Friday, August 23, 2013

Zoë Saldaña To Produce Latino-Centric Media Projects With Lionsgate

Zoë Saldaña
Check out this blog by Michael López of The Huffington Post about the creation of the Saldaña Production Company– a collaboration between Zoë Saldaña, her sister Cisely Saldaña and Lionsgate Studios– to create Latino-centric content by clicking here.

Forget Kickstarter: How Obama's New Law Could Change Hollywood Crowd-Funding

EarlyShares CEO Joanna Schwartz, at left,
and co-founder/chairman Stephen Temes.
Check out this article by Paul Bond of The Hollywood Reporter on how a new law signed into law by President Barack Obama can be a game changer with regards to investing in artistic projects by clicking here.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

HOLA Member Bochinche


Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

Tony Chiroldes, shown at right, was featured in an article in Playbill Online which highlighted his upcoming role as Kevin Rosario in the Front Porch Theatricals/Carrnivale Theatrics production of In The Heights. The musical was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and 2013 HOLA Awards awardee Quiara Alegría Hudes and will be presented in August and September at the New Hazlett Theater Center for the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. To read the article, click here.

Félix Hiciano can be seen acting in an episode of "True Crime" (Investigation Discovery).

2013 HOLA Awards honoree Vanessa Verduga is taking her webseries "Justice Woman" (which she conceived, wrote, directed and stars), and creating a graphic novel adaptation of it. Titled Justice Woman Begins, the graphic novel (cover shown at left) was written by Verduga and illustrated by Brooke Thompson and will be released Friday, October 4, 2013. For more information, click here or here.

Tony Rodríguez can be seen acting in an episode of "Fatal Encounters" (Investigation Discovery).

Miriam Colón won the 2013 Imagen Award for Best Actress or Supporting Actress in a Feature Film for her lead role in Bless Me, Última (directed by Carl Franklin).

My Final Shot Production is presenting a Short Film Theatrical Showcase on Friday, August 23, 2013 at The Poets Den Theater in Manhattan's El Barrio neighborhood. Among the short films being presented include To Kill a Roach (written and directed by Laura Gómez and starring Gómez,
Iván Camilo, Jenniffer Díaz, Gabriela García, Rosie Berrido, Gabriel Gutiérrez and Puy Navarro; cinematography by Edwin Pagán) and Truth Will Out (written by Ed Trucco, Anthony Ruiz and Armando Riesco and directed by Trucco and Ruiz; and starring Trucco, Riesco, Mateo Gómez, Laura Gómez, A.B. Lugo, Ruiz and Susanna Guzmán). For more information, click here or here.

If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so, by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?

Monday, August 19, 2013

HOLA Member Bochinche


Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

Lucio Fernández, shown at right in the photo at right, was recognized by the Colegio Dominicano de Periodistas and the Instituto Duartiano Filial New Jersey for his work in promoting the arts and culture in Union City, New Jersey.

The webseries "Caribe Road" created by Héctor Luis Bustamante and starring Bustamante, Marlene Forté and Hemky Madera, won the 2013 Imagen Award for Best Web Series. For more information about the webseries, click here.

Vanessa Aspillaga is one of the stars of Tío Papi (directed by Fro Rojas), set to hit movie screens in the U.S. on Friday, September 6, 2013. The movie also stars Joey Dedio, Elizabeth Rodríguez, Kelly McGillis, Frankie Faison, Franky G and Fátima Pt
áček. For more information, click here.

Amigos del Corralón is presenting Elio Palencia's
Penitentes. The play is directed by 2013 HOLA Award recipient Josean Ortiz, and stars Ortiz, Marcos Carlos Cintrón and Jorge Alexander Ramos and will start performances in September at the Corralón de San José, located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. For more information, click here.

Laura Gómez
can be seen as one of the regular cast members of the hit series "Orange is the New Black" (Netflix).

Soñadores Productions, in collaboration with Medicine Show Theater, is presenting William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Directed by José A. Esquea (and assistant directed by
2013 HOLA Award recipient Basil Rojas), the play is scheduled for an October run at the Medicine Show Theater (located in the Hell's Kitchen/Clinton area of Manhattan) and stars David Elyha, Victoria Wallace, Eli Gelb, Bill Blechingberg, George Blecher, Mark Dempsey, A.B. Lugo, Harlan Short, Xandra Leigh Stegmaier, Jeannie Sol, Marco De Castro, Howard Collado, John Cencio Burgos, Pëtra Denisof, Sevans Martínez, Richard Keyser and Otis Cotton in the cast.

If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so, by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?

Friday, August 16, 2013

HOLA Member Bochinche


Bochinche refers to “gossip”. In this sense, we use it to mention HOLA members or Friends of HOLA who are getting acting, performance or similarly artistic gigs and/or recognition in the media. The names of HOLA members and Friends of HOLA are listed below in boldface. To see what other HOLA members are doing currently, click here.

Actors and theater producers Miriam Colón Valle and Héctor Luis Rivera, shown at right from left to right, were named "Puerto Ricans of the Year" by the City of Union City, New Jersey, in commemoration of that city's Puerto Rico Heritage Week. Actor-singer-dancer-writer-director and Union City Commissioner Lucio Fernández was on hand to present the proclamations to them.

J.F. Seary and Milteri Tucker will be performing in Soledad Speaks.
Written by Peggy Robles-Alvarado, Meriam Rodríguez, María Rodríguez and Seary, it will also star writer-performers Meriam Rodríguez, María Rodríguez and Robles-Alvarado (in addition to Seary), and will feature Tucker in the title role of Soledad. The spoken word and dance piece was created, curated and directed by Linda Nieves-Powell. It is set for a October run at IATI Theater, located in Manhattan's East Village. For more information, click here.

Izzy Ruiz booked a role on an episode of "Nurse Jackie" (Showtime).

The Laura Gómez-helmed film To Kill a Roach (La cucaracha) was screened in August at the
Festival de Cine de la Escuela de Cine de Uruguay (ECU) at the Casa Inju/Instituto Nacional de la Juventud in Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay. The movie starred Gómez, Iván Camilo, Jenniffer Díaz, Gabriela García, Rosie Berrido, Gabriel Gutiérrez and Puy Navarro in the cast. (Edwin Pagán handled cinematography duties.) For more information, click here (the info on the link is in Spanish).

Gloria Zelaya booked an ElderPlan commercial.

Omar Pérez and Jesús E. Martínez are starring in Dancing In My Cockroach Killers. With a text by Magdalena Gómez, music by Desmar Guevara and conceived and directed by Rosalba Rolón, the musical (produced by Pregones Theater) also stars Rosal Colón, Sol Crespo, Shadia Fairuz, Elise Hernández, Nicholas Laboy and Benjamin Willis and will have a September and October run in the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, in the theater district of midtown Manhattan. For more information, click here or here.

If you are an HOLA member or a Friend of HOLA and want to submit a bochinche item, send us an e-mail. If you live in the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, why not join? If you live outside the New York metropolitan area and want to be an HOLA member, you can find out more information on how to do so, by clicking here. If you are not a Friend of HOLA, why not become one?

Report: 2013 HOLA Awards Announcement Ceremony

On Thursday, August 15, 2013, the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) held the Announcement Ceremony for their upcoming HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit. The ceremony/press conference took place at Repertorio Español in Manhattan and the names of honorees and awardees were announced by HOLA Associate Director A.B. Lugo, HOLA Membership Coordinator Betty Cutié, and HOLA members Vanessa Verduga and José Roldán, Jr. (the latter two were also surprised by an HOLA Award nod for each).

The evening started with a brief acknowledgement and celebration of actress Olga Agostini, who recently passed away. It is the custom of HOLA to not have a moment of silence but rather a round of applause for a deceased performer. Ms. Agostini received a standing ovation from the crowd, who mostly consisted of her colleagues in the Latino theater scene. (Agostini and others will be formally acknowledged at the HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit, to take place on Monday, October 21, 2013 at The Battery Gardens in Manhattan's Battery Park).

The honorees were first announced and then the awardees for excellence in Latino theater. There were plenty of cheers, tears and pleasant surprises, along with a lot of applause as the names were announced.




HOLA would like to thank Repertorio Español, Robert Weber Federico, Fernando Then, Eduardo Navas, Gerardo Gudiño, Peter A. Dubó, Freddy Mancilla and all those in attendance for the success of the event.

For more information about the 2013 HOLA Awards, click here.


All photos in this blog were taken by Anthony Ruiz/A. Ruiz Photography. To see more photos of this event, click here.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

2013 HOLA Awards Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


EMMY WINNER AND TONY NOMINEE BOBBY CANNAVALE
(Blue Jasmine, "Boardwalk Empire", "Nurse Jackie")
TO RECEIVE 2013 JOSÉ FERRER HOLA AWARD
ALONGSIDE FELLOW HONOREES
NADINE VELÁZQUEZ ("Major Crimes," "The League"),
VANESSA VERDUGA ("Justice Woman") AND HBO LATINO AS
DELTA AIR LINES PRESENTS THE 2013 HOLA AWARDS
ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2013

Delta Air Lines is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2013 HOLA Awards

The 14th Annual HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit will be at
The Battery Gardens in Battery Park, NYC


August 23, 2013 (New York, New York) — The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), the nation’s longest running active arts advocacy organization for Latino actors, is pleased to announce that it will honor Emmy winner and Tony nominee Bobby Cannavale ("Boardwalk Empire", "Nurse Jackie", Blue Jasmine), film and television star Nadine Velázquez (currently on TNT’s “Major Crimes” and FXX’s “The League”), actress-writer-director-producer Vanessa Verduga ("Justice Woman") and HBO Latino as Delta Air Lines presents the Fourteenth Annual HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit. The HOLA Awards will take place on Monday, October 21, 2013 at 6:30pm at The Battery Gardens, located on the waterfront in New York’s scenic Battery Park (opposite 17 State Street). Sponsorship opportunities are still available. A limited number of individual tickets are available at $150.

Bobby Cannavale will receive the 2013 José Ferrer HOLA Tespis Award. He can be seen on the big screen in the new Woody Allen film Blue Jasmine (starring Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett), is currently nominated for two 2013 Emmy Awards (for his roles on "Nurse Jackie" and "Boardwalk Empire", respectively), and is currently filming the updated remake of Annie, starring Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and Academy Award nominee Quvenzhané Wallis and produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith. Previously he appeared on the television programs "Third Watch" and "Will and Grace", the latter for which he won an Emmy Award. He is a Tony nominee for his role in the Broadway play Mauritius and was most recently on stage in the Stephen Adly Guirgis play The Motherf***er with the Hat. For more information about him, click here.

Nadine Velázquez, currently series regular character Emma Ríos on TNT’s “Major Crimes” and Sofía Ruxin on FXX’s “The League”, and who is most well known for playing Catalina Aruca in NBC’s “My Name is Earl” will receive the HOLA Excellence in Television Award. In addition to her television success, most recently, she has starred in the films Flight (opposite Denzel Washington), Snitch (opposite Dwayne Johnson) and the upcoming Aztec Warrior (opposite Luis Guzmán). For more information, click here.

HOLA will present its Excellence in Multimedia Award to Vanessa Verduga, the creator-writer-star of the webseries "Justice Woman". For more information, click here or here. HOLA will present its Excellence in Media Award to HBO Latino. HBO Latino, founded in 2000, continues demonstrating its commitment, through its high quality programming for U.S. Latino audiences, to capture the diversity and variety of the Latino culture. For more information, click here.

In addition to the above awards HOLA will also continue its annual tradition of honoring the best of Latino theater in New York with noncompetitive awards encompassing multiple winners in each category. HOLA is at the forefront in recognizing the high caliber work being offered across New York’s thriving Latino theatrical stages.


A list of the 2012-2013 theater awardees is below
.

Individual tickets are $150 and can be purchased in advance by calling (212) 253-1015 or by going to www.hellohola.org. Sponsorships are also available and can be purchased by calling A.B. Lugo at (212) 253-1015 or via e-mail at ablugo@hellohola.org.

The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA) is an arts service/advocacy organization dedicated to expanding the presence of Hispanic artists in entertainment and media through the cultivation, education and recognition of emerging artists. HOLA strives for an accurate, informed and non-stereotyped portrayal of the full spectrum of Latino culture and heritage in the entertainment and media industries.                                                   

 

2013 HOLA Awards for Excellence in Theater
(producer[s] shown in parentheses)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR
Josean Ortiz, La última plena que bailó Luberza (Marañao Theater Company)
Felix Solis, Basilica (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR
Zulema Clares, El amor en los tiempos del cólera (Repertorio Español)
Caridad Del Valle, The Virtuous Burglar (E3Outlaws Productions/Angel Falls Productions)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED MALE ACTOR
Cedric Leiba, Jr., Caridad/Sweet Charity (New Haarlem Arts Theatre)
Pep Muñoz, El amor en los tiempos del cólera (Repertorio Español)
Alfonso Rey, Cuba: Punto X (MeLu Communications)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED FEMALE ACTOR
Liza Colón-Zayas, Water By The Spoonful (Second Stage Theater)
Cecilia Saia, Tango Fever (Teatro LATEA/Howling Moon Cab Company)

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE
Fernán Cardama, Historias de media suela (Teatro SEA)
Loren Escandón, Montera (IATI Performing Arts Marathon)
José Roldán, Jr., Father Forgive Me For I Have Sinned (United Solo Festival)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CAST
Brenda Feliciano, Gizelxanath, Leonardo Granados, Viriginia Herrera-Crilly, Robmariel Olea, Pablo Zinger, Bésame mucho (Repertorio Español)
Francisco Fuertes, Jesús  E. Martínez, Soledad López, William Saquicela, Tu arma secreta contra la celulitis rebelde/ Secret Weapons of Fat Destruction (Thalía Spanish Theatre)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN TECHNICAL PRODUCTION
América Barrera (costume design) and Liliana Barrera (scenic design), The Virtuous Burglar (E3Outlaws Productions/Angel Falls Productions)
Valeria Solomonoff (choreography); Esteban Domenichini, Mariana Parma and Teresa Anne Volgenau (additional choreography), Tango Fever (Teatro LATEA/Howling Moon Cab Company)
Miguel Ángel Valderrama (lighting design), Montera (IATI Theater Performing Arts Marathon)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PLAYWRITING
Quiara Alegría Hudes, Water By The Spoonful (Second Stage Theater)
Íñigo Ramírez de Haro, Tu arma secreta contra la celulitis rebelde/Secret Weapons of Fat Destruction (Thalía Spanish Theatre)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION
Iván Acosta, Cuba: Punto X (MeLu Communications)
Ernesto De Villa Bejjani, El deseo de Sofía (88 Performing Arts Theatrical Company/Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en EEUU)

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Juan Villarreal, for over 40 years of performing in theater, film and television
Amneris Morales
, for her performance in the production La última plena que bailó Luberza (Marañao Theater Company)
Teatro Experimental Blue Amigos (TEBA), on the occasion of its 25th anniversary
Danisarte and Teatro Tocando Puertas, on the occasion of their respective 20th anniversaries
Elena Mohedano and Richard Trujillo, for their work in the production El deseo de Sofía (88 Performing Arts Theatrical Company/Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en EEUU)
Basil Rojas, for his work in the production Tango Fever (Teatro LATEA/Howling Moon Cab Company)

GILBERTO ZALDÍVAR HOLA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION
Frágil (Otro Teatro NY/Comisionado Dominicano de Cultura en EEUU)
Fuenteovejuna (Repertorio Español)

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