The Top Latino Showrunners of U.S. Television

In the United States, a showrunner, in television industry, refers to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television series— although such persons generally are credited as an executive producer. The term is also occasionally applied to people in the television industries of other countries. Unlike films, where directors are typically in creative control of a production, in episodic television the showrunner usually outranks the director.

Traditionally, the executive producer of a television program was the "chief executive," responsible for the show's production. Over time, the title of executive producer became applied to a wider range of roles, from those responsible for arranging financing to an honorific without actual management duties. The term "showrunner" was created to identify the producer who actually held ultimate management and creative authority for the program. The blog (and book) Crafty Screenwriting defines showrunner as "the person responsible for all creative aspects of the show, and responsible only to the network (and production company, if it's not his production company). The boss. Usually a writer."

The industry magazine The Hollywood Reporter identified the top 50 showrunners in its recent article "The Power Showrunners 2011." In this list (the magazine's fourth annual), there are two Latinos-- Louis C.K. (of Mexican-Hungarian heritage) for the FX series "Louie" and Greg García (of Mexican heritage) for the Fox series "Raising Hope." To read about Louis C.K., shown at left, click here. To read about Greg García, shown at right, click here.

Latinos in Front and Behind the Camera in the HBO series “How To Make It In America”

Check out this article in Latin Heat highlighting the Latinos in front and behind the camera in the HBO series "How To Make It In America" (starring Luis Guzmán, shown at left), by clicking here.

Telemundo Launches YouTube Telemundo and mun2 Channels- Networks to Premiere Select Content Online

Check out this article on Latin Heat regarding Telemundo creating channels on YouTube for Telemundo and mun2, wherein it would premiere select content, by clicking here.

HOLA Member Bochinche

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.

Jorge Álvarez and José Roldán, Jr., shown at left, booked roles in the Rashaan Russell film With Two You Get Horror (produced by Silent Film Group) after the director saw their headshots in the HOLA online directory and called them in to audition.

Mauricio Alexander booked work on a Charles Schwab Investments commercial.

Yanelba Ferreira walked the runway during New Jersey's Fashion Week, modeling for HR Fashion's bikini line. She will also act on stage with Jeffrey Hernández and Yolanny Rodríguez in the play Un chicle en la relación. Written and directed by Paula Crequet, the play will take place as part of the second Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado at the Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en los Estados Unidos in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan.

Teatro LATEA and Cuentos de Ada Productions presented a workshop reading of the screenplay Sacred Spaces as part of the theater's Jerry A. Rodríguez Reading Series. Written and directed Ura Yoana Sánchez, the workshop took place at Teatro LATEA in the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (home to HOLA) in Manhattan's Loísaida neighborhood. The cast included Suzette Banzo, Zahaira Curiel, Lisandra Payán, Jay Santiago, Howard Collado, Francis Mateo and Isis Velázquez. [Curiel and Velázquez, shown above at right, received auditions after the director found their headshots on the HOLA directory and called them in to audition.]

Ziad Tayeh will be acting in the play Raging Love. Written by Charlotte Cox and directed by Flor Bromley, the show is scheduled for an October and November run at the Ilka Tanya Payán Theater in the theater district of midtown Manhattan. In addition, the Minos Papas film The Politics of Conflict, in which he stars, will have a screening at Attic Studios in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens on October 19, 2011. 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?

Report on 2011 HOLAfestival + Re-Imaginings Photographic Art Exhibition

As part of the 2011 Latin Media & Entertainment Week (October 3-9, 2011), the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) presented two events. The first was Re-Imaginings, a photographic art exhibition that was shown the entire week at the Abrazo Interno Gallery in the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (home to HOLA). The gallery was also home to the HOLAfestival of staged play readings.

It was quite an exciting week of great art that HOLA was proud to present. The week showcased the breadth of talent within HOLA's ranks. To see photos of the opening ceremony, click here. To see some photos from the HOLAfestival series of staged play readings, click here. To see behind the scenes shots of the Re-Imaginings photoshoot, click here.

Re-Imaginings Photographic Art Exhibition
Concept and Styling: María F. Nieto
Photography: Luis Carle
Makeup and Hairstyling: Ura Yoana Sánchez and Ashton Pina
Models: Nanda Abella; Mauricio Alexander; Manny Alfaro; Jorge Álvarez; Débora Balardini; Freia Canals; Míriam Cruz; Mónica Delgado; Soledad del Río; Caridad Del Valle; Haydée Díaz; Taleen Dersdepanian; Yanelba Ferreira; Rafael Fuentes; A.B. Lugo; Joselyn Martínez; Carlos Navedo; Robmariel Olea; Ashton Pina; Yvette Quintero; Laura Riveros; José Roldán, Jr.; Ángel Salas; Ura Yoana Sánchez; Tom Schubert.

HOLAfestival of Staged Play Readings
Playwrights: Oscar A. Colón, Lina Gallegos, A.B. Lugo, Tere Martínez, Mel Nieves, Anthony Ruiz.
Directors: Arian Blanco, José A. Esquea, Paula Pizzi, Anthony Ruiz, Sturgis Warner.
Actors: Jorge Álvarez, Adelina Amosco, Mariangélica Ayala, Mahammatt Baba, Suzette Banzo, Patricia Becker, Maggie Bofill, Alberto Bonilla, Marisol Carrere, Arturo Castro, Howard Collado, Gilbert Cruz, Míriam Cruz, Zahaira Curiel, Dalia Davi, Vivian Deangelo, Elisa de la Roche, Mónica Delgado, David Elyha, Ann C. Flanigan, Alex Flores, Lina Gallegos, Wilemina Olivia García, Kevin Geer, Diana Carolina González, Ana Grosse, Susanna Guzmán, Annie Henk, Cheryl D. Hescott, Mauricio Leyton, Farin Rebecca Loeb, Rocío López, A.B. Lugo, Raoul Daniel Luna, Abraham Makany, Eden Marryshow, Jenning Medina, Mel Nieves, Mary Pérez, Kevin Prowse, Al Roffe, Anthony Ruiz, José Sánchez, Mara Sánchez, Karen Sours, Dan Tibbets, Vitus Weiser.
Opening Night Catering Services: Michelle Cruz/East Harlem Café.
Volunteers: Karina Alós, Bobby Baker, Daniel D'Ambrosi, Jhoe Davis, Marcelino Feliciano, Javier Márquez, Alex Moore, Juan Carlos Restrepo Rodríguez, Basil Rojas.

[Names in boldface indicate HOLA staff/board members/curators, HOLA members or Friends of HOLA. Photo credits (from top to bottom): Javier Márquez, Javier Márquez, A.B. Lugo, Javier Márquez.]

Re-Imaginings Photographic Art Exhibition Closes Sunday, October 9, 2011 at Abrazo Interno Gallery

Re-Imaginings Photographic Art Exhibit

Curated by Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA),
María F. Nieto and Luis Carle

Photography by Luis Carle
Concept and Styling by María F. Nieto
Makeup by Ura Yoana Sánchez and Ashton Pina

Abrazo Interno Gallery
Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center
107 Suffolk Street, Second Floor
(between Rivington and Delancey streets), NYC

AN OFFICIAL EVENT OF THE
2011 NYC LATIN MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT WEEK
(OCTOBER 3-9, 2011).

Abrazo Interno Gallery Hours: 3:30pm-7pm DAILY
FREE ADMISSION

OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION
Monday, October 3, 2011 at 6pm

CLOSES Sunday, October 9, 2011 at 7pm

Re-Imaginings is a photographic art exhibit with the unifying theme of visualizing a world where Latinos were already more fully integrated into the mainstream entertainment culture. The photographic art exhibit would take iconic television cast images and "re-imagine" them, showing Latinos as part of the re-imagined cast. The photos would strike a visual chord of familiarity while also showing how seamlessly a Latino actor could be integrated into the shows' universal themes of the human experience.

[PHOTO: The iconic photo of the television series "Friends" at the right and the computer showing Luis Carle's re-imagining of it with a Latino cast. In the photo on the left, clockwise from top left, Ashton Pina, Rafael Fuentes, Caridad Del Valle, Joselyn Martínez, Ura Yoana Sánchez and Jorge Álvarez. Photo by A.B. Lugo.]

HOLAfestival: Staged Reading of THE LAST OF BERNARDA by Oscar A. Colón

HOLAfestival
Abrazo Interno Gallery
Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center
107 Suffolk Street, Second Floor
(between Rivington and Delancey streets), NYC

AN OFFICIAL EVENT OF THE
2011 NYC LATIN MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT WEEK
(OCTOBER 3-9, 2011).

FREE ADMISSION, BUT RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED
FOR MORE INFO OR TO RSVP, CALL (212) 253-1015

OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION
Monday, October 3, 2011 at 6pm

(Photos of HOLA member-playwright shown at right.)

Saturday, October 8, 2011
The Last of Bernarda
Written by Oscar A. Colón
Directed by Sturgis Warner

What happened to the Alba family after the events of The House of Bernarda Alba? Find out what came after the silence.

OSCAR A. COLÓN's plays include Short End of the Bridge, Soldiers of the 117th, Welcome to Margaret’s World, Siempre en Mi Corazón, Reina, Alice Down the Hole, Becoming Bernarda (a prequel), La Reina’s Last Album, Fornicating With The Devil, The Last of Bernarda (a sequel), Listenings: A Morning with María Irene Fornes, El Señor Presidente and his Biographer and The Mad Journey of Wilhemina Davis. He was commissioned by INTAR to translate and adapt René Marqués’ María o el alba. In addition, he wrote the book and lyrics for the musicals Don Benito, L’Extraordinaire and Coquí. His play Siempre en Mi Corazón was published by Mentor/Penguin, as part of the anthology Nuestro New York. The Last of Bernarda was published by El Archivo Nacional del Ateneo Puertorriqueño. He is a member of SAG, AFTRA and The Dramatists Guild.

Abrazo Interno Gallery Hours: 3:30pm-10pm DAILY

Re-Imaginings Photo Art Exhibit
Curated by Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA),
María F. Nieto and Luis Carle

Photography by Luis Carle
Concept and Styling by María F. Nieto
Makeup by Ura Yoana Sánchez and Ashton Pina

Re-Imaginings is a photographic art exhibit with the unifying theme of visualizing a world where Latinos were already more fully integrated into the mainstream entertainment culture. The photographic art exhibit would take iconic television cast images and "re-imagine" them, showing Latinos as part of the re-imagined cast. The photos would strike a visual chord of familiarity while also showing how seamlessly a Latino actor could be integrated into the shows' universal themes of the human experience.

[PHOTO: Makeup artist Ashton Pina works on Mauricio Alexander for the Re-Imaginings photo shoot. Photo by A.B. Lugo.]