2015 HOLAfestival: Homage to OSCAR A. COLÓN

The Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA)

proudly presents the 2015 edition of the

This year, HOLA is presenting a very special staged play reading

in celebration of the life and work of Oscar A. Colón.

Siempre en Mi Corazón

Written by OSCAR A. COLÓN

Directed by MIRIAM CRUZ

Monday, December 14, 2015 at 7:30pm

TEATRO LATEA

CLEMENTE SOTO VÉLEZ CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER

107 Suffolk Street, Second floor

(between Rivington and Delancey streets), NYC

No admission. Limited seating. 

Call (212) 253-1015 or (888) 624-HOLA 

to make a reservation.

OSCAR A. COLÓN was born on April 10, 1937. His 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 first 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 was of the first two playwrights (the other being Pablo García Gámez) to win an HOLA Award for playwriting (for the play The Last of Bernarda). He passed away on November 1, 2015. He leaves behind his wife, Miriam Cruz; his two children, Oscar de la Fe Colón and Miriam Carnase; his five grandchildren; friends and family in the New York Latino theater scene.

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.

Danny García, shown at right, has been quite busy as of late. He just booked a co-starring role on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (Netflix), a co-starring role opposite Michael Chiklis in "Gotham" (Fox), a guest-starring role on "Power" (Starz!), and a recurring role on the upcoming Sarah Jessica Parker show on HBO, "Divorce". In addition, he co-starred in the upcoming webseries "Cornelia" (created by Rose Gutiérrez), where he plays the title character's husband. He booked this last year after reading a casting notice sent by HOLA to its members and self-submitting. For more information on him, click here.

Jay Santiago booked an internet/print campaign with Main Line Health. In addition, he booked a voiceover for a "Ryan's Roses" segment on the nationally syndicated radio program "On Air With Ryan Seacrest", and a starring role in the short film An Interview With Grit (written and directed by P.J. Galati), where he plays the title character.

Erick Betancourt, shown at left, is acting in the American premiere of Donmar Warehouse-St. Ann's Warehouse production of William Shakespeare's Henry IV. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd and starring Harriet Walter, the show originated at the Donmar Warehouse in the Covent Garden district of London, England, UK and has been running since November and scheduled to close (after an extension due to popular demand) in December, where it is playing at the St. Ann's Warehouse, located in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn. For more information on the production, click here.

Stewie Vill will be doing a standup comedy set at the 6 Pack at BritPack comedy event, which will take place on Saturday, December 12, 2015 at the BritPack Theater in Manhattan's Chinatown. For more information (including how to make a reservation), click here and here.

Luis Salgado, shown at right, was profiled with a blog written by Jailene Cintrón and affiliated with the Puerto Rican daily newspaper Primera Hora where his life as a triple threat performer (actor-singer-dancer), co-star of the current Broadway musical On Your Feet!: The Story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan (book by 2015 HOLAAwards honoree Alexander Dinelaris, directed by Jerry Mitchell, and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo), founder and director of R.Evolución Latina, husband and father. To read the blog, which is in Spanish, click 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?

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.

2015 HOLA Awards recipients Manuel A. Morán and Adriana Sananes, shown above, from left to right, were featured in the Puerto Rican daily newspaper El Nuevo Día, as a result of their participation in the 2015 HOLA Award-winning production of Sueño. The production (directed by Morán and co-starring Sananes) will be part of the 51st annual Festival de Teatro Internacional of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP), which is dedicated to Morán. Sueño will take place in December in the Esplanade at the world famous El Castillo San Felipe del Morro (more commonly known as El Morro) in Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico. To read the blog, which is in Spanish, click here.

Luis Salgado, shown at right in the photo at right, with Ana Villafañe, was profiled in the blog for the Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular de Puerto Rico, where his life as a triple threat performer (actor-singer-dancer), co-star of the current Broadway musical On Your Feet!: The Story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan (book by 2015 HOLA Awards honoree Alexander Dinelaris, directed by Jerry Mitchell, and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo), director, choreographer, dance teacher, founder and director of R.Evolución Latina, husband and father. To read the blog and interview, which is in Spanish, click here.

Vanessa Verduga co-stars in the short film The Hunting of Lost Characters (written by Wagner de Assis and directed by Gustavo Sampaio), which has just completed principal photography.

Edwin Dormoy acted in an episode of the Telemundo series "Caso Cerrado" as a witness in the popular court show (which often uses actors for recreations). He can be seen in this clip of the episode starting at about 04:48 of the video below.



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?

When Will Broadway’s Onstage Diversity Carry Over Behind the Curtain?

Photos by Joan Marcus.

"In the past, momentum on diversity and gender equality was often slowed by the debate over quality vs. quota. 'I think that’s always been a false argument,' says Oskar Eustis, artistic director at Off-Broadway’s longtime proponent of diversity, the Public Theater. 'If we can’t get a diverse group of people on our stages, it’s us failing the quality test. We are being bad, phony theater. You can’t tell the truth about this world if you’ve got stages full of white people.'"

Read the Gordon Cox article in Variety regarding the current state of diversity on Broadway– both onstage (plentiful) and behind the curtain (scant)– by clicking here.

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.

The Héctor Luis Sin Censura blog's most recent "chismorreo" (gossip) column is rife with HOLA members. Written by 2015 HOLA Awards (and 2015 HOLA Performer's Choice Award) recipient Héctor Luis Rivera (shown at left), the column features 2015 HOLA Awards recipient Iván L. Argudo, Edna Lee Figueroa, 2015 HOLA Awards recipient Julio Ortega, Johary Ramos, 2015 HOLA Performer's Choice Awards recipient Raúl Rivera and Fermín Suárez. To read the blog, which is in Spanish, click here. [Clockwise, from top left: Argudo, Figueroa, Ortega, Ramos, R. Rivera, Suárez.]

The Teátrica/The Brooklyn Gypsies remounting of the production of Álex Vásquez Escaño's Yoleros will be presented. Written by Álex Vásquez Escaño and directed by Martín Balmaceda, the show stars 2015 HOLA Award recipients Modesto Flako Jiménez, Mathia Vargas and Sully Bonnelly, and is being presented in December at The Bushwick Starr, located in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood. For more information (including how to support the production), click here and here.

Ana María Estrada, shown at right, is acting in the feature film Depraved (directed by Lawrence Reggans), which is currently filming in northern California.

Caridad de la Luz (also known by her nom de poésie et de musique La Bruja) performed in November at the Communiversity: Indigeniety [sic] event of film screenings and live performances, presented by New Black Arts Movement at the Casa de Sol, located in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.

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?

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.

Elaine Del Valle, shown at right, was interviewed in the Red Shoe Movement blog, where her life and career as an award-winning actor, writer, producer, and philanthropist was profiled. In addition, her current and upcoming productions were highlighted, as well as her role as a business negotiator and influence and inspiration to empower women (and men, too). To read the blog, click here. She was also featured in Latin Heat, where the 2015 Madrina Award that she will receive from Prime Latino Media was highlighted. For more information, click here.

Edwin Pagán, shown at left, was featured in the Latino Rebels blog for his role as part of Los Seis Del Sur photographer collective, and an upcoming documentary about them to be directed by Vagabond and to be tentatively titled The Six Shooters. The other photographers of Los Seis Del Sur are Joe Conzo, Jr.; Ricky Flores; Ángel Franco; David González; and Francisco Reyes Molina II (they all grew up in the South Bronx hence the name of the collective, which translates to "the six from the south". To read the blog, click here. 

Joel A. Luna booked a guest-starring role in the television series "Mortales" (Telemicro). 

Samuel Garnica, shown at right, was featured in Broadway World as a result of his role in the new musical Bethlehem (written and directed by Julián Mesri; with assistant direction by Laura Riveros; produced by Sans Comedia). The production will take place in December at the St. Paul's Theater located in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. To read the article, click here.

Susan Rybin will be performing in Kahlo. An adaptation of the Humberto Robles monologue Frida: Viva la vida, the solo show is directed by Walter Ventosilla and be presented in December at the Producers Club Theaters, located in the theater district of midtown Manhattan. For more information, including how to buy tickets, click here.

2015 HOLA Awards recipient Modesto Flako Jiménez and Mathia Vargas were interviewed, along with playwright Álex Vásquez Escaño, for the television series "BK Live" (BRIC TV), where they talked about their participation in the play Yoleros (directed by Martín Balmaceda), which is being presented in December at The Bushwick Starr, located in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood. To see the interview, which contains a mention of the 2015 HOLA Award the production won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble, click on the video below (caution: some slight adult language).

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?

Francisco Reyes Molina II, Ricky Flores, Joe Conzo, Jr., Ángel Franco, Edwin Pagán and David González - See more at: http://www.latinorebels.com/2015/11/29/bronx-photojournalists-take-ownership-of-their-narrative/#sthash.CXBhOWkX.dp

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.

2015 HOLA Awards recipient Ivan L. Argudo, shown at right with producer Nila Murillo de Argudo, won the Noticero Universo Award for Outstanding Person in Theater in 2015. The award was presented to at Sabor Latino in the Elmhurst area of Queens.

Cedric Leiba, Jr. has been nominated for a 2015 Broadway World Connecticut Award in the category of Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role as Jacob in the Harvey Fierstein-Jerry Herman musical La Cage aux Folles (based on Jean Poiret's play of the same name). Directed by Rob Ruggiero and choreographed by Ralph Perkins, the production was presented this past summer at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut. Online voting decides the winner of the award. To vote for Leiba, click here and here (one must enter one's e-mail address for the vote to be considered valid).

2015 HOLA Awards recipient Manuel A. Morán and Milteri Tucker, shown above, from left to right, were featured in the Entorno Inteligente and Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña blogs, as a result of their participation in the 2015 HOLA Award-winning production of Sueño. The production (directed by Morán and co-starring Tucker) will be part of the 51st annual Festival de Teatro Internacional of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP), which is dedicated to Morán. Sueño will take place in December in the Esplanade at the world famous El Castillo San Felipe del Morro (more commonly known as El Morro) in Viejo San Juan, Puerto Rico. To read the blogs, which are in Spanish, click here and here.  

Vladimir Ríos, along with photographer Lester Blum and performer Scott Reynolds, were interviewed by Preston López of the NYC public access television show "The Preston López Show" (now in its 19th season), where they talked about two recent Ríos-Blum collaborations– the photo series Warrior of Hope and I Still Remember. Both photo series have been published as photo books and are hitting the art gallery circuit, with Warrior of Hope opening at the Brad Brafford LGBT Center in Santa Ana, California, and I Still Remember opening at the Staten Island LGBT Community Center in the Tompkinsville section of Staten Island. Both exhibitions will open on Tuesday, December 1, 2015 in commemoration of World AIDS Day. To see the interview, click on the video below.



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?