Friday, August 30, 2013

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, Latino filmmakers. In addition to people like Louis C.K. and the Weitz brothers (Chris and Paul Weitz), who each have Mexican heritage, respectively, there are the following filmmakers.

Alice Guy-Blaché was born on July 1, 1873 in Saint-Mandé, France to Chilean parents. She is known as the first female director in the motion picture industry and is one of the first directors of narrative films. While pregnant, Guy’s mother traveled to France, where she gave birth to Alice Guy. Following her birth, she was raised by her grandparents until the age of four. In 1877, her mother retrieved her from her grandparents and returned to Chile, where Guy met her father for the first time. In 1879, her father returned Guy to France where she was enrolled in boarding school with two of her sisters. While Guy was at boarding school, her father’s chain of bookstores became bankrupt. This forced Guy’s father to transfer her to a cheaper boarding school. After this both her father and brother died. Following her father’s death, Guy trained as a typist and got her first job as a secretary, starting her career.

In 1894 she was hired by Léon Gaumont to work for a still-photography company as a secretary. The company soon went out of business but Gaumont bought the defunct operation's inventory and began his own company that soon became a major force in the fledgling motion-picture industry in France. She decided to join the new Gaumont Film Company, a decision that led to a pioneering career in filmmaking spanning more than twenty-five years and involving her directing, producing, writing and/or overseeing more than 700 films. From 1896 to 1906, she was Gaumont's head of production and is generally considered to be the first filmmaker to systematically develop narrative filmmaking. In 1906, she made The Life of Christ, a big budget production for the time, which included 300 extras. In addition to this, she was one of the pioneers in the use of audio recordings in conjunction with the images on screen in Gaumont's "Chronophone" system, which used a vertical-cut disc synchronized to the film. An innovator, she employed special effects, using double exposure masking techniques and even running a film backwards. In 1907 she married Herbert Blaché who was soon appointed the production manager for Gaumont's operations in the United States. A year later, she gave birth to their daughter, Sophie.

After working with her husband for Gaumont in the USA, the two struck out on their own in 1910, partnering with George A. Magie in the formation of The Solax Company, the largest pre-Hollywood studio in America. While pregnant with her second child, she completed at least one to three films a week. With production facilities for their new company in Flushing, New York, her husband served as production manager as well as cinematographer and she worked as the artistic director, directing many of its releases. Within two years they had become so successful that they were able to invest more than $100,000 into new and technologically advanced production facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. After her divorce and subsequent bankruptcy, she returned to France and never made another film after 1920. In 1930, Gaumont published the history of his company with no mention of any production history before 1907. This upset Guy, prompting her to write a letter to Gaumont, after which he agreed to change the documents. However these changes were never published. The rest of Guy's career and life was dedicated to her children, specifically her elder daughter Simone, with whom she spent much of her later years. In 1953 she was awarded the Légion d'honneur, the highest nonmilitary award France offers. In 1964, she moved back to the U.S.A., and died on March 24, 1968 in Wayne, New Jersey. Her 24-year career (1896-1920) of directing, writing and producing films is the longest career of any of the cinema pioneers.


León Klimovsky was born León Klimovsky Dulfano al estilo latino, on October 16, 1906 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A trained dentist, his real passion was always the cinema. He pioneered Argentine cultural movement known as Cineclub and financed the first movie theater to show art movies. He also founded Argentina's first film club in 1929. After participating as scriptwriter and assistant director of 1944's Se abre el abismo, he filmed his first movie, an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Player. Other highlights from this time period include the adaptations of Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo and Ernesto Sabato's The Tunnel. During the 1950s, he settled in Spain, where he became a full-time "professional" director. He directed many spaghetti westerns and exploitation films. Horror film fans best remember him for his contributions to Spain's horror film genre, beginning with La Noche de Walpurgis (Walpurgis Night), which is said to have started the Spanish horror film boom of the 1970s. He directed famed Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy in no less than eight films in the 1970s, while also directing other classic horror films such as The Strange Love of the Vampires, The Dracula Saga and The Vampires' Night Orgy. He retired from directing in 1979, at age 73. In 1995, at age 89, he won the "Honor Award" from the Spanish Film Directors Association. He died on April 8, 1996 in Madrid, Spain from a heart attack.


Gaspar Noé, born on December 27, 1963 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a film director and the son of Argentine painter and intellectual Luis Felipe Noé (also known as Yuyo). Raised in France, after his family fled Argentina after a military coup, he graduated from Louis Lumière College and is the visiting professor of film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland. His film credits include I Stand Alone (1998), Irréversible (2002) and Enter the Void (2009). He credits Stanley Kubrick as a big influence and states that viewing that filmmaker's opus 2001: A Space Odyssey as a child changed his life. He is married to French-Bosnian filmmaker Lucile Hadžihalilović. He has won awards from numerous film festivals, including Sitges, Stockholm, Boston Underground, Sarajevo, Avignon and Cannes.


Brett Ratner, born Brett Ratner Presman al estilo latino, on March 28, 1969 in Miami Beach, Florida, is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series "Prison Break". The son of the former Marcia Presman, a socialite, and Ronald Ratner, he grew up in a "middle-class Jewish family". His father was the son of a wealthy Miami businessman, while his mother was born in Cuba, and emigrated to the U.S. in the 1960s with her parents, Fanita and Mario Presman (themselves émigrés to Cuba from Eastern Europe). A 1990 graduate of New York University, he cites the 1980 film Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese, as his inspiration to enter the world of film. He started directing music videos before making the transition to film. Other film credits include Money Talks, Tower Heist and Horrible Bosses. He is currently slated to direct the upcoming action-adventure film Hercules: The Thracian Wars, scheduled for release in 2014.


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

Hispanic Actress Receives Biggest Salary Ever Paid for Portrayal of President

Did that headline attract your attention? We thought it would.

Rita Moreno – about to play the
President of the United States?
Check out this blog by Bella Vida Letty of Latino Rebels in which she explore the feasibility of having a Latina U.S. President on an American television show or film and even gets feedback from icon Rita Moreno (who happens to be a HEGOT*– that is, a winner of the HOLA, Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards) by clicking here.

* It really is known as an EGOT– however, a Friend of HOLA added an HOLA Award to it and re-dubbed it the HEGOT, which tickled the staff at HOLA.

WELCOME NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS - JULY AND AUGUST 2013

Below is a list of new (and returning) HOLA members who joined between July 1, 2013 and August 31, 2013. (Note that "returning members" refer to 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): Christofer Alcalá, Diana Alemán; (second row, left to right): Aaron Alexander, Pablo Andrade; (third row, left to right): Vanessa Aspillaga, Daniela Berlanga; (fourth row, left to right): Jorge Luis Berríos, Flor Bromley; (fifth row, left to right): Michael Díaz, Venessa Díaz; (sixth row, left to right): María Mercedes Galuppo, Anny Gómez de Benítez; (seventh row, left to right): Angélica Guillén, Rina Mejía; (eight row, left to right): Paul Montoya, Greta Quispe; (ninth row, left to right): Alfonso Rey, Mafer Rodríguez; (last row, left to right): Paola Sánchez, Miguel Arcángel Vega.






















Thursday, August 29, 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.

Johanna Tolentino, shown at right, was the subject of a profile in Uriah Young's blog, where she talked of her career as a stage and screen actor and as a producer. To read the blog, click here.

The Laura Gómez-helmed
film To Kill a Roach (La cucaracha) was selected to be screened in November at The Dominican Global Film Festival in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The movie stars 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).

J.W. Cortés, shown at left, along with actress-singer Roselyn Sánchez, co-hosted the 100th issue celebration of Latin Trends magazine, which took place at Stage 48 at Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen area. [Blogger's note: Sánchez was on the cover of the magazine for its 100th issue; Cortés was on the cover of the magazine's Latin Trendsetters issue].

Marisol Carrere is shooting the film The Inquisition of Camilo Sanz, in which she stars and also acts as associate producer (directed by John and Kevin López and also starring Francisco Narváez and Álvaro Rodríguez). For more information, click here.

Judy Torres sang her hits as she shared the bill with group TKA and DJ Jenny Costa at the famed B.B. King's Blues Club & Grill, located on 42nd Street in New York's world famous Times Square. For more information, click here
.

Actor, producer, bon vivant and YouTube personality Michael Díaz, shown at right, was the subject of a profile in both the Manhattan Times and the Bronx Free Press, where he spoke of his tour of bodegas across the United States for the web series "Bodega Chat" (which he hosts as his alter ego Juan Bago). To read the article, click here or here (click on the "Spanish" button to read the article in Spanish). To see a teaser for "Bodega Chat", click here or click on the video below. To see episodes of "Bodega Chat", click here. To keep yourself apprised about all things Bago, 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?

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Filmmakers Abandon Hollywood for Tax Incentives

Check out this clip from NBC's "The Today Show" (from the August 27, 2013 telecast) regarding how many film and television projects are leaving Los Angeles, prompting that city's mayor, Eric Garcetti, to declare a "state of emergency" for Hollywood by clicking on the video below.


Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

HBO/NALIP DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER AWARD

HBO has teamed with NALIP to find
the next great Latino Documentary Film!


Social change has been the consistent undercurrent for HBO's critically acclaimed and award-winning documentary programs, with a myriad of issues presented in uncompromising quality and honesty.  Through this cash award, HBO wants to focus its lens on the Latino experience and support the growth of social commentary by Latino documentarians. One Latino Filmmaker will win $10,000!

Deadline: September 27, 2013

• Application processing fee: $20 – Waived for current NALIP members (join or renew ONLINE HERE!).
• Submissions must be from a film already in progress or finished – footage and proposal to be screened by judges.
• Filmmakers in the U.S. or located international may apply, but the film must be in English or with English subtitles.
• The winner must be 18 years or older, and of Latino descent.
• There is no limit to the number of entries: each entry must comply with the requirements below, and must submit a separate submission form and fee for each.
• Prior submissions will be considered if the project has advanced to a new stage.
• A panel of industry professionals will judge the films based on the following criteria: uniqueness of topic/subject matter, professional quality of the film, and the structure, tone and style planned for presenting the topic to an audience. The judges will select one film as the winner of the competition. 
• Winner to be notified by December 2013.
For more details and a full list of the e-mail submission requirements, download the application here.  (Save it to your computer before filling it out)

Monday, August 26, 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.

Rafael Fuentes appeared in the August 2013 issue of Thump: NYC Metro Rabbit News newsletter, where it highlighted his recent turn as the titular character in the musical The Adventures of Super Bunny (written by Michael MacKenzie Wills and Alastair William King and based on a book by Amber L. Spradlin; presented in July at the MainStage Theatre of the WorkShop Theatre Company located in the garment district of midtown Manhattan as part of the Midtown International Theater Festival). To read the article, click on the image at right.

2013 HOLA Award recipient Alfonso Rey and Mafer Rodríguez are mounting a production of Indira Páez's Mujeres de par en par. Directed by Rey, the play will star Mariana Buoninconti, Yajaira Paredes, Annia Bu, 2013 HOLA Awards recipient Zulema Clares, Miriam Pinedo and Rodríguez and have a September run at Arden Theatre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more information (and to buy tickets), click here.

Carlos A. González recently performed a standup comedy set at the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club in Universal City, California. He will also perform on a bill with comedians Tom Ragù, Joe Jack, Nicky Sunshine, Ron Canda, and others, alongside headliner Gina Brillón on Friday, September 27, 2013 at The Duplex in Manhattan's West Village. For more information (or to buy tickets), click here.

Elaine Del Valle, shown at left, reprised her award-winning solo show, Brownsville Bred (directed by Pamela Moller Kareman) last week by the special request of executives at Time Warner at Columbus Circle. After a standing ovation, she was asked to speak on an esteemed panel and offered an esteemed private screening presentation of her recently produced short film, Stereotypically Me (written and directed by Linda Nieves-Powell and starring Andrea Navedo and 2013 HOLA Award recipient Liza Colón-Zayas). For more information, click here. In addition, she is co-producing the short film Lobo: An Orisha Horror Tale (written and directed by Lina Sarrello and starring Sarrello, Gloria Zelaya and Paola Poucel). For more information, click here.  Both productions are currently being submitted to film festivals. For more information about all things Del Valle, click here or here

Marlene Forté can soon be seen on the big screen in My Last Day Without You. The award-winning film is written by Stefan Schaefer and Christph Silber and directed by Schaefer. The film also stars Nicole Beharie, Ken Duken, Laith Nakli and Reg E. Cathey. The film will premiere in select U.S. cities on Friday, October 4, 2013. For more information, click here, here, 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?

Friday, August 23, 2013

BREAKING NEWS: Bobby Cannavale to receive 2013 HOLA José Ferrer Tespis Award, Will Join Nadine Velázquez, Vanessa Verduga, et al. at 2013 HOLA Awards (presented by Delta Air Lines)

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) — Star of stage and screen, Emmy winner and Tony nominee Bobby Cannavale will receive the 2013 José Ferrer HOLA Tespis Award from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), the nation’s longest running active arts advocacy organization for Latino actors. Cannavale 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. 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. He can currently be seen on the big screen in the new Woody Allen film Blue Jasmine (starring Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett). For more information about him, click here.

Cannavale joins fellow honorees Nadine Velázquez (currently on TNT’s “Major Crimes” and FXX’s “The League”), who will receive the 2013 HOLA Excellence in Television Award; Vanessa Verduga ("Justice Woman"), who will receive the 2013 HOLA Excellence in Multimedia Award; and HBO Latino, which will receive the 2013 HOLA Excellence in Media Award; as Delta Air Lines presents the Fourteenth Annual HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit. In addition, the HOLA Awards will recognize the outstanding achievements of Latino theater in New York during the 2012-2013 season. 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.

For more information and to read the full press release with the complete list of honorees and awardees, click here.

# # # #





2013 HOLA Awards Press Release (updated)

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)

# # # #

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.

Julián Juaquín, shown at left, was highlighted, along with other cast members of the play Julián and Romero (written and directed by Alex Pérez and being presented in September at Theater for the New City in Manhattan's East Village) in a "Photo Call" photoessay in BroadwayWorld. To see the photoessay and accompanying article, click here.

Joel Luna just wrapped up filming on the short film Brother's Dilemma (written and directed by Christian Noriega).

Modesto Lacén, shown at right, has been nominated for an Audience Choice Award from DC Theatre Scene for Best Actor in a Musical for his work as the titular character in GALA Hispanic Theatre presentation of DC-7: The Roberto Clemente Story (which was written by Luis Caballero and in turn is nominated for Best Musical). For more information and to vote, click here. In addition, he was the subject of a profile in MSN Latino Noticias regarding his role as famed Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández in the musical Sophy... a Rafael Hernández. Hasta siempre, mi jíbarito (book by Maribel Quiñones, music by Rafael Hernández, direction by Alejandro Primero, choreography by Raúl de la Paz and musical direction by Rubén Amador), which had performances in August at the Sala de Festivales at the Centro de Bellas Artes in Santurce, Puerto Rico. To read the article (which is in Spanish), click here.

Robin De Jesús is succeeding Ben Rimalower in performing the latter's self-penned solo show Patti Issues. Directed by Aaron Mark, the show will be presented in September and October at The Duplex in Manhattan's West Village. For more information, click here.

Tony Chiroldes was interviewed, along with director Justin Fortunato, on KDKA-TV (the CBS local affiliate of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) for his upcoming role in the
Front Porch Theatricals/Carrnivale Theatrics production of In The Heights. Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and 2013 HOLA Awards recipient Quiara Alegría Hudes. To see the interview, click on the screen 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?