively) and has four children (Leopold Stanislaus Stokowski, Christopher Stokowski, Carter Cooper and CNN newsman Anderson Cooper) and three grandchildren from her eldest son. She maintained a romantic relationship with photographer and filmmaker Gordon Parks for many years until his death in 2006.

Anderson Cooper (1967- ) is an American journalist, author and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show "Anderson Cooper 360°" and the host of his own eponymous syndicated daytime talk show "Anderson." Born in New York, New York, U.S.A., he is the son of writer Wyatt Emory Cooper and artist-designer-writer-heiress Gloria Vanderbilt. On his mother's side, he is a great-great-grandson of Major General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick and his wife Luisa Valdivieso de Kilpatrick (who was Chilean-born and of Spaniard heritage). He was a child model. He cites his brother Carter's suicide when he was 21 as a catalyst for sparking his interest in journalism. A graduate of Yale University with a degree in political science, he worked first for small news agency Channel One. He later became a correspondent for ABC News, eventually rising to the position of co-anchor on its overnight "World News Now" program on September 21, 1999. He moved to CNN in 2001, first as a co-anchor on "American Morning" and later as a weekend primetime anchor in 2002. His show "Anderson Cooper 360°" debuted in 2003. In early 2007 Cooper signed a multi-year deal with CNN, which would allow him to continue as a contributor to "60 Minutes" on CBS while concurrently serving as a CNN correspondent. Warner Bros. and Telepictures (both corporate siblings of CNN) announced in September 2010 that Cooper had signed an agreement to host a nationally syndicated talk show. The New York Times' Brian Stelter reported on Twitter that the new Warner Bros. daytime talk show would be named "Anderson." The show premiered on September 12, 2011 and, as part of negotiations over the talk show deal, he signed a new multi-year contract with CNN to continue as the host of "Anderson Cooper 360°."

Odette Yustman (1985- ), also known as Odette Annable, is an actress. Born in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., her mother is Cuban and her father, who is of Italian-French descent), was born in Colombia and raised in Nicaragua. Spanish was her first language. She made her acting debut at an early age, playing a young, Spanish-speaking student named Rosa in the film Kindergarten Cop, and later moved on to various television shows such as "South Beach" and "October Road." In 2007, she starred in the Lifetime original movie Reckless Behavior: Caught on Tape and followed it quickly with a lead role in J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield (2008) and the horror film The Unborn (2009). She starred as Melanie in the Fox series "Breaking In," which was cancelled and then renewed for another season. Between the cancellation and the renewal of that series she began starring in Fox's "House" as Dr. Jessica Adams, one of Dr. Gregory House's newest recruits. When "Breaking In" was renewed, Fox allowed her to work on both series simultaneously. She is married to actor Dave Annable (from ABC's "Brothers & Sisters"). In their wedding vows, she made him promise to learn Spanish and plans to pass down the language to her kids one day.

Edward Furlong (1977- ), born Edward Furlong Tafoya al estilo latino, is an actor whose best known film roles are John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Daniel Vinyard in American History X. He was born in Glendale, California, U.S.A. to a Mexican-American mother and a father of Russian and Native American descent. He began his career with the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a role that earned him a MTV Movie Award and a Saturn Award for his performance. He followed this role with a string of moderately successful high-profile films and independent films, such as Before and After, Little Odessa, Pet Sematary II, Brainscan and The Grass Harp. In 1998, he starred in American History X alongside Edward Norton and appeared in his first comedy role in Pecker, directed by John Waters. Later film credits include Detroit Rock City, Animal Factory, The Crow: Wicked Prayer, Jimmy & Judy and Night of the Demons. He had a five-episode stint on the CBS series "CSI: NY." Most recently he acted in the 2011 Seth Rogen film, The Green Hornet.

Does race and ethnicity matter in casting?

2011-12-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

Does race and ethnicity matter in casting? Find out what the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles opines by clicking here.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Rita Moreno!

2011-12-13T13:21:00.001-08:00

The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) wishes a happy 80th birthday to the trailblazing, vibrant pioneer-- actor-singer-dancer-- and winner of the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony-- Ms. Rita Moreno.

Thank you for busting down the doors that helped Latinos in the arts and for helping us realize our limitless potential.

To find out more about Ms. Moreno and to see her in action, click here and here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2011-12-13T10:02:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Kamar de los Reyes has a guest-starring role in an episode of "Reed Between the Lines" (BET).

Joel Luna booked a role in the short film Last Bullet (directed by Rafael Boelter).

Yanelba Ferreira, shown at left, e-mailed us to let us know that she finished filming the short film The Day That Was (written and directed by Edgar De La Vega). In addition, she booked a role in the short film Seizure (written and directed by Loui Terrier) through an HOLA casting referral.

R.Evolución Latina presented An Evening of Celebration. Directed and conceived by Luis Salgado (with musical direction by Zach Dietz and orchestrations by Jaime Lozano), the evening of music and dance featured performances by Andrea Patterson, Charles D'Amato, Doreen Montalvo, Eliseo Román, Taharq, Daniel J. Watts, Olga Merediz and Salgado and took place in December at the Engelman Recital Hall in the Baruch Performing Arts Center in the Gramercy area of Manhattan. Additional performers included Karina Alós, Mónica Delgado, Anthony Michael Martínez, Marisel Polanco, Yvette Quintero, Reza Salazar and Mônica Steuer.

Madres y comadres, the "webnovela" presented by Kmart and starring Loren Escandón and Mafer Rodríguez and directed by Alberto Ferreras, is featured in a Solpersona article by Frankie De Soto.

Marcela Landres wrote "The Latinidad List: Best Latino Books of 2011" on ¡LatinoLA! Under the category of poetry collection, her pick was Me No Habla With Acento (edited by Emanuel Xavier and published by Rebel Satori Pres s/El Museo Del Barrio), which features the work of A.B. Lugo and Caridad De La Luz. To see who else made the list, click here.

Lucio Fernández premiered his new music video "Choza de amor" off his new collection of tunes, Enamorado (available on iTunes). The video, directed by Lucio and Megan Fernández, was shot on location in Mexico and can be seen below.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

HOLA Member Bochinche

2011-12-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Marco Antonio Rodríguez was the feature in an article for Latino Leaders magazine. To see the article, click here.

Gabriel García booked a role in an industrial video for the North Shore-LIJ Health System on health literacy. He also booked a role in the short film Patchogue (directed by Ougie Pak).

Danisarte is presenting their latest The New Treasures/Los nuevos valores Theater Festival. Produced by Alicia Kaplan, it took place in December at the Julia de Burgos Latino Cultural Center in Manhattan's El Barrio neighborhood. The festival included plays by Masha Kuznetsov, Julio Ortega, Sonia Suárez Schwartz and Juan Guzmán, respectively, and were directed by Franco Galecio, Kaplan, Cecill Villar and Guzmán, respectively. Actors in the festival included América Barrera, Estela Orosco, Galecio, Carolina Cruz, Nestor Carrillo, Kaplan, Guzmán, Josue Vargas, among others. For more information, click here.

Indie Theater Blog presented the Best of 2011 collection, a list of the top five theater productions. In the list is Día de los Muertos, written by Anthony P. Pennino and directed by Alberto Bonilla, presented by Teatro LATEA and Core Creative Productions this past July. The cast included Bonilla, Javier E. Gómez and Ydaiber Orozco. For more information, click here.

Ydaiber Orozco and Ron Sarcos acted in the Ricardo Prieto play Los disfraces. Directed by José Bonilla, it took place at the end of November in the Sala Don Iván García Guerra in the Casa de la Cultura de Navarrete USA in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Stephen Adly Guirgis in The New York Times Regarding the Controversial TheaterWorks Hartford production of THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT

2011-12-09T13:55:00.000-08:00

Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis, shown at left, writes in The New York Times about the recent casting controversy in the TheaterWorks Hartford production of his play The Motherf**ker With The Hat. Read it by clicking here.

HOLA Legends: Ramón Novarro

2011-12-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

Ramón Novarro (1899–1968), born José Ramón Gil Samaniego on February 6 in Victoria de Durango, Durango, Mexico, was a leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "sex symbol" after the death of Rudolph Valentino. The son of a doctor, the family (with 12 children) moved to Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. to escape the after-effects of the Mexican Revolution in 1913.

A second cousin of the actresses Dolores del Río and Andrea Palma, he entered films in 1917 in bit parts; and he supplemented his income by working as a singing waiter. His friends, the actor and director Rex Ingram and his wife, the actress Alice Terry, began to promote him as a rival to Rudolph Valentino, and Ingram suggested he change his name to "Novarro." From 1923, he began to play more prominent roles. His role in Scaramouche (1923) brought him his first major success.

In 1925, he achieved his greatest success in Ben-Hur, his revealing costumes causing a sensation, and was elevated into the Hollywood elite. With Valentino's death in 1926, Novarro became the screen's leading Latin actor, though ranked behind his MGM stablemate, John Gilbert, as a model lover. He was popular as a swashbuckler in action roles and was considered one of the great romantic lead actors of his day. He appeared with Norma Shearer in The Student Prince of Old Heidelberg (1927) and with Joan Crawford in Across to Singapore (1928). He made his first talking film, starring as a singing French soldier, in Devil-May-Care (1929). He also starred with the French actress Renée Adorée in The Pagan (1929). He also starred with Greta Garbo in Mata Hari (1932) and was a qualified success opposite Myrna Loy in The Barbarian (1933).

When his contract with MGM Studios expired in 1935, the studio did not renew it. He continued to act sporadically, appearing in films for Republic Pictures, a Mexican religious drama, and a French comedy. In the 1940s, he had several small roles in American films, including John Huston's We Were Strangers (1949) starring Jennifer Jones and John Garfield. A Broadway tryout was aborted in the 1960s, but he kept busy on television, appearing in NBC's "High Chaparral" as late as 1968.

At the peak of his success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was earning more than US$100,000 per film. He invested some of his income in real estate, and his Hollywood Hills residence is one of the more renowned designs (1927) by architect Lloyd Wright. After his career ended, he was still able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

He had been troubled all his life as a result of his conflicting views over his Roman Catholic religion and his homosexuality, and his life-long struggle with alcoholism is often traced to these issues. He was a friend of adventurer and author Richard Halliburton, also a celebrity in the closet, and was romantically involved with journalist Herbert Howe, who was also his publicist during the late 1920s.

He was murdered on October 30, 1968, by two brothers, Paul and Tom Ferguson (aged 22 and 17, respectively), whom he had hired from an agency to come to his Laurel Canyon home for sex. According to the prosecution in the murder case, the two young men believed that a large sum of money was hidden in his house. The prosecution accused them of torturing him for several hours to force him to reveal where the nonexistent money was hidden. They left with a mere 20 dollars they took from his bathrobe pocket before fleeing the scene. He allegedly died as a result of asphyxiation, choking to death on his own blood after being brutally beaten. The two brothers were later caught and sentenced to long prison terms but were quickly released on probation. Both were later re-arrested for unrelated crimes, for which they served longer terms than for their murder conviction.

He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, in Los Angeles. His star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at 6350 Hollywood Boulevard.

Singing the song "Lonely"

With Greta Garbo in Mata Hari (1932)

In Ben-Hur (1925) [subtitled in Spanish]

Tribute to Ramón Novarro

Cinematic Tough Guys Who Love Latinas

2011-12-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

John Wayne (1907—1979), born Marion Robert Morrison and also known as Marion Mitchell Morrison and "The Duke," was an American film actor, director and producer. An Academy Award-winner, he is one of the biggest box office draws of all time. An enduring American icon, he epitomized rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height. Born in Winterset, Iowa, U.S.A., his family relocated to the greater Los Angeles area when he was four. He found work at local film studios when he lost his football scholarship to the University of Southern California as a result of a surfing accident. Initially working for the Fox Film Corporation, he mostly appeared in small bit parts. His acting breakthrough came in 1939 with John Ford's Stagecoach, making him an instant star. He would go on to star in 142 pictures, primarily typecast in Western films. He won the Academy Award for the film True Grit (1969). For more information, click here.

He married three times and divorced twice. All of his wives were Latina: Josephine Alicia Sáenz, Esperanza Baur and Pilar Pallete, the latter two of whom were actresses. His wives were Panamanian, Mexican and Peruvian, respectively. He had four children with his first wife: Michael Morrison (1934—2003), Mary Antonia "Toni" Morrison LaCava (1936—2000), Patrick Morrison (1939— ), and Melinda Morrison Muñoz (1940— ); no children with his second wife; and three children with his third wife: Aissa Morrison (1956— ), John Ethan Morrison (1962— ), and Marisa Morrison (1966— ). Three of his sons (under the names Michael Wayne, Patrick Wayne and John Ethan Wayne, respectively), pursued careers as actors.

Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. (1930— ) is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Born in San Francisco, California, U.S.A., he first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series "Rawhide" (1959–1965). He rose to fame for playing the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy of spaghetti westerns (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly) during the 1960s, and as San Francisco Police Department Inspector Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry films (Dirty Harry, Magnum Force, The Enforcer, Sudden Impact and The Dead Pool) during the 1970s and 1980s.

He won Academy Awards for Best Director and Producer of the Best Picture, as well as receiving nominations for Best Actor, for his work in the films Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004). In addition to directing most of his own star vehicles, he has also directed films in which he did not appear, such as Mystic River (2003) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), for which he received Academy Award nominations, and Changeling (2008). These roles, along with several others in which he plays tough-talking no-nonsense police officers, have made him an enduring cultural icon of masculinity. In 2000 he was awarded the Italian Venice Film Festival Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. Since 1967, Eastwood has run his own production company, Malpaso, which has produced the vast majority of his films. He also served as the nonpartisan mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, U.S.A., from 1986 to 1988. For more information, click here or here.

He has had a passion for music all his life. He particularly favors jazz and country and western music and is a pianist and composer. He developed as a ragtime pianist early on and had originally intended to pursue a career in music by studying for a music theory degree after graduating from high school. He has his own Warner Bros. Records-distributed imprint Malpaso Records, as part of his deal with Warner Brothers, which has released all of the scores of his films from The Bridges of Madison County onward.

He has seven children by five different women, and has married twice. He married Maggie Johnson on December 19, 1953. While separated from Johnson, he had an affair with dancer Roxanne Tunis, with whom he had his first child, Kimber Tunis (1964— ). After a reconciliation, he had two children with Johnson: Kyle Eastwood (1968— ) and Alison Eastwood (1972— ). He filed for divorce in 1979 after a long separation which was finalized in 1984. He then entered a relationship with actress Sondra Locke in 1975, and they lived together for fourteen years despite the fact that she remained married (in name only) to her gay husband, Gordon Anderson. They co-starred in six films together: The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Gauntlet, Every Which Way But Loose, Bronco Billy, Any Which Way You Can, and Sudden Impact. The couple separated acrimoniously in 1989. During his cohabitation with Locke, he had an affair with flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves. From this union is his son, Scott Reeves (1986— ) and Kathryn Reeves (1988— ). In 1990, he began living with actress Frances Fisher, whom he had met on the set of Pink Cadillac (1989). They co-starred in Unforgiven and had a daughter, Francesca Fisher-Eastwood (1993— ). The couple ended their relationship in early 1995, but remain friends and later appeared together in True Crime. His son Kyle is a jazz bassist and his daughter Alison is an actor.

He subsequently began dating Dina Ruiz, an anchorwoman 35 years his junior, whom he had first met when she interviewed him in 1993. They married on March 31, 1996, when he surprised her with a private ceremony at his home. Ruiz is of African American-Japanese-Irish-German-English descent, but was adopted by a Latino family named Ruiz. The couple has one daughter, Morgan Eastwood (1996— ). He has two grandchildren: Clinton (1984— ) and Graylen (1994— ), by Kimber and Kyle respectively.

Marlon Brando, Jr. (1924—2004) was an American actor and political activist. He was the only professional actor, aside from Charlie Chaplin, named by Time magazine as one of its 100 Persons of the Century in 1999. He had a significant impact on film acting, and was the foremost example of the Method acting style and is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century. Director Martin Scorsese said of him, "He is the marker. There's 'before Brando' and 'after Brando'." Actor Jack Nicholson once said, "When Marlon dies, everybody moves up one." He was ranked by the American Film Institute as the fourth greatest screen legend among male movie stars.

An enduring cultural icon, he became a box office star during the 1950s, during which time he racked up five Oscar nominations as Best Actor. He initially gained popularity for recreating the role as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a Tennessee Williams play that had established him as a Broadway star during its 1947-49 stage run; and for his Academy Award-winning performance as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954), as well as for his iconic portrayal of the rebel motorcycle gang leader Johnny Strabler in The Wild One (1953), which is considered to be one of the most famous images in pop culture. He was also nominated for the Oscar for playing Emiliano Zapata in Viva Zapata! (1952); Mark Antony in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1953 film adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; and as Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver in Sayonara (1957), Joshua Logan's adaptation of James Michener's 1954 novel. He won his second Academy Award for playing Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972), a role critics consider among his greatest. His final nomination was for the role of Paul in Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris (1972). As an activist, the Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A.-born actor supported many issues, notably the African American Civil Rights Movement and various American Indian Movements. For more information, click here or here.

He had numerous children. Some historians put the number of children he had as fourteen, including three of whom he adopted. He married Indian-Welsh-Irish actress Anna Kashfi in 1957; they had a son Christian Brando (1958—2008), divorcing in 1959. He then married María Movita Castañeda, a Mexican-American actress; they were divorced in 1962. They had two children together, Miko Castañeda Brando (1961— ) and Rebecca Brando (1966— ). His third wife was Tahitian actress Tarita Teriipia, who played his love interest in the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty. They married in 1962. Teriipia became the mother of two of his children, Simon Teihotu Brando (1963— ) and Tarita Cheyenne Brando (1970-1995). He also adopted Teriipia's daughters Maimiti Brando (1977— ) and Raiatua Brando (1982— ), even though they divorced in 1972.

He had a longterm relationship (roughly between 1988 and 1996) with his housekeeper María Christina Ruiz, by whom he had three children, Ninna Priscilla Brando (1989— ), Myles Jonathan Brando (1992— ), and Timothy Gahan Brando (1994— ). He had three more children by unidentified women, Stefano Brando (1967— ), Dylan Brando (1968—1988), and Angelique Brando (?— ). He also adopted Petra Brando-Corval (1972— ), the daughter of his assistant Caroline Barrett and novelist James Clavell.

Of his children, only Stefano, using the stage name Stephen Blackehart, is an actor. Tuki Brando, one of his numerous grandchildren (some estimates say as many as 36), is a famous Tahitian fashion model in his own right. The current exact number of Brando's descendents is unknown.

More People Weigh In On the Casting Controversy With the TheaterWorks Hartford Production of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT

2011-12-08T12:37:00.000-08:00

More people are weighing in on the casting controversy regarding TheaterWorks Hartford and their decision to cast non-Latinos in Latino specific roles in the Stephen Adly Guirgis play The Motherf**ker With the Hat. The roles were specified as Latino by the playwright but not posted as such on the casting breakdown sent out by the theater. While the production itself closed on Sunday, December 4, 2011, the controversy continues. Click on the links below to read more.

• Playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis attended the production in its closing weekend, as reported by Frank Rizzo of the Hartford Courant.

• Playwright (and HOLA Award winner) Quiara Alegría Hudes defended Guirgis, taking umbrage at TheaterWorks Hartford Artistic Director Steve Campo's comment that "It is a tribute to his skill that Stephen Adly Guirgis, though not Hispanic, is able to so credibly depict a culture not his own, as he does in The Mother[expletive] With the Hat. How gracious it would be of him to allow that actors (of whatever heritage) might succeed in acting, much as he has in writing.”

• Actor/playwright (and HOLA Award winner) Carmen Peláez wrote about the controversy on her blog Peacock Chronicles.

Pioneer Actress Marquita Rivera Honored By The Puerto Rican Senate

2011-12-08T10:52:00.000-08:00

The late Marquita Rivera, a Puerto Rican pioneer on Broadway and in Hollywood, was honored by the Puerto Rico Senate on Thursday, December 1, 2011 for her career achievements as the first native Puerto Rican actress to dance on Broadway and to appear in a major Hollywood motion picture when she made her American movie debut as a specialty performer in Road to Rio (1947) with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

The activity included films of Rivera, an acclaimed actress, singer and dancer. The Fajardo-born, New York-raised entertainer studied dance and flamenco at an early age and was a childhood friend of bandleader Tito Puente.

The ceremony, attended by two of Rivera’s seven children, Eugene Biscardi III and Jessica Wolford, included the unveiling of a portrait of the multi-talented entertainer. The painting, by local artist Juan Cuevas, takes its title from one of Rivera’s nicknames, "Queen of La Conga."

Rivera toured the country as a dancer and produced her own shows on Broadway. She also had a successful acting career in Mexico before taking her talents to Hollywood.

Marquita Rivera, born María Heroína Rivera de Santiago on May 18, 1922 to Don Jesús Rivera de Pérez and Doña Clara Asunción Castro de Santiago in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, was an actress, singer, and dancer who rose to international prominence in the 1940s and became notably known as the "Queen of Latin Rhythm." She enjoyed a strong musical career in the United States, Mexico, and in her native Puerto Rico.

The youngest in her large family, she began to study flamenco and castanets at the age of six with Eduardo Cansino, the father of Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth.

She became the featured dancer in the original "Cuban Pete" soundie with her childhood friend, Tito Puente playing the drums and the Puerto Rican bandleader Noro Morales playing the piano.

At the age of sixteen, Marquita Rivera was chosen to dance before Britain's King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, during their visit to the 1939 New York World's Fair. This was an honor that she would remember for the rest of her life.

Marquita also shared stages with such illustrious stars as Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, Ann Miller, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Merv Griffin, and Betty Hutton. She was also a marquee name back in her homeland of Puerto Rico where she entertained at popular venues such as Zero's Nightclub with orchestra leader Miguelito Miranda and the El San Juan Theatre. She was dubbed "The Latin Hurricane" for her rapid and fiery dance routines.

In the mid-1940s, Marquita headlined at the infamous Lírico Theatre in Mexico City and was noticed by legendary film director Fernando Soler, who offered Rivera a movie contract with Azteca Studios. She acted for him in both the film drama Me persigue una mujer (1947) with José Torvay and David Silva, and the comedy El conquistador (1947), also starring Torvay and Enrique Herrera.

In 1948, Marquita Rivera was awarded the Key to the City of San Juan by Mayor Felisa de Rincón. in recognition of her achievements on Broadway as a dancer, and as an actress in Mexico, and Hollywood.

Marquita married and had seven children, Marquita, her namesake, Eugene, Jessica, Louis, Robert, Joseph, and Lucrezia.

In 1963, Marquita Rivera made a special appearance at Carnegie Hall at an International Mother's Day Gala Concert, to represent Puerto Rico.

Marquita Rivera, legendary performer and Latin icon, was the collective spirit and embodiment of her people.

Singer, actress, castanet player, flamenco dancer - all of these facets and more made up the lovely and talented "Latin Hurricane" Marquita Rivera, a trailblazing musical performer in her time and a legend in ours.

Through her legacy, people will remember Puerto Rico's contribution to the Arts in mainstream America.

During the 1930s and 1940s, Marquita Rivera gained international notoriety in the name of her beloved Puerto Rico that she always represented with pride in her heart and love in her soul for the island she called home.

She died in Los Angeles, California in 2002. In addition to her seven chilren, she left behind 17 grandchildren and a great grandchild.

For more information on Marquita Rivera, click here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2011-12-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Malena Ramírez recently played Minerva Mirabal in the Caridad Svich play En el tiempo de las mariposas at Repertorio Español in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. She followed this up with a role in the production Mujeres de par en par. Written by Indira Páez and directed by Alfonso Rey, the "café-concert" is scheduled for a December run in the Roy Arias Theaters in the theater district of midtown Manhattan and also features Beatriz Castillo, Mariana Buoninconti and Zulema Clares in the cast. She most recently wrapped up a role opposite Venuz Delmar in the short film In One's Blood (written and directed by Pepper Negrón).

Eduardo Ramos booked the modeling campaign for Ecko watches, where he was shot by famed photographer Peter Ruprecht.

Around the Block/Al Doblar La Esquina, in collaboration with The New York Public Library (NYPL), is presenting Clicks and Bricks. The series of short plays written by Emily Cohen, Nina Howes, Julius Landau, Thomas Eddy Moran and Paula Wolff are to be directed by Don Bill, Camille Monet and Gloria Zelaya. Scheduled for a December run, the production features Sandra Duque, Joe Albert Lima, Antonio Rubio and Mónica Walter in the cast and is slated to perform at the NYPL Grand Central Branch in Manhattan's Murray Hill neighborhood.

Teatro SEA and Manuel Morán is presenting La cucarachita Martina/Martina, the Little Roach. Written and directed by Morán, based on the work by Pura Belpré, the show is scheduled for a December run in its namesake theater in the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (home to HOLA) in Manhattan's Loísaida neighborhood and features Indra Palomo, Ana Campos, Miron Gusso, Héctor Palacios, Daisy Payero, Enrique Suárez Olmos and Rolando Zúñiga in the cast.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Powerful Latinas Make the Cut in The Hollywood Reporter (THR)'s "Women In Entertainment 2011: Power 100" List

2011-12-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

The Hollywood Reporter recently listed its "Women in Entertainment 2011: Power 100" list. Included on the list are Latinas Nina Tassler, President, CBS (number 7, shown above at left); and Belinda Menéndez, President, NBCUniversal International Television Distribution and Universal Networks International (number 36, shown above at right). To find out who else made the list, the industry magazine's 20th annual edition, click here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

2011-12-06T13:57:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Alfredo Huereca, Gerardo Gudiño, Ana Grosse and Raul Durán will act in Giuseppe Manfridi's play La cena. Directed by Durán, the production is scheduled for a December run in the Stone Creek Bar and Restaurant in the Rose Hill neighborhood of Manhattan.

Laura Patalano e-mailed us to let us know that the film Mosquita y Mari (in which she stars), is an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, scheduled to take place in January 2012. To know more about the movie (written and directed by Aurora Guerrero), click here.

Rodney Roldán booked a role in the film Battleships (directed by Thunder Levin).

Ángel Dillemuth nabbed a role in "The 2-2" (CBS).

Jeffrey Hernández stars in the musical Our Christmas. Directed by Cleo Vivas, the production is written by Hernández, Selina Hernández, Christin Cato, Melody Ortega and Edwin Palacio, features Cato, Hernández, Ortega, Larry Cerpas and Julio Méndez in the cast and is scheduled to run in December at the Casa Cultural de Navarrete in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Latinos Can’t Enter Public Stage Left or Right

2011-12-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Check out this blog from Dr. José R. Sánchez regarding the casting controversy of the TheaterWorks Hartford production of the Stephen Adly Guirgis play The Motherf**ker With The Hat and its sociopolitical ramifications on our collective unconscious by clicking here.

Casting Director Stands With HOLA Regarding Controversy in Casting THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT at TheaterWorks Hartford

2011-12-03T13:13:00.000-08:00

Press Release

December 2, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: María F. Nieto
(212) 253-1015 • MariaFNieto@hellohola.org

CASTING DIRECTOR NAMED IN THEATERWORKS OF HARTFORD, CT'S PRODUCTION OF THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT STANDS WITH THE HISPANIC ORGANIZATION OF LATIN ACTORS

(New York, NY) – The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), which has denounced the inappropriate casting of two non-Latinos in the Latino-specific roles of “Jackie” and Veronica” in TheaterWorks of Hartford’s current production of The Motherf**ker with the Hat, has received additional information from Pat McCorkle that clarifies the highly respected casting director’s level of involvement in the casting of this production.

Especially troubling to HOLA was the fact that the casting breakdown for the production did not state the ethnicity of the play’s two lead characters, Jackie and Veronica, as Latinos-- despite having been written as specifically Latino-- an omission that stands in stark contrast to the accurate description of the character of “Cousin Julio” (who is Jackie’s cousin) who was cited as specifically Latino, most probably by virtue of the fact that his name makes his ethnicity hard to avoid. Given that the two actors hired to play Jackie and Veronica are also former students of the director, Mr. Thompson, it seems to indicate that the casting efforts made for this production may have been disengenous at best and exclusionary of Latino acting professionals at worst.

TheaterWorks Executive Director Campo’s statement to the New York Times, in which he names McCorkle as the theater’s casting director, read “... the decision not to specify any ethnicity for actors to play Jackie and Veronica was made by Mr. Thompson and the theater’s casting director, Pat McCorkle.... I know they deliberated hard on the casting breakdown language and on the casting decisions.” In her statement to HOLA, McCorkle states, “The entire casting breakdown was written by Tazewell Thompson along with Theaterworks Hartford without our involvement. I was in no way involved in writing the breakdown for The Motherf**ker with the Hat, and no actors were seen for the roles of ‘Veronica’ or ‘Jackie’ in our New York auditions. Offers had been made by the theatre prior to our appointment auditions. At the director’s request, we saw one actor for the role of 'Ralph’, even though the role was pre-cast with Royce Johnson. Other than that, we only saw candidates for the roles of ‘Victoria’ and ‘Cousin Julio’. I have gone through all of my notes, all of my session sheets, and all of my availabilities, and I am 100% certain that all of the information that I have given you is accurate.” McCorkle goes on to state, “I am very disappointed that my name was included in the New York Times article as I had no participation in the casting of ‘Jackie’ or ‘Veronica’.... the final decision on all the actors comes from the director and the theater.”

In addition, McCorkle states,“This situation has disappointed me greatly, because in my thirty plus years of casting, I have built my name and prided myself on my integrity and my belief that the playwright’s vision comes first.” HOLA is gratified at the casting director’s clarification of the casting procedures employed on this production and, further, at her support of HOLA’s efforts to advocate on behalf of the Latino acting community.

As the nation’s longest running arts service and advocacy organization, HOLA is dedicated to expanding the presence of Latino artists in entertainment and media through the cultivation, education and recognition of emerging artists. HOLA strives for accurate, informed and non-stereotyped portrayal of the full spectrum of Latino culture and heritage in all entertainment and media industries. As a trusted organization of the Latino community, HOLA was contacted by audience members were outraged at the casting choices made for the TheaterWorks’ production of Guirgis’ play at which time HOLA contacted TheaterWorks’ director of communications Fred McInerney, its General Manager Nicole LaFlair Nieves and its Executive Director Steve Campo as well as the production’s director, Tazewell Thompson, and the playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis to inquire into the casting of the production. HOLA has also contacted Actors’ Equity and the Casting Society of America to request that formal inquiries be made into the casting practices employed on this production and is awaiting their final determination.

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HOLA Legends: Lupe Vélez

2011-12-02T12:54:00.001-08:00

Lupe Vélez (July 18, 1908 – December 14, 1944) was a Mexican film actress. She began her career in Mexico as a dancer, before moving to the U.S. where she worked in vaudeville. She was seen by Fanny Brice who promoted her, and she soon entered films, making her first appearance in 1924. By the end of the decade she had progressed to leading roles. With the advent of talking pictures, she acted in comedies, but she became disappointed with her film career, and moved to New York where she worked in Broadway productions.

Returning to Hollywood in 1939, she made a series of comedies. She also made some films in Mexico. Her personal life was often difficult; a five year marriage to Johnny Weissmuller and a series of romances, were highly publicized. She is often associated with the nicknames "The Mexican Spitfire" and "The Hot Pepper."

Born María Guadalupe Villalobos Vélez in the city of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, the daughter of an army officer and his wife, an opera singer, both from prominent families in the state of San Luis Potosí. Her father refused to let her use his last name in theater because at that time it was considered inappropriate for a person from a well-to-do family to be an actor, so she used her mother's surname. From an early age, she had a strong temper and an explosive personality. She took dancing lessons and in 1924, made her performing debut at the Teatro Principal in Mexico City. In 1923 she moved to Texas, where she began dancing in vaudeville shows and finding work as a sales assistant. She moved to California, where she met the comedienne Fanny Brice, who promoted her career as a dancer. In 1926 she was cast in her first film by director Hal Roach.

Her first feature-length film was The Gaucho (1927) starring Douglas Fairbanks. The next year, she was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars, the young starlets deemed to be most promising for movie stardom. Most of her early films cast her in exotic or ethnic roles (Hispanic, Native American, French, Russian, even Asian). She worked under the direction of notable film directors like Victor Fleming in The Wolf Song (1929) opposite Gary Cooper; D.W. Griffith in Lady of the Pavements (1928); Tod Browning in Where East is East opposite Lon Chaney and Cecil B. DeMille in The Squaw Man in 1931. By the end of the silent era the sparkling personality of Lupe rivalled that of the Flapper Girl, Clara Bow.

Within a few years, she found her niche in comedies, playing beautiful but volatile foils to comedy stars. Her slapstick battle with Laurel and Hardy in Hollywood Party and her dynamic presence opposite Jimmy Durante in Palooka (both 1934) are typically enthusiastic performances of her. She was featured in the final Wheeler & Woolsey comedy, High Flyers (1937), doing impersonations of Simone Simon, Dolores del Río and Shirley Temple.

She was now nearing 30 and had not become a major star. Disappointed, she left Hollywood for Broadway. In New York, she landed a role in You Never Know, a short-lived Cole Porter musical. After the run of You Never Know, she looked for film work in other countries. Returning to Hollywood in 1939, she snared the lead in a B comedy for RKO Radio Pictures, The Girl from Mexico. She established such a rapport with co-star Leon Errol that RKO made a quick sequel, Mexican Spitfire, which became a very popular series. She perfected her comic character, indulging in broken-English malaprops, troublemaking ideas, and sudden fits of temper bursting into torrents of Spanish invective. She occasionally sang in these films, and often displayed a talent for hectic, visual comedy. She enjoyed making these films and can be seen openly breaking up at Leon Errol's comic ad libs.

The Spitfire films rejuvenated her career, and for the next few years she starred in musical and comedy features for RKO, Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures in addition to the Spitfire films. In one of her last films, Columbia's Redhead from Manhattan, she played a dual role: one in her exaggerated comic dialect, and the other in her actual speaking voice, which was surprisingly fluid and had only traces of a Mexican accent.

Quite popular with Spanish-speaking audiences, she returned to Mexico in 1943 and starred in the movies La Zanndunga (1938), and an adaptation of Émile Zola's novel Nana (1944), which was well received. Subsequently, she returned to Hollywood.

Emotionally generous, passionate, and high-spirited, she had a number of highly publicized affairs, including a particularly emotionally draining one with Gary Cooper, before marrying Olympic athlete Johnny Weissmuller (of Tarzan fame) in 1933, and later, in 1938, Mexican actor Arturo de Córdova. In the early 1940s she was also linked romantically with Clayton Moore, later known for his television role as the Lone Ranger; Moore insists in his autobiography that he was only a social escort. About her romance with Cooper, Marlene Dietrich said "Gary was totally under the control of Lupe." The marriage with Weissmuller lasted five years; they repeatedly split and finally divorced in 1938. However, her love affair with Gary Cooper lasted until her death.

In the mid-1940s, she had a relationship with the young actor Harald Maresch, and became pregnant with his child. However, other accounts place Gary Cooper, with whom Lupe had had a romantic relationship for years and up to her death, as the father of her unborn child, either making her alleged suicide note bogus, or Maresch only a scapegoat. Unable to face the shame of giving birth to an illegitimate child, she decided to take her own life. Her alleged suicide note read, "To Harald: May God forgive you and forgive me, too; but I prefer to take my life away and our baby's, before I bring him with shame, or killing him. Lupe." She retired to bed after taking an overdose of sleeping pills. According to newspaper accounts, her body was found by her secretary and companion of ten years, Beulah Kinder, on her bed surrounded by flowers, as she had wished.

Andy Warhol's underground film, Lupe (1965), starring Edie Sedgwick as Lupe, is loosely based on this fateful night, suggesting that she was found with her head in the toilet due to nausea caused by the overdose. Another report says she tripped and fell head-first into the toilet, knocking herself unconscious and drowning.

She was laid to rest in the Civil Cemetery of Sorrows (Panteón Civil de Dolores), in the Tacubaya section of Mexico City, in a walled section within the itself walled cemetery, reserved for artists and administered by the National Association of Actors (A.N.D.A.).

Singing "Oh Me, Oh My" from the film Strictly Dynamite (1934)

With Laurel and Hardy in Hollywood Party (1934)

Singing and dancing in Redhead from Manhattan (1943)

Doing impersonations in High Flyers (1937)

In the film La Zandunga (1937)

HOLA Denounces Casting in Stephen Adly Guirgis' Play THE MOTHERF**CKER WITH THE HAT at TheaterWorks in Hartford, Connecticut

2011-12-01T16:25:00.001-08:00

Press Release
November 30, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: María F. Nieto
(212) 253-1015 MariaFNieto@hellohola.org

Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) Denounces Inappropriate Casting of TheaterWorks of Hartford, CT’s Production of The Motherf**ker with the Hat

(New York, NY) – The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) denounces the inappropriate casting of two non-Latinos in the Latino specific roles of “Jackie” and Veronica” in TheaterWorks of Hartford’s current production of The Motherf**ker with the Hat.

As the nation’s longest running arts service and advocacy organization, HOLA is dedicated to expanding the presence of Latino artists in entertainment and media through the cultivation, education and recognition of emerging artists. As such, HOLA strives for accurate, informed and non-stereotyped portrayal of the full spectrum of Latino culture and heritage in all entertainment and media industries. As a trusted organization of the Latino community with a long history of advocacy on behalf of Latino actors and Latino portrayals across all media, HOLA was contacted by audience members for TheaterWorks’ production who were outraged at the casting choices that resulted in the casting efforts made by the theater, the play’s director and the play's casting director, Pat McCorkle.

HOLA contacted the parties involved, including TheaterWorks’ director of communications Fred McInerney, its General Manager Nicole LaFlair Nieves and its Executive Director Steve Campo as well as the production’s director, Tazewell Thompson and the playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis.

HOLA received strong support for its stance by Mr. Guirgis who stated: “The two romantic leads in my play were written very specifically as Latinos in their late 30s -- Nuyoricans to be exact. When HOLA contacted me about the casting of the regional premiere of my play in Hartford, it seemed curious to me that TheaterWorks had cast two young white actors in their early 20s to play characters who were quite different from them both age-wise and ethnicity-wise. Since the play was cast in NYC and Hartford, it seemed even more curious to me that actors closer in age and ethnicity could apparently not be found. I believe firmly in casting the best actors for the roles, but when you write a play about two characters who are of a certain age and ethnicity -- and it is cast in NYC -- it is not unreasonable to expect that the actors who get cast will match up fairly squarely with what you wrote and intended. When HOLA sent me the response they had received from TheaterWorks about the casting situation, I was immediately struck by the dismissive tone, the blame shifting, the denial, and quite frankly, the outright lies that TheaterWorks response contained. And then I saw TheaterWorks' character breakdowns for the roles that went out for the auditions, and there was no mention of the ethnicity of the two characters in question. It became clear to me that perhaps TheaterWorks had no intention of casting Latinos in the first place since they weren't asking agents to submit Latino actors for these Latino roles. I then began my own dialogue with TheaterWorks. The director quickly admitted that his actions were "indefensible", but TheaterWorks itself continued to refuse any accountability or responsibility for the situation, and after several attempts at productive discourse, I came to the unfortunate conclusion that TheaterWorks would never cop to any responsibility and that they seemed to be clinging to some logic-challenged notion of; "If we don't admit fault, then there is no fault". I am sincerely grateful to TheaterWorks for having produced my play, but my gratitude does not extend to sitting silently while nonsense like this happens. My mother always taught me that there are sins of commission, and sins of omission. I feel strongly that had I just let this situation be swept under a rug, I would have been committing a sin of omission. I believe in casting the best actor for the role regardless of anything -- including race. But it is my firm contention that this is not what happened here. Latino actors were willfully denied the opportunity to audition and play the roles that were explicitly written for them in my play. This was not an "artistic choice" to go white and younger with these roles -- and if it was, it was a terrible, exclusionary choice that goes directly against the logic of the script. It would have been nice if they had respected me and my play, but this is not about that. It has become about something else. I've got nothing to gain from getting involved in this controversy. But right is right. And I believe that anybody who takes the time to learn more about this situation will quickly see that this is not about race or color blind casting or reverse racism or affirmative action. And yet, sadly, the more I reflect on this, the more the words of Bob Dylan keep echoing in my ears; 'You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.' The wind blew foul here. And I will not lend my silence to it. My mother raised me better. And I thank God she did. Respectfully, Stephen Adly Guirgis.”

Especially troubling to HOLA is the fact that while the casting breakdown for the production did not state the ethnicity of the play’s two lead characters, Jackie and Veronica, as Latinos-- despite having been written as specifically Latino-- that omission stands in stark contrast to the accurate description of the character of “Cousin Julio” (who is Jackie’s cousin) who was cited as specifically Latino, most probably by virtue of the fact that his name makes his ethnicity hard to avoid. Given that the two actors hired to play Jackie and Veronica are also former students of the director, Mr. Thompson, it seems to indicate that the casting efforts made by the director and the casting agency for this production may have been disingenuous at best and exclusionary of Latino acting professionals at worst. HOLA has contacted Actors’ Equity and the Casting Society of America (C.S.A.) to request that formal inquiries be made into the casting practices employed on this production.

It is also important to note that the casting of two non-Latinos for a production in Hartford, Connecticut is truly a missed opportunity for this city whose mayor (Pedro E. Segarra) is Puerto Rican and whose population (according to the 2000 Census) is 40% Latino (32% specifically Puerto Rican).

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HOLA Member Bochinche

2011-11-29T11:42:00.000-08:00

Bochinche refers to "gossip." In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members who are getting acting and performance gigs. The names of HOLA members are in boldface.

Mike Smith Rivera and Tony Chiroldes, shown at right from left to right, booked the roles of William Harris and Dr. Makepeace, respectively in the film The Wailing through an HOLA casting notice. The film is produced by Latin Horror and La Sayona Productions and boasts Edwin Pagán as producer and director of photography, Ydaiber Orozco as associate producer and casting director and Leonardo Rodríguez as producer and director. Filming will begin in mid-January 2012 in and around New York City.

Caridad De La Luz (also known by her nom de poésie et musique La Bruja) will be performing Bobby Sanábria and Quarteto Aché in Salsa Poe. A fundraiser for the Bronx County Historical Society, it is an evening of celebrating the work of Edgar Allan Poe, set to poetry and a Latin jazz beat. (Note: Poe was a Bronx resident and his cottage is a museum in the Bronx.) The event will take place on Friday, December 9, 2011 at the National Arts Club overlooking Gramercy Park in Manhattan. For more information, click here.

Mario Barreiro is doing a stint where he will be singing tangos and milongas (along with guest artists) at Café y Restaurante La Nueva in the Jackson Heights section of Queens in December.

Yanelba Ferreira e-mailed us to let us know that she booked the lead role in the short film The Day That Was (written and directed by Edgar De La Vega).

Artistas Españolas Nueva York-El Puente (Spanish Artists in New York) is presenting Wearing Lorca's Bowtie. Presented with the support of the Consulate General of Spain in New York and the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C., it is a multidisciplinary piece inspired by Spanish poet/playwright Federico García Lorca’s Poet in New York. With a story by Josh Hecht and Mar Gómez Glez and text by Gómez Glez and Judith Goudsmit, it is directed by Josh Hecht and Ignacio García Bustelo. It is scheduled for a December run at The Duke on 42nd Street in the theater district in midtown Manhattan and features Benita Benéitez, Adela María Bolet, Freia Canals, María Cuartero, Beatriz de la Cruz, Sebastián Gálvez, Carlos Lobo, Puela Lunaris, Javier Moreno, Pep Muñoz, Soraya Padrao, Amara C. Pérez, Nuria Rabanillo, Rodrigo Recabarren, Carlos Renedo, David Riley and Yago Vázquez in the cast. For more information, or to buy tickets, click here or here.

A.B. Lugo was a featured model in Luis Carle's photographic exhibition Santos in a Bag, which was featured in an eight-page spread of Issue 4 of the bilingual (English and Spanish) magazine Ars Atelier City (headquartered in Paris, France and Guttenberg, New Jersey, USA, respectively). For more information on Luis Carle, click here. To see a preview of the magazine, click here.

If you are an HOLA member and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail at holagram@hellohola.org. If you are not an HOLA member, why not join?

Betcha Didn't Know...?

2011-11-28T12:16:00.000-08:00

Some of the most notable names from the dawn of film and television are of Latino descent. Here are some of them.

In this edition, British Latinos.

Bianca Jagger (1945- ), born Blanca Pérez Morena de Macías al estilo latino, is a Nicaraguan social and human rights advocate and a former actress and model. Born in Managua, Santiago de Managua, Nicaragua to a successful import-export merchant and a housewife, she received a scholarship to study political science in France at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. She met Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger at a party after a concert in September 1970 in France. On May 12, 1971, while she was four months pregnant, the couple married in a Roman Catholic ceremony in Saint-Tropez-France, and she became his first wife. The couple's only child, a daughter named Jade Sheena Jezebel Jagger Pérez-Mora, was born on October 21, 1971 in Paris, France. In May 1978, she filed for divorce on the grounds of his adultery with model Jerry Hall. In addition to her extensive charitable works, Jagger had a public reputation as a jet-setter and partygoer in the 1970s and early 1980s, being closely associated in the public mind with New York City's nightclub Studio 54. She also became known particularly as a friend of pop artist Andy Warhol. In 1981, she was part of a U.S. congressional delegation stationed at a U.N. refugee camp in Honduras. At one point during her official visit, the entire staff saw about 40 captured refugees marched away at gunpoint towards El Salvador by a death squad. Armed with nothing but cameras to document the raid, she and the delegation trailed the squad along a river towards the El Salvadoran border. When both groups were within auditory range of each other, she and the staff shouted at the M-16 equipped raiders, "You will have to kill us all!" The squad released its captives and a transformation had thus begun for her, something she described as a turning point at her life. She founded the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation, which she chairs. In early 1979, Jagger visited Nicaragua with an International Red Cross delegation and was shocked by the brutality and oppression that the Somoza regime carried out there. This persuaded her to commit herself to the issues of justice and human rights. In the 1980s, she worked to oppose U.S. government intervention in Nicaragua after the Sandinista revolution. She has also opposed the death penalty and defended the rights of women and of indigenous peoples of the Americas. She spoke up for victims of the conflicts in Bosnia and Serbia. Her writings were published in several newspapers (including The New York Times). From the late 1970s she collaborated with many humanitarian organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. In March 2002, Jagger travelled to Afghanistan with a delegation of fourteen women, organised by Global Exchange to support Afghan women’s projects. In March 2007 she became involved with Sarah Teather and the campaign to close Guantánamo Bay. Over the past thirty years she has written articles and opinion pieces, delivered keynote speeches at conferences and events throughout the world and participated in numerous television and radio debates. She has dual nationality, as a naturalised British citizen and citizen of Nicaragua. She has two granddaughters from her daughter Jade, Assisi Lola Jackson Jagger (born in 1992) and Amba Isis Jackson Jagger (born in 1996). As an actress she appeared in numerous movies and television series. For her international work on behalf of humanitarian causes, she has earned numerous awards, including an honorary doctorates (from Stonehill College and Simmons College) and honors from Hispanic Federation of New York City, the United Nations, Amnesty International, Office of the Americas and the American Civil Liberties Union, among others.

Henry Ian Cusick (1967- ), born Henry Ian Cusick Chávez al estilo latino to a Peruvian mother and a Scottish father, is an actor of stage, television and film. He is well-known for his role as Desmond Hume on the United States television series "Lost," for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Born in Trujillo, Trujillo, Perú, his family moved to Madrid, Spain, then Glasgow, Scotland, before moving to Trinidad and Tobago where they lived for ten years. There he attended Presentation College in San Fernando. He returned to Scotland with his family at the age of fourteen, where he attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He got his first acting role at the Citizens' Theatre as an understudy in the Christmas Panto playing a polar bear. He appeared in various productions for the Strathclyde Theatre Group in Glasgow. He is fluent in both English and Spanish, and was raised Roman Catholic. His first leading roles on stage included Dorian Gray, Hamlet and Creon. He then began taking television and film roles. After appearing in recurring roles in series such as "Casualty" and "The Book Group," he starred as Jesus Christ in the 2003 film The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John. His largest role to date came in 2005 when he was cast as Desmond Hume in the ABC series "Lost." Originally a recurring guest star in the second season (for which he received an Emmy nomination), he became a member of the main cast from seasons three through six. He also appeared as Theo Stoller in two episodes of the fifth season of "24," in two episodes of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," and the 2007 film Hitman. He and his wife Annie are parents to three sons, Elias (born 1994), Lucas (born 1998) and Esau (born 2000). The couple were married in a civil ceremony following fourteen years of cohabitation on July 15, 2006. They live in Kailua, Hawai'i, U.S.A.

Olivia Trinidad Arias, also known as Olivia Harrison (1948- ), is the widow of George Harrison, former member of The Beatles. They were married on September 2, 1978 and had one son together, Dhani Harrison (see below). She was born in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico, the daughter of a dry cleaner and a seamstress. She attended Hawthorne High School in Southern California and graduated in 1965. She later worked as a secretary at A&M Records, where George Harrison happened to hold a recording contract. Even after they were married, Harrison always referred to her by her maiden name, Arias, on all his original albums and even named her "my wife Arias" in a Musician Magazine article, circa 1991. She, together with Beatles' wives Linda McCartney. Yoko Ono and Barabra Bach , has been involved with the Romanian Angel Appeal since the early 1990s, which has raised millions of dollars to provide aid for children living in devastation. She produced the Concert for George in her husband's memory in 2002. The concert at London's Royal Albert Hall was sold out and featured many musicians such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar, Ringo Starr, and many more, including the first worldwide exposure of her son Dhani. Profits from the event went to the Material World Charitable Foundation, an organization set up by George Harrison. She also received a Grammy Award in 2005 as a producer for the music video of the concert in the Best Long Form Music Video category. She was co-producer of Martin Scorsese's George Harrison: Living in the Material World, sitting for interviews and contributing material to the project and appearing with Scorsese at Cannes in 2010 and in New York City in the summer of 2011, to promote the documentary.

Dhani Harrison (1985- ), born Dhani Harrison Arias al estilo latino is a musician and the son of George Harrison of the Beatles and Olivia Trinidad Arias (see above). He debuted as a professional musician when completing his father's final album Brainwashed after George Harrison's death in November 2001. He formed his own band, thenewno2, in 2006. His name is pronounced similarly to the name Danny but with an aspirated D. He is named after 6th and 7th notes of the Indian music scale, dha and ni. He grew up with his parents in Henley-on-Thames, England, in Friar Park, the estate on which his father had lived since 1970. One of his earliest memories, from the age of six, is receiving a drumming lesson from his father's friend and bandmate, "Uncle" Ringo Starr. He recalled that before the lesson, he had been an avid drummer. However, when Starr began to play, the loud noise frightened him so terribly that he ran out of the room screaming and never used his drum kit again. He is an alumnus of Brown University, where he studied physics and industrial design. After graduating from Brown, he pursued a career as an aerodynamicist; however, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a professional musician. After George Harrison's death on 29 November 2001, he, in collaboration with Jeff Lynne, completed George's final album, Brainwashed, which was released in 2002. He participated in the Concert for George on the first anniversary of his father's death, where he played backup acoustic guitar for most of the concert. His band, the newno2, had begun recording. The band released a music video, "Choose What You're Watching", on its website. The band features Harrison on lead guitar, synthesiser and vocals and Oli Hecks on drums and synths. Their debut album, You Are Here, was released online on 11 August 2008 and in stores on 31 March 2009. On 14 April 2009, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce posthumously awarded George Harrison a star on the Walk of Fame. After Olivia Harrison gave a short speech about her late husband, hen uttered the "Hare Krishna" mantra. In August 2010, he, Ben Harper and Joseph Arthur joined together to form supergroup Fistful of Mercy, which released the album As I Call You Down in 2010.

thenewno2 - "Choose What You're Watching"

Natalia Kills (1986- ), born Natalia Noemí Keely-Fisher Cappuccini al estilo latino, is a singer-songwriter, actress, and short-film director. She released her first single "Don't Play Nice" under the name Verbalicious in February 2005. She released her debut album, Perfectionist, under the name Natalia Kills in April 2011. Born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England to an Afro-Jamaican father and Uruguayan mother, she attended Bradford Girls' Grammar School. In addition, she studied classical drama at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She made her acting debut (as Natalia Keely-Fisher) at age 9 in 1995 in "New Voices." She had a regular role as Sima on the TV sitcom All About Me and also played Amy Franks in the BBC's long-running radio drama "The Archers." During her time on television and radio she began writing songs, some of which were featured in films and television shows, including Bring It On 4, Sleepover, Just My Luck and "Entourage." After finishing with "The Archers" in 2003, she attributes her musical breakthrough to winning a Radio 1 MC Battle in Leeds under the name "Candy Rapper" in 2003. She signed to the UK record company Adventures in Music and released her first single "Don't Play Nice" under the name Verbalicious in February 2005. The song rose to 11 on the Billboard R&B charts in the UK. (She later filed to be released from all recording/management agreements after the record label filed for bankruptcy.) In January 2008, will.i.am signed her to Interscope Records via his will.i.am Music Group imprint. She was noticed for her demo EP Wommanequin, which she produced and wrote herself. Once signed to Interscope, she was placed with Cherrytree Records. Cherrytree encouraged her to find a name that was more direct and descriptive, and she then came up with the name Natalia Kills. She released her debut album Perfectionist in April 2011. She has also produced and co-directed a filmed mini-series titled Love, Kills xx and an additional film under the working title The Exhibition, which was made concurrently with the album, the soundtrack to the film. The album's first single, "Mirrors," was released in the United States in August 2010 and in the UK in April 2011. Her second single, "Wonderland," was released on in April 2011. The song was featured in the 2011 film Beastly. She opened for Kelis' European All Hearts Tour, as well as supported Robyn on her Body Talk Tour in November 2010 and early 2011. She supported Ke$ha on the UK leg of her Get Sleazy Tour alongside LMFAO. Throughout August and September 2011, she opened for Katy Perry on her California Dreams Tour for eight dates in Europe and São Paulo, Brazil. She was also featured in LMFAO's "Champagne Showers."

Natalia Kills - "Mirrors"

Other British Latinos include musicians Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice of the Spice Girls) and Roland Orzabal (of Tears for Fears), television star Jo Frost (of "Supernanny" fame) and actors Sonya Walger and Helena Bonham Carter.

J.R. Martínez wins 13th season of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars"

2011-11-23T12:11:00.000-08:00

The 13th season of the hit ABC reality competition series "Dancing With The Stars" culminated with actor-inspirational speaker-Iraq War veteran J.R. Martínez taking the mirrorball trophy. He is the fifth person of Latino descent (out of 140 total contestants as of this writing) to participate on the show (after Giselle Fernández in season 2, Mario López in season 3, Hélio Castroneves in season 5 and Cristián de la Fuente in season 6) and the second Latino (after Castroneves) to win the ballroom competition.

To find out more about J.R. Martínez, click here.

El Blog de HOLA

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Lincoln Art Exchange Announced for Independent Artists Who Cannot Afford Healthcare Costs

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News Corp., Partner to Create Spanish-Language Broadcast Network to Rival Univision, Telemundo

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Fallece la actriz Graciela Mas / Actress Graciela Mas passes away

Graciela Mas, centro, entre las actrices Teresa Yenque (esq.) and Sarah Valle (der.).

Graciela Mas, center, with actresses Teresa Yenque (left) and Sarah Valle (right).

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Postal Service honors José Ferrer on 2012 Forever Stamp / Servicio postal honra a José Ferrer en el Sello Forever 2012

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Miss Bala opens in select theaters in LA and NYC

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Shakespeare Theatre Company Acknowledges There is Much To Do Over MUCH ADO

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Box Office Shocker: Movie Attendance Falls to Lowest Level in 16 Years

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HOLA Legends: Katy Jurado

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Betcha Didn't Know...?

Does race and ethnicity matter in casting?

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Rita Moreno!

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Stephen Adly Guirgis in The New York Times Regarding the Controversial TheaterWorks Hartford production of THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT

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Pioneer Actress Marquita Rivera Honored By The Puerto Rican Senate

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Powerful Latinas Make the Cut in The Hollywood Reporter (THR)'s "Women In Entertainment 2011: Power 100" List

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Latinos Can’t Enter Public Stage Left or Right

Casting Director Stands With HOLA Regarding Controversy in Casting THE MOTHERF**KER WITH THE HAT at TheaterWorks Hartford

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HOLA Denounces Casting in Stephen Adly Guirgis' Play THE MOTHERF**CKER WITH THE HAT at TheaterWorks in Hartford, Connecticut

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Betcha Didn't Know...?

J.R. Martínez wins 13th season of ABC's "Dancing With The Stars"

Graciela Mas, centro, entre las actrices
Teresa Yenque (esq.) and Sarah Valle (der.).

Graciela Mas, center, with actresses
Teresa Yenque (left) and Sarah Valle (right).