Academy Award winner BENICIO DEL TORO to be honored at the 2015 HOLA Awards

Will join ALEXANDER DINELARIS (Academy Award-winning screenwriter, Birdman), SELENIS LEYVA (Orange is the New Black), ANDREA NAVEDO (Jane The Virgin), 

MARISA RAMÍREZ (Blue Bloods), and others The 2015 HOLA Awards will take place on Monday, October 12, 2015 at the Battery Gardens in NYC July 21, 2015 (New York, New York)

Las damas de Atenea

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 Academy Award-winning actor Benicio del Toro with the 2015 Raúl Juliá HOLA Founders Award. He will join Orange is the New Black star Selenis Leyva, Jane The Virgin star Andrea Navedo, Blue Bloods star Marisa Ramírez, and others at the Sixteenth Annual HOLA Awards Gala and Benefit. The HOLA Awards will take place on Monday, October 14, 2015 at 6pm at The Battery Gardens, located on the waterfront overlooking New York Harbor in Battery Park (opposite 17 State Street in lower Manhattan). Sponsorship opportunities are still available. A limited number of individual tickets are available at $150 (if purchased before August 31, 2015) and $175 (if purchased from September 1, 2015 onward).

Benicio del Toro will receive the 2015 Raúl Juliá HOLA Founders Award. Del Toro won the Academy Award for his role in Traffic. Other film credits include Che, The Usual Suspects, Guardians of the Galaxy and Escobar: Paradise Lost. Upcoming films include The Little Prince, Sicario, Weightless, and A Perfect Day.

Andrea Navedo will receive the inaugural 2015 HOLA Elizabeth Peña Breakthrough Artist Award. The award is named after HOLA founding member Elizabeth Peña, who passed away in October 2014. Navedo, an HOLA member, is a veteran of television and film. She is currently playing Xiomara Villanueva in The CW’s Jane The Virgin.

Selenis Leyva will receive the 2015 José Ferrer HOLA Tespis Award. Leyva, a former HOLA Award theater winner, is a veteran of stage and screen. She is best known for playing Gloria Mendoza on the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black.

Marisa Ramírez will receive the HOLA Excellence in Television Award. Ramírez can currently be seen playing Detective María Báez in the CBS series Blue Bloods.

HOLA is collaborating with R.Evolución Latina on the Dare To Go Beyond Award, an honor for one who is an inspiration to the Latino community and who gives back to it. This year’s inaugural honoree is director, playwright, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris (Birdman). In addition to winning the Oscar for Birdman, Dinelaris wrote the book for the Gloria and Emilio Estefan musical On Your Feet!, opening in Broadway this fall. He is also the Co-Executive Director of the Oberon Theatre Ensemble.

Special citations will be given to filmmakers Rocío Llado (for her feature film La novia del libertador), and Julio Ortega and Nitsy Grau for their feature film Medardo). 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 growing and thriving Latino theatrical stages. A list of the 2014-2015 theater awardees is attached to this press release.

Individual tickets are $150 (or $175 if purchased on September 1, 2015 or later). Tickets 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.

2015 HOLA Awards Honors

RAÚL JULIÁ HOLA FOUNDERS AWARD Benicio del Toro

HOLA JOSÉ FERRER TESPIS AWARD Selenis Leyva HOLA ELIZABETH PEÑA BREAKTHROUGH AWARD Andrea Navedo

HOLA EXCELLENCE IN TELEVISION AWARD Marisa Ramírez

HOLA & R.EVOLUCIÓN LATINA DARE TO GO BEYOND AWARD Alexander Dinelaris

SPECIAL CITATIONS Rocío Llado, for her feature film La novia del libertador; Nitsy Grau and Julio Ortega, for the their feature film Medardo. 

2015 HOLA Awards for Excellence in Theater (producer[s] shown in parentheses)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR Francisco Fuertes, Abuse/Abuso (Thalía Hispanic Theatre) Alejandro Gil, Las pericas (Havanafama Theatrical Company/Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado) Germán Jaramillo, Hierba mala nunca muere (Repertorio Español)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR Zulema Clares, Aire frío (Repertorio Español) Alicita Lora, El malentendido (ArtSpoken Performing Arts Center/Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado) Adriana Sananes, Sueño (Teatro SEA/The Clemente/Teatro LATEA)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED MALE ACTOR Edward Azcorra, El barco ebrio (Teatro Vanguardia) Daniel Ojeda, La reina virgen (TEBA/Teatro del Aire) Juan Villarreal, Días eternos (Teatro LATEA)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED FEMALE ACTOR Liza Colón-Zayas, Between Riverside and Crazy (Atlantic Theater & Second Stage Theatre) Idalmis García, Hierba mala nunca muere (Repertorio Español) Laura Spalding, El barco ebrio (Teatro Vanguardia)

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE Mariela Brito, Triunfadela (El Ciervo Encantado/Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado) Josean Ortiz, Bola de nieve (Amigos del Corralón/Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado) Ricardo Santana Ortiz, El gran final (Teatro Círculo)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE CAST Pablo Andrade, Annia Bu, Zulema Clares, Idalmis García, Erick González, Sandor Juan, Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado, Mario Mattei, Frank Robles, Aire frío (Repertorio Español); Natalia Ivana Escobar, Jorge Luis Figueroa, Franco González, Aileene Pérez, San Salvador después del eclipse (United Productions/Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado); Sully Bonnelly, Modesto Jiménez, Mathia Vargas, Yoleros (Teátrica)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN TECHNICAL PRODUCTION/DESIGN José López (puppet and scenic design), Sueño (Teatro SEA/The Clemente/Teatro LATEA) Alex Moore (lighting design), Comida de P*ta [F#&king Lousy Food] (MultiStages) George Riverón and Antonio Reyes (costume design), La reina virgen (TEBA/Teatro del Aire)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PLAYWRITING Julie de Grandy, Genios: Lorca y Dalí (Teatro del Aire) Pablo García Gámez, Las damas de Atenea (TEBA) Antonio Muñoz de Mesa, Abuse/Abuso (Thalía Hispanic Theatre)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION Beatriz Córdoba, Días eternos (Teatro LATEA) Leyma López, Aire frío (Repertorio Español) Yoshvani Medina, El malentendido (ArtSpoken Performing Arts Center/Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado)

SPECIAL RECOGNITION Dimas González, for his performance in El rey de Francia (Corezón Productions/Festival de Teatro Hispano Del Comisionado) Soledad López, for 35 years of performing in New York City; OneHeart Production, for its production of El canto de Carlota; Héctor Luis Rivera, for 40 years of acting, directing and producing Sebastian Stimman, for the breadth of his performances during the 2014-2015 theater season

OUTSTANDING VISITING PRODUCTION El malentendido (ArtSpoken Performing Arts Center/Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado); Las pericas (Havanafama Theatrical Company/Festival de Teatro Hispano del Comisionado); Julia de Burgos: criatura del agua (Angelbello Productions)

GILBERTO ZALDÍVAR AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING MUSICAL PRODUCTION Betsy! (Pregones Theater-Puerto Rican Traveling Theater); El apagón (Pregones Theater-Puerto Rican Traveling Theater); Sueño (Teatro SEA/The Clemente/Teatro LATEA)

GILBERTO ZALDÍVAR AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC PRODUCTION Abuse/Abuso (Thalía Hispanic Theatre); Aire frío (Repertorio Español); El barco ebrio (Teatro Vanguardia)