Race-Lifting: When Hollywood Changes A Character's Race

Check out this article in The Huffington Post regarding the practice that Hollywood has when changing the race of a character when going from a previous source (e.g. novel, graphic novel) to the big screen. It's called race-lifting. To read the article, complete with examples, click here.

BREAKING NEWS: DANNY PINO to be honored at 2011 HOLA AWARDS

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release
Friday, August 26, 2011
Contact: A.B. Lugo (212) 253-1015 ablugo@hellohola.org

New York, New York-- Danny Pino has just been added as an honoree for the Twelfth Annual HOLA Awards. The Awards Gala and Benefit will take place on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 6:30pm at The Battery Gardens on the waterfront in New York’s scenic Battery Park (opposite 17 State Street). Sponsorships slots are still available and range from $10,000 for a silver sponsorship to $50,000 for the Presenting Sponsor. A limited number of individual tickets are available at $150.

Danny Pino, the newest star of the NBC television series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," will receive the HOLA José Ferrer Tespis Award. Pino's past work across film and television has served to propel him into his new role on "Law and Order: SVU," one that places him squarely in the ranks of the much beloved current and past actors who have left indelible marks on this hit TV franchise, and the television landscape as a whole. He joins previous HOLA José Ferrer Tespis Award honorees Olga Merediz, Raúl Esparza, Kamar de los Reyes, John Ortiz, Luis Antonio Ramos and Robin De Jesús.

Pino joins actor Luis Guzmán (HOLA Excellence in Film Award), singer-actor-humanitarian Rubén Blades (Raúl Juliá HOLA Founders Award) and broadcast journalist Natalie Morales of NBC’s “The Today Show” (HOLA Excellence in Media Award) as 2011 HOLA Award honorees.

In addition to the above awards, HOLA will also continue its yearly 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 and, in that same spirit, is recognizing entertainment veteran Teresa Yenque with a Special Recognition Award for her over 40 years of excellence in the entertainment industry. To see the list of the 2010-2011 theater awardees, click here.

The Twelfth Annual HOLA Awards will take place on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 6:30pm at The Battery Gardens in scenic Battery Park (opposite 17 State Street) located in New York. Individual tickets are $150 and can be purchased in advance by calling (212) 253-1015 or by going to www.hellohola.org. Table sponsorships are also available and can be purchased by calling María F. Nieto at 212-253-1015 or by e-mailing her at MariaFNieto@HelloHola.org.

HOLA Legends: Raúl Dávila

Raúl Dávila (1931–2006) was an actor, director, translator and producer, who is best remembered for his role of Héctor Santos in the American soap opera "All My Children."

He was born on September 15, 1931 in San Juan, Puerto Rico where he received his primary and secondary education. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico where he studied dramatic arts. He continued his education at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. and then earned his Masters Degree in Dramatic Arts from the Pasadena Playhouse in California, U.S.A.

In 1957, he began his acting career in Puerto Rico's Telemundo television station. He worked in over 20 locally produced soap operas alongside the likes of Braulio Castillo and Mario Pabón. After six years with Telemundo, he decided to try his luck in the United States and moved to New York City.He arrived in the city on November 23, 1963, the day after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. At first it was difficult for him to find work as an actor, since in the 1960s there wasn't much of a demand for Hispanic actors. With the help of fellow Puerto Rican Raúl Juliá and Míriam Colón, he was able to find work in a Spanish language television station program called "Tribuna Hispana" (Hispanic Tribune), which was followed by "Mundo Latino," "De tú a tú con Raúl," "Realidades" and "The Puerto Rican New Yorker." He worked as an on-air personality as well as a producer.

He presided over the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), an organization to actor Raúl Juliá lent his support. The organizations goal is to celebrate Latino achievements in the field of entertainment. He began making appearances on some of the popular television shows of the day, such as "The Patty Duke Show," "The Defenders" and "East Side." He also landed small roles in the movies The Man with My Face, Counterplot and Felicia. Besides those small roles he supported himself by making commercials for Campbell's Soup, Colgate and The New York Telephone Company. His theater credits include Bodas de Sangra, Yerma, South Pacific, Kiss me Kate, La vida es un sueño, The King and I, The Sound of Music and The Diary of Anne Frank. He also directed several plays and translated several plays from Spanish to English, including Barefoot in the Park with George and Gigi.

In 1985, he returned to the island to film La gran fiesta, a film produced and directed by Jacobo Morales. In 1987, he acted in the film The Believers alongside actor Martin Sheen. He also acted in the American soap operas "The Guiding Light," "The Doctors" and "All My Children," the last of which he played the role of Héctor Santos for four years. His other film and television credits include Heroína (1965), El Escuadrón del pánico (1966), "Private Sessions" (1985), "Florida Straits" (1986), "The Trial of Bernhard Goetz" (1988), "The Old Man and the Sea" (1990), Fires Within (1991), Le Grand Pardon II (1992), "New York Undercover" (1994) and "Law & Order" (1994).

He lived in Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A., but he traveled constantly between New Jersey and Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, he played the lead role in the television comedy "Carmelo y Punto." He also acted in three locally produced films, Linda Sara (with Chayanne and Dayanara Torres), Milagro en Yauco and Los Díaz de Doris. He passed away on January 2, 2006, at his home in Newark, New Jersey from a heart attack. He left behind his wife, Isabel Pérez de Dávila and three children. On January 6, 2006, New York Democratic Congressman José E. Serrano released a statement to be submitted to the Congressional Record honoring Dávila. On September 15, 2007, he was honored by the city of Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A., and its municipal council by renaming the corner of Elwood and Mount Prospect avenues as Raúl Dávila Plaza.

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.

HOLA received an e-mail stating that out of 29 nations and/or companies, the New York-based World View Productions earned third place (after Belgium and Mexico) in the Nuevo León Theater Festival in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico with their production of Cayendo con Victoriano. The show, also a recipient of a 2011 HOLA Award, was written by Luis Enrique G. Ortiz Monasterio and directed by Luis Martín. The play features Alfredo Huereca, Ana Verónica Muñoz, Raoul Bretón, Bill Blechingberg and Mío Marabotto in the cast and took place at the San Pedro Theater. You can see a photo of the company at their curtain call above, at right.

Repertorio Español is presenting Tres obras cortas del Siglo de Oro. The three short plays from Spain's Golden Age are from famed playwrights Félix Lope de Vega, Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra and Pedro Calderón de la Barca and are directed by Andrés Zambrano, a Van Lier Directing Fellow. The production will have an August and September run at Repertorio Español's namesake theater in the Rose Hill section of Manhattan. The cast includes Mariana Buoninconti, Inés García, Gerardo Gudiño, Alicia Lobo, Mario Mattei, Julián Mesri, Daniel Ojeda Astigarraga, Alex Pita and Alfredo Tauste.

TeatroStageFest and La Criatura Theater are presenting The Orphans. Written and directed by Karina Casiano (based on an original idea by Karina Casiano and Jorge Dieppa), the two-hander is performed by Renzo Ampuero and Karina Casiano with stage management by Edna Lee Figueroa. Originally produced in association with La MaMa E.T.C., this production (called Os Órfãos in Portuguese) is being presented by Social Service of Commerce (Serviço Social do Comércio, or SESC), at the SESC Belenzinho Theater, located in the Belenzinho district of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Teatro LATEA and the Hudson Exploited Theater Company (HExTC) are presenting a special presentation of Adrian Rodríguez's play Mo(u)rning. Presented in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, the presentation will take place on Saturday, September 10, 2011 and Sunday, September 11, 2011 at Teatro LATEA's eponymous theater located in the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (home to HOLA) in Manhattan's Loísaida neighborhood. The play is directed by Arian Blanco and feature Liche Ariza, Gregg Bellón, Ileana Canal, Howard Collado, Loren Escandón, Omar Hernández, A.B. Lugo and Jim Thalman 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?

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.

The upcoming Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire has found its Stella. Producers said Tuesday that Daphne Rubin-Vega, shown at right, who received Tony Award nominations for playing Mimi in Rent and Conchita in Anna in the Tropics, respectively, will play the role of Blanche's weak sister in Tennessee Williams' sultry drama. She joins Blair Underwood as Stanley and Nicole Ari Parker as Blanche. Wood Harris, who played Avon Barksdale on HBO's "The Wire," will play Mitch. This production is slated to hit Broadway in the spring, though exact dates and the theater where it will play have yet to be announced.

J.W. Cortés let us know that film in which he starred, produced and directed, Conscientious Objector, has been accepted as an official selection of the San Francisco Latino Film Festival. The film which has Edwin Pagán as its cinematographer, stars Mônica Steuer, Giselle Forté, Marisol Carrere and Gilbert Cruz. To find out more information about the film, click here. To see the movie's trailer, click on the video link below.

Conscientious Objector - Official Trailer from JW Cortes on Vimeo.

Alfonso Ramírez and Johnathan Cedano will be reading selections of their fiction from the recently published anthology of fiction From Macho to Mariposa (edited by Charles Rice-González and Charlie Vázquez and published by Tincture, an imprint of Lethe Press), of which they are both contributors. A reading will take place on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 8pm at Nowhere, located in Manhattan's East Village. Other readers that evening include Ben Francisco, Bryan Pacheco, Bronco Castro, and Miguel Ángel Ángeles. Ramírez will also take part at a second reading from the anthology, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 7pm at the NYC Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center in Manhattan's Greenwich Village neighborhood. Other readers that evening include Brandon Lacy Campos, Ricardo Bracho, Chuy Sánchez, Jimmy Lam, Benny Vásquez and Robert Vazquez. To buy the book, or for more information, click here.

Bill Santiago continues his U.S. standup comedy tour with stops at the Long Island Comedy Festival (Friday, August 26, 2011 in Port Jefferson, New York), a stint at Loonees (September 1-3, 2011 in Colorado Springs, Colorado), the City College of New York (Thursday, September 15, 2011 in New York, New York), Lockhaven University (Friday, September 16, 2011 in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania), El Museo Del Barrio (Saturday, September 17, 2011 in New York, New York), Austin Peay University (Tuesday, September 20, 2011 in Clarksville, Tennessee), and Fort Hays State University (Thursday, September 22, 2011 in Hays, Kansas). 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...?

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, musicians of yesterday and today (and perhaps tomorrow).

Bruno Mars (1985– ), born Peter Gene Hernández in Honolulu, Hawai'i, U.S.A. to a Filipino mother and a Puerto Rican father, is a singer-songwriter-record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawai'i, U.S.A. by a family of musicians, he began making music at a young age. At the age of two, he was nicknamed "Bruno" by his father, because of his resemblance to chubby professional wrestler Bruno Sammartino. Mars was one of six children and came from a musical family who exposed him to a diverse mix of reggae, rock, hip hop, and R&B. From a young age, he was impersonating and performing songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Isley Brothers and The Temptations. At age four, he began performing five days a week with his family's band, The Love Notes, in which he became known on the island for his impersonation of Presley. In 1990, he was featured in MidWeek magazine as "Little Elvis," going on to have a cameo in the film Honeymoon in Vegas in 1992. After performing in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood, he decided to pursue a musical career and moved to Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. after graduating from high school. He began producing songs for other artists, joining production team The Smeezingtons. After an unsuccessful stint with Motown Records, he signed with Atlantic Records in 2009. He became recognized as a solo artist after lending his vocals and co-writing the hooks for the songs "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B., and "Billionaire" by Travis McCoy. He also co-wrote the hits "Right Round" by Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha, and "Wavin' Flag" by K'naan. In October 2010, he released his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans. Anchored by the worldwide number one singles "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade," the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200. He was nominated for seven Grammys at the 53rd Grammy Awards, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are." His music is noted for displaying a wide variety of styles and influences, and contains elements of many different musical genres. As a child, he was highly influenced by artists such as Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson and would often impersonate these artists from a young age. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times referred to him as "one of the most versatile and accessible singers in pop."

Irene Cara (1959- ), born Irene Cara Escalera al estilo latino in The Bronx, New York, U.S.A. to a Puerto Rican father and a Cuban mother, is an actress-singer-songwriter. She won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What A Feeling" for the film Flashdance. She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame" from the 1980 film of the same name, in which she also starred. At age three, shewas one of five finalists for the Little Miss America pageant. She began to play the piano "by ear" and soon thereafter, she began seriously studying music, acting, and dance. Her performing career started when she was a child on Spanish-language television, professionally singing and dancing. She made early TV appearances on the "Original Amateur Hour" (singing in Spanish) and "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." She was a regular on PBS’s educational program "The Electric Company," where she starred opposite Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman. As a child, she recorded a Latin-market Spanish-language record; an English Christmas album soon followed. She also appeared in a major concert tribute to Duke Ellington which also featured Stevie Wonder; Sammy Davis, Jr. and Roberta Flack. She appeared in on-and off-Broadway theatrical shows including the musicals Ain't Misbehavin', The Me Nobody Knows, Maggie Flynn and Via Galactica (the last with Raúl Juliá). She was the original Daisy Allen on the 1970s daytime serial "Love of Life." Next came her role as Angela in romance/thriller Aaron Loves Angela, followed by her portrayal of the title character in Sparkle. Television brought her international acclaim for serious dramatic roles in two outstanding miniseries, "Roots: The Next Generation" and "Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones." Her third film, Fame (1980), catapulted her to stardom. She was originally cast as a dancer, and when production heard her voice they rewrote the role of Coco Hernández. In the film, she sang both the title song "Fame" and the film’s other single "Out Here on My Own." These songs helped make the film's soundtrack a chart-topping, multi-platinum album. Further history was made when at the Academy Awards that year: It was the first time two songs from the same film were nominated in the same category and both sung by the same artist. Thus, Cara had the opportunity to be one of the few singers to perform more than one song at the Oscar ceremony. "Fame," written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford, won the award that year. She earned Grammy nominations in 1980 for Best New Female Artist and Best New Pop Artist, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Musical. Other film and television credits during this period include D.C. Cab; "Maya Angelou's Sister, Sister"; "For Us the Living: The Medgar Evers Story" (where she played Myrlie Evers-Williams); Killing 'em Softly. She reached the peak of her music career with the title song for the movie Flashdance: "Flashdance... What A Feeling," which she co-wrote with Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey. She won the 1983 Academy Award for Best Song, 1984 Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, 1984 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and American Music Awards for Best R&B Female Artist and Best Pop Single of the Year among other accolades. Other film credits include City Heat, Certain Fury and Busted Up. In 1993, she appeared as Mary Magdalene in the record-breaking anniversary tour of Jesus Christ Superstar opposite Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson and Dennis De Young. She has released three albums thus far: Anyone Can See (1982), What A Feelin' (1983) and Carasmatic (1987). She lives in Florida and works with her band Hot Caramel. Their album called Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel was released on April 4, 2011.

Gregory Abbott (1964?- ), born in New York, New York, U.S.A. to a Venezuelan mother and an Antiguan father, is a singer, composer, producer, pianist and drummer. During his early years, his mother taught him how to play piano and encouraged him to develop vocally. Before his career as musician, he studied psychology at University of California, Berkeley and creative writing at Stanford; where he won a Wallace Stegner fellowship. Also, he has taught English at University of California, Berkeley. One of his first opportunities in his studio was an album for an independent record label, which gave him the opportunity to do a duet with Whitney Houston. Continuing on, he produced for the group EQ on Atlantic Records. In 1986, he released his first solo album, Shake You Down. The title track for the album was a success, going platinum and topping the Billboard Hot 100. The album's second single, "I Got The Feelin (It's Over)" which reached #5 on the R&B chart. With the strength of its singles, the album propelled to platinum status and earned him several awards. Internationally, hecarried much success, winning first prize at the Tokyo Music Festival. The title track of his second album, I'll Prove It To You, released in 1988, was featured on a Japanese movie soundtrack. In Belgium, he performed with Princess Stéphanie of Monaco. Later albums include One World! (Musik International, 1996), Eyes, Whispers, Rhythm, Sex... (Musik International, 2002), Dancing the Inner Realm... (Musik International/Mojo Man, 2005) and Rhyme and Reason (Musik International, 2006). He is a dual citizen of the U.S.A. and Antigua. In 2011, a new album is said to be released by him on Spectra Records. He currently lives in both New York and the San Francisco Bay area.


Rebecca Black (1997- ) was born Rebecca Black Márquez al estilo latino in Anaheim, California, U.S.A. She is a pop singer who gained extensive media attention with her 2011 single "Friday." The daughter of two veterinarians, she is of Spanish, Italian, Polish and English descent. Her mother paid $4,000 to have the single and an accompanying music video put out as a vanity release through the record label ARK Music Factory. The song was co-written and produced by Clarence Jey and Patrice Wilson of Ark Music Factory. After the video went viral on YouTube and other social media sites, "Friday" was derided by many music critics and viewers, who dubbed it "the worst song ever." The music video received around 167 million views, causing her to gain international attention. An honor student, she studied dance, auditioned for school shows, attended music summer camps, and began singing publicly in 2008 after joining the patriotic group Celebration USA. In late 2010, a classmate of hers and music video client of ARK Music Factory, a record label based in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., told her about the company. The resulting single, "Friday," written entirely by ARK, was released on YouTube and iTunes. The song's video was uploaded to YouTube on February 10, 2011, and received approximately 1,000 views in the first month. The video went viral on March 11, 2011, acquiring millions of views on YouTube in a matter of days, becoming the most-talked-about topic on social networking site Twitter, and garnering mostly negative media coverage. As of March 22, 2011, first-week sales of her digital single were estimated to be around 40,000 by Billboard. On March 22, 2011, Black appeared on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," during which she performed the single and discussed the negative reaction to it. The song has peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 and the New Zealand Singles Chart at number 58 and 33, respectively. In the UK, the song debuted at number 61 on the U.K. Singles Chart. In response to the YouTube video of "Friday," she began to receive death threats in late February 2011, specifically by phone and email. These threats are being investigated by the Anaheim Police Department. MTV selected her to host its first online awards show, the O Music Awards Fan Army Party in April 2011. As an homage to "Friday," she appeared in the music video for Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," in which she plays alongside Perry as the hostess of a party Perry attends. "Friday" was also performed on an episode of the second season of "Glee." When asked about why the song was covered on "Glee," show creator Ryan Murphy replied, "The show pays tribute to pop culture and, love it or hate it, that song is pop culture." In 2011 she left public school in favor of homeschooling, both in response to constant verbal bullying at school and in order to focus more of her time on her career. Following her split from ARK Music Factory after a dispute on the ownership and distribution of "Friday", Rebecca Black established her own independent record label RB Records. The first release on the new label was "My Moment," the follow up single to "Friday." She is also set to release a digital five-track EP.





• Wanna see other editions of "Betcha Didn't Know...?" Click 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.

Teatro SEA will be presenting DC-7, The Roberto Clemente Story. Produced (and with lighting design by) Manuel Morán, the musical is written and directed by Luis Caballero. Set for a November run as part of the Borimix festival in SEA's eponymous theater in the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (home to HOLA) in Manhattan's Loísaida neighborhood, it will have choreography by Luis Salgado, scenic and projection design by José López, additional visual design elements by Miguel Trelles, costume design by Harry Nadal and musical design by Harold Gutiérrez. The production will star Modesto Lacén in the title role.

The Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre (PRTT) is presenting a revival of the Eduardo Gallardo play La Calle Simpson (Simpson Street). Directed by Josean Ortiz, the play is produced by Míriam Colón-Valle and stars Olga Agostini, Sandra Berrios, Dalia Davi, Jeanette González, Gabriela Lugo and Douglas Santiago.

Elizabeth Rivera de García (aka SoulSistaRican, her nom de poésie) will be performing at the tribute to Onaje Allan Gumbs on the occasion of his birthday. Jazz musician Gumbs will play a set and immediately following will be a tribute. Produced by Rome Neal's Banana Puddin' Jazz, the event will take place on Saturday, September 3, 2011 at the Nuyorican Poets' Café 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?