Celebration featured exclusive appearances from U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass
Angel Manuel Soto, Gloria Calderón Kellett, Robin Thede, Silvia Olivas and more
Media Assets: Event Photos | EPK (Red Carpet & Ceremony Clips)
(Credit: Getty Images for National Hispanic Media Coalition)
The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) hosted its annual Impact Awards Gala, on September 9th, 2022, celebrating the outstanding individuals in the entertainment industry that are making strides toward a positive portrayal of the Latinx community, both in front of and behind the camera. Returning to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel after last year’s virtual celebration, the evening’s festivities were hosted by Jessica Marie Garcia (On My Block) and Annie Gonzalez (Flamin’ Hot).
This year’s Gala celebrated George Lopez and Mayan Lopez with the NHMC Impact Award for Authentic Storytelling, Wilmer Valderrama with the NHMC Trailblazer Impact Award, Yvett Merino with the NHMC Producer Impact Award, Xolo Maridueña with the NHMC Rising Star Impact Award, Francia Raisa with NHMC Impact Award for Performance in a Sitcom, and Colman Domingo with the NHMC Impact Award for Performance in a Drama. Additionally, Brandon Brito, Creative Executive for Latin American Programming at Apple TV+ accepted the NHMC Visionary Impact Award on behalf of Apple TV+.
The evening also included special appearances from Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Robin Thede (A Black Lady Sketch Show), Angel Manuel Soto (Blue Beetle Director), Gloria Calderón Kellett (With Love, One Day at a Time), Debby Wolfe (Lopez vs. Lopez), Selenis Leyva (Orange is the New Black, Lopez vs. Lopez), Silvia Olivas (Elena of Avalor Creator), and Mónica Ramírez (The Latinx House Co-Founder & President) who served as presenters for this year’s honorees. Additional attendees included Aida Rodriguez (Aida Rodriguez: Fighting Words), Emeraude Toubia (With Love), Jesse Garcia (Narcos: Mexico), Lana Parrilla (Why Women Kill, Once Upon A Time), Mark Indelicato (With Love), Olga Segura (Veronica), Rafael Cebrián (Acapulco) and more.
The 2022 NHMC Impact Awards highlights include:
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Colman Domingo emphasized the power of hard work throughout his career: “I like working. It’s part of my spirit. I know that I’m building. I know that I’m giving to the world. I know I’m being a part of it. I’m moving the needle with what I do as an artist in every single way. I’m so proud to be here because I do know I’m here because I have an incredible work ethic. It’s not just about dreaming something, it’s about doing the work which is what immigrants do.”
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Brenda Victoria Castillo, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, greeted the crowd with a heartwarming and inspiring speech: “We are rising up to say, after decades of being consistently misunderstood…we are not all the same. We have infinite stories to tell and we will unite under our shared identities to strengthen our decision-making power and influence. Together we can achieve this”
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Wilmer Valderrama stressed the importance of a united Latinx community saying “I’d like to challenge us as we move into the next phase of this evolutionary process for our culture, in our community, not only mainstream but in our leadership that when we arrive in America that we focus on the signal the globe all needs and that we finally wave one flag together as Latino brothers and sisters… It is absolutely critical to the survival of the movement and survival of our history because if we wave the same flag our history will not be deleted again.”
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Francia Raisa accepted her award with an emotional speech about the lack of Latina representation she experienced throughout her Hollywood journey: “I would go to auditions and there wasn’t a lot of us… it was very lonely for a really long time and I didn’t have Latina friends for a really long time. I didn’t realize how important that common cultural ground is.”
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George Lopez delivered a speech to a standing ovation with his daughter, Mayan Lopez, by his side: “In order to be an authentic storyteller you cannot be afraid of what the ramifications of a story might be… I’m honored to be able to know that 20 years ago I would come to an event here and there wasn’t as many Latinas and females who are in power and who are in the business and who are executives.”
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Brandon Brito – “[CODA] With its universal themes of family and friendship, love, and embracing our differences for what they really are, strengths. We’ve relished watching how the story continues to move the hearts and minds of people everywhere.”
The Impact Awards Gala is just one part of the NHMC’s overall mission to spotlight the importance of accurate, fair, and positive representation in media, including advocating for an increased number of Latino writers on major networks and streaming services, the increased representation of diverse talent on major television and film sets, and educating media and industry executives on the variances of Latino culture.
NHMC’s Impact Awards Gala is supported by our partners:
Premiere Partners: T-Mobile, Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo, Apple TV+, Variety
Red Carpet Partners: Coca-Cola, Google, Warner Bros. Discovery, Verizon
Spotlight Partners: Fernando Soler, Netflix
Producer Partners: Campanario Entertainment, Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang Law, Vme Media, Amazon Studios
Director Partners: TNT Agency, Banijay Americas, Creative Artists Agency, Lyft, Cadillac, Bilingual Educational Services, City National Bank, Fuse Media, The Walt Disney Company, Starz
2022 NHMC’s Impact Awards Gala Committee: Karey Burke, 20th Television; Abel Lezcano, Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang; Jackie Puente, Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo; Joanna Diaz-Soffer, T-Mobile; Henry R Munoz III, Funny or Die; Iva Colter, Netflix; Jaime Davila, Campanario Entertainment; Marie Sylla-Dixon, NHMC Board Member; Bonnie Abaunza, Abaunza Group; Terra Potts, Warner Bros. Pictures; Philip Sanchez, City National Bank; Brenda Victoria Castillo, National Hispanic Media Coalition.