José Feliciano Officially Honored with National Medal of Arts

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

José Feliciano is officially a medalist…

Following a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 77-year-old Puerto Rican musician, singer and composer has finally received his 2021 National Medal of Arts prize.

President Joe Biden doled out medals to the National Medal of Arts recipients, as well as the 2021 National Humanities Medal honorees.

The White House hosted a livestreamed East Room ceremony on Tuesday for the recipients, who included Mindy Kaling, Gladys Knight, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bruce Springsteen and fashion designer Vera Wang. Feliciano was unable to attend the event as he’s in Hawaii after performances on the West Coast.

Feliciano was born blind as a result of glaucoma. His family moved to New York City’s Spanish Harlem when he was five years old, and he fell in love with music and playing the accordion and the guitar. While in high school, he played as a regular at a Greenwich Village coffeehouse. He eventually dropped out of high school and moved to Detroit to take a more permanent singing gig, and soon after was signed with RCA Records. He is most known for his bilingual Christmas song, “Feliz Navidad” which has been named among the most popular holiday songs of all time.

According to Billboard, Feliciano has two top-10 hits in his career and 11 top-100 songs. Feliciano is also a seven-time Grammy award winner.

The NEA website writes the decision to honor Feliciano came from his tenure in the music industry, saying “Over 60 years, 60 albums, and 600 songs, Jose Feliciano has opened hearts and built bridges — overcoming obstacles, never losing faith, and enriching the goodness and greatness of the Nation.”

The honorees received their awards about two years late due to a backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

First lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also attended the ceremony, which Biden opened with a speech filled with quips about the honorees.

The recipients of the National Medals of Arts – the highest honor from the United States government for advancing the country’s arts – include actors, comedians and singers. Other recipients were artist-activist Judith Francisca Baca, philanthropist Fred Eychaner, Puerto Rican painter Antonio Martorell-Cardona and film producer Joan Shigekawa.

The Billie Holiday Theatre and The International Association of Blacks in Dance also received medals.

The National Humanities Medal honors those who have improved Americans’ understanding and engagement with history, literature, philosophy and more humanities subjects.

The 2021 recipients are poet Richard Blanco, anthropologist Johnnetta Betsch Cole, author Walter Isaacson, social historian Earl Lewis, Native American studies academic Henrietta Mann, novelist Ann Patchett, activist Bryan Stevenson, novelist Amy Tan, memoirist Tara Westover and novelist Colson Whitehead, as well as the organization Native America Calling.

Rita Moreno to Receive Casting Society’s Career Honor

Posted on January 30, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno is getting a cast-tastic honor..

The 91-year-old Puerto Rican living legend, an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award) winner is set to receive the Casting Society’s career honor, the Lynn Stalmaster Award, at the 38th annual Artios Awards next month.

Yvette Nicole Brown will host the ceremony on March 9 at the Beverly Hilton.

Moreno, whose 80 for Brady hits theaters this Friday, won an Oscar for her portrayal of Anita in West Side Story. She also received the Producers Guild’s Stanley Kramer Award in 2002. Those are among the latest accolades in a seven-decade career that began with her Broadway debut at 13. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films and countless television series including most recently Norman Lear’s remake of One Day at a Time. Her documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It had its world premiere at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Moreno’s EGOT-qualifying awards also include two Emmys, a Grammy in 1973 and a Tony two years later. She also has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama, the SAG Life Achievement Award, the Peabody Career Achievement Award and a Kennedy Center Honor.

Television Academy Names Rita Moreno to This Year’s Hall of Fame Class

Posted on October 25, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno is entering a special hall…

The Television Academy has announced its 26th Hall of Fame class, with the 90-year-old Puerto Rican entertainer among the honorees.

Moreno will be joined by choreographer and actress Debbie Allen, documentarian Ken Burns, BET founder Robert L. Johnson, CBS executive Bob Daly and cinematographer Donald A. Morgan.

Moreno, an EGOT winner (Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, Tony Awards), is a two-time Emmy winner for The Muppet Show and The Rockford Files.

She has starred in series including The Electric Company, Sesame Street, Nine to Five, Oz, Cane, Happily Divorced, Jane the Virgin, and the Latinx reimagining of Norman Lear’s One Day at a Time.

Moreno’s many accolades also include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Arts, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Honors and the Peabody Award.

Moreno is among two of the honorees who’ve already received honorary awards from the Television Academy. She was awarded a “Televisionary Award” in 2008. Allen received a Governors Award last year.

The Hall of Fame event will take place on Wednesday, November 16, at the Television Academy’s Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California.

In addition to the induction of the 2022 Hall of Fame recipients, the event will include the presentation of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to actor/director/activist Sean Penn and the unveiling of new busts of four previous inductees.

“These legendary performers, creators, craftspeople and television executives are luminaries in our industry,” Frank Scherma, chairman and CEO of the Television Academy, said in a statement. “Their work has influenced and immeasurably elevated the current television landscape and culture. We are proud to induct these trailblazers into the Hall of Fame and honored to celebrate their extraordinary contributions to our industry.”

“This year’s honorees have told the American story through television in ways that will forever shape our history and culture,” said Rick Rosen, Hall of Fame selection committee chair (who is also WME co-founder and head of television). “Whether they reshaped the industry itself through visionary leadership or created pieces of work that have had a lasting legacy, these individuals will forever be remembered for the impact they’ve had on the medium.”

The 2022 Hall of Fame honorees join more than 150 individuals previously inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception in 1984. The honors were presented every year from 1984 to 1993, but the Academy has skipped 13 years since then for various reasons. This is the first induction class since 2019.

In addition to Rosen, this year’s Hall of Fame selection committee included Marcy Carsey, Emmy-winning producer; Pearlena Igbokwe, chairman of Universal Studio Group; Peter Roth, former chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group; Nina Tassler, co-chief executive officer of PatMa Productions; and Dana Walden, chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content.

Producers Guild to Honor Rita Moreno with Stanley Kramer Award

Posted on January 27, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno is earning yet another honor…

The Producers Guild will present the 90-year-old Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer with the 2022 Stanley Kramer Award at the 33rd annual PGA Awards, set for March 19 at the Fairmont Century Plaza.

The honor goes to a production, producer or other individuals “whose achievement or contribution illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues.”

Moreno, an EGOT winner, will join previous recipients including Jane Fonda as well as Get Out, Loving, Fruitvale Station, The Normal Heart, Bombshell, The Hunting Ground, An Inconvenient Truth and Hotel Rwanda.

Kramer’s work included such iconic films as Inherit the Wind, On the Beach, The Defiant Ones and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

“With grace, intelligence, charisma, and kindness, Rita Moreno made her mark in history as a brilliant entertainer and leveraged that star power to shepherd stories that tap into the human experience and represent people and communities we rarely see celebrated in film and TV,” PGA presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher said Wednesday. “Beyond her on-screen contributions, she has used her unmistakable voice to hold a mirror to the prejudices and inequities that she so often experienced throughout her career. Her activism, strength, and artistic contributions set the precedent for how to be a changemaker in Hollywood, and it is our great honor to present Rita with the Stanley Kramer Award this year.”

Moreno most recently appeared and executive produced Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story after winning an Oscar for the original film, the latest in a seven-decade career that began with her Broadway debut at 13. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films and countless TV series including most recently Norman Lear’s remake of One Day at a Time. Her documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It had its world debut at Sundance Film Festival last year.

Moreno previously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama, the SAG Life Achievement Award, the Peabody Career Achievement Award and a Kennedy Center Honor.

“The last thing I ever dreamed of in my young life was being honored in any circumstance,” Moreno said. “That the Producers Guild of America has chosen to honor me not only for my work but for the principles I have tried to uphold and live by throughout my life is so gratifying. I am thrilled.”

Critics Choice Association to Honor Rita Moreno at Inaugural “Celebration of Latino Cinema”

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a special celebration for the legendary Rita Moreno…

The 89-year-old Puerto Rican actress, dancer and singer will be honored alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda and Demián Bichir at the Critics Choice Association’s inaugural Celebration of Latino Cinema.

Moreno, Miranda and Bichor will be honored alog with a group of additional honorees, many associated with upcoming 2021 films, still to be announced.

The Celebration of Latino Cinema, to be presented virtually, will take place on Thursday, December 9, 2021 and aims to put a spotlight on the contributions of great Oscar-winning and -nominated artists like Moreno, Miranda and Bichir, but also Latino filmmaking in general, a facet of the motion picture industry that doesn’t always get the recognition it deserves during awards season.

Among other things, the CCA’s Celebration of Latino Cinema aims to change that.

“We are thrilled to be launching the first annual Celebration of Latino Cinema which recognizes the talented performers and skilled professionals who create the acclaimed films we are so proud to honor,” said Claudia Puig, a CCA member and co-programmer of the event.

“Films by our honorees represent the diverse and multi-faceted Latino community, and reflect our increasingly inclusive industry” said CCA board member and event co-programmer Clayton Davis.

The Celebration of Latino Cinema will be produced by Madelyn Hammond and Javier Infante of Madelyn Hammond & Associates. Stagedge will be responsible for transforming the show into an immersive virtual experience.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to LA Collab, whose mission is to accelerate Latino access, visibility and representation in the entertainment industry.

Moreno has won all four of the most prestigious awards in show business: an Oscar, a Tony, two Emmys, and a Grammy. She recently co-starred in the Latinx reimagining of Norman Lear’s classic sitcom One Day at a Time, and her documentary Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It had its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival before being released in theaters; it will be broadcast on PBS’ American Masters in October. Moreno also co-stars in and executive produces Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story.

She is a recipient of the Peabody Career Achievement Award, a Kennedy Center Honor, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts.

Miranda is a Pulitzer-, Grammy-, Emmy– and Tony Award-winning songwriter, actor and director, and creator and original star of Broadway’s Hamilton and In the Heights. A recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Award, a Kennedy Center Honor and the Portrait of a Nation Prize, he received an Emmy with Tom Kitt for their song “Bigger” from the 67th Tony Awards. Upcoming projects include Disney’s Encanto and his directorial film debut, tick, tick… BOOM!

Bichir received a Best Actor Oscar nomination in 2012 for his role in Chris Weitz’s A Better Life, becoming the first Mexican-born actor to be nominated in that category by the Academy since Anthony Quinn in 1957. He more recently received rave reviews for his performance in the film Land, directed by Robin Wright. His film credits include Steven Soderbergh’s Che, Oliver Stone’s Savages, Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills, Paul Feig’s The Heat, Richard Shepard’s Dom Hemingway, Ridley Scott’s Alien, George Clooney’s The Midnight Sky, and Adam Wingard’s Godzilla Vs. Kong.

Raul Malo & The Mavericks to Receive Trailblazer Award at This Year’s Americana Honors & Awards

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Raul Malo and The Mavericks are officially trailblazers…

The 56-year-old Cuban American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer and his fellow The Mavericks band mates will be honored with the Trailblazer Award, as part of the lifetime achievement awards at the upcoming 20th annual Americana Honors & Awards show on September 22 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

The Mavericks join a roster of honorees that includes Keb’ Mo’, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, Trina Shoemaker and Carla Thomas.

Keb’ Mo’ will be honored with the Performance Award, the Fisk Jubilee Singers with the Legacy Award (which will be co-presented by the National Museum of African American Music), Shoemaker with the Producer-Engineer Honor and Thomas with the Inspiration Award.

The Honors & Awards ceremony serves as the highlight of the Americana Music Association‘s annual AMERICANAFEST, which will take place Sept. 22-25 in Nashville.

The Mavericks formed in Miami in 1989. In the 1990s they earned Top 20 hits on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart, including “O What a Thrill” (peaked at No. 18), “All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down” with Flaco Jimenez (No. 13) and “There Goes My Heart” (No. 20). In 2000, the group went on hiatus and lead singer Raul Malo released a series of solo albums. The group reunited in the 2010s and last year, they released their first all-Spanish language album.

Singing group the Fisk Jubilee Singers, of Fisk University, were inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2000 and were awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2008. The original Fisk Jubilee Singers formed in 1871. Their music broke racial barriers both in the United States and abroad, while helping the group raise money for the school.

Since Kevin Roosevelt Moore launched his career in the early 1990s (and was rechristened Keb’ Mo’ around 1994), he’s earned five Grammy honors. In 1994, he released his self-titled debut project, which contained “Come on in My Kitchen” and “Kindhearted Woman Blues,” both covers of songs from blues icon Robert Johnson. Keb’ Mo’ has since performed everywhere from Sessions at West 54th to the Crossroads Festival to the White House. His 2019 album, Oklahoma, earned the best Americana album honor at last year’s Grammy Awards.

Illinois native Shoemaker aspired to become a record producer, first working in Los Angeles and London before moving to New Orleans. Shoemaker was noticed by producer Daniel Lanois, who made her a tape op and then a full engineer. She worked on projects for Iggy Pop, Giant Sand and on Emmylou Harris‘ Wrecking Ball. Then she began working with Sheryl Crow on Crow’s self-titled album and subsequent The Globe Sessions album, which earned Shoemaker her first Grammy honors, including a trophy for her engineering. Shoemaker has recorded, produced and/or mixed for artists including Whiskeytown, Matthew Ryan, and Josh Ritter, as well as more recent work on The Secret Sisters‘ You Don’t Own Me Anymore and Tanya Tucker‘s While I’m Livin’. Shoemaker is also the first woman to win the Americana producer/engineer lifetime award.

Thomas made a string of recordings for Stax and Atlantic Records in the 1960s, incorporating soul, country and gospel. The daughter of DJ, singer and performer Rufus Thomas, she began singing as a child, joining WDIA‘s Teen Town Singers at age 10. She earned an early pop and R&B hit “Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes).” Thomas appeared on American Bandstand and recorded an album filled with duets with Otis Redding months before he died in 1967. In 1993, the Rhythm & Blues Foundation honored Thomas with its exclusive pioneer award. The inspiration award has only been granted once before, to fellow Stax/Atlantic recording artist Mavis Staples.

“We are beyond humbled to recognize this group of artists with our highest awards,” said Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association. “All of these artists have transformed the way we listen and experience music and have helped to build a perennial foundation for Americana music to prosper as an art form today. Our community looks forward to welcoming them with open arms on our biggest night of the year in September.”

Rita Moreno to Star in the Feature Film “The Prank”

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno is pranking around…

The 89-year-old Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer, an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony Award winner) has landed a starring role in the feature film The Prank, which will be directed by Maureen Bharoocha.

Moreno will star opposite Connor Kalopsis and Ramona Young.

The Prank follows two high school students who play a prank on their physics teacher, Mrs. Wheeler, played by Moreno. When she fails them on a test; they teach the imperious, demanding, insulting instructor a lesson by falsely accusing her of the murder of a missing student.

Other cast in The Prank includes Keith David, Meredith Salenger, Jonathan Kimmel, Nathan Janak and Kate Flannery.

Filming begins this month in and around Los Angeles.

The dark comedy is written by Rebecca Flinn-White & Zak White.

“Rita Moreno is a force of nature and an icon who continues to redefine herself,” said Bharoocha. “Her brilliant comedic mind lends itself to the perfect ‘Mrs. Wheeler’, a character we have never seen her play, and one that will no doubt surprise audiences.”

Moreno has won an Oscar (West Side Story), a Tony (The Ritz), two Emmys (for her turns respectively in 1977 and 1978 on The Muppet Show and Rockford Files), and a Grammy (Best Children’s Album for The Electric Company).

Moreno has starred on Broadway and London’s West End, appeared in more than 40 feature films and has performed in numerous regional theaters, including her one-woman show, Life Without Makeup, at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre. She recently co-starred in the critically acclaimed Latinx reimagining of Norman Lear’s classic sitcom One Day At A Time.

Her documentary, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It, produced by Lear, Lin Manuel Miranda and Brent Miller had its world debut at the Sundance Film Festival this year. The film, which was met with acclaim from critics and audiences alike, will have its television debut on PBS’ American Masters nationwide on October 5.

Moreno also co-stars and is an executive producer of the Steven Spielberg remake of West Side Story, set to open on December 10.

The recipient of the Peabody Career Achievement Award and the Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime contributions to American culture, she was also honored by her peers as the 50th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

Moreno’s all-Spanish-language album, Una Vez Más, was produced by her good friend Emilio Estefan, and she is a New York Times bestselling author with her first book, Rita Moreno: A Memoir. Moreno has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush and the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama.

AFI to Honor Rita Moreno During This Year’s Virtual AFI Fest

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno is ready to talk shop as part of a special night…

The 88-year-old Puerto Rican Oscar, Golden Globe, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress will be honored during this year’s virtual AFI Fest, which will take place from October 15-22.

Moreno, who currently stars on PopTV’s One Day at a Time, will be honored alongside Sofia Coppola, Kirby Dick and Mira Nair, with each taking par t in an evening of conversation celebrating their careers.

“Artists of this caliber are essential players in our global culture,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO. “To honor each of them – and all of them – at AFI FEST will prove a symphony of talent at a time the world needs it most.”

Moreno’s career began with a Broadway debut at 13 years old. Since then she has won all four of the most prestigious awards in show business – an Oscar, a Tony, two Emmys, and a Grammy – as well as a Peabody Award and a Kennedy Center Honor. Moreno has also been recognized with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush and the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama.

Moreno received an Honorary Degree from the AFI Conservatory in 2016.

Moreno is starring in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story, which will debut in theaters in December of 2021. She currently stars on the remake of Norman Lear’s classic sitcom, One Day at a Time.

Colón to Receive National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Miriam Colón has proven her medal…

The 79-year-old Puerto Rican actress is among the 2014 National Medal of Arts recipients who’ll be recognized by President Barack Obama at a special White House ceremony, according to the National Endowment for the Arts.

Designed by Robert Graham, the medal is awarded by the president to individuals or groups for their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States.

Colón is being heralded for her contributions as an actress. “Ms. Colón has been a trailblazer in film, television, and theatre, and helped open doors for generations of Hispanic actors,” according to a statement from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1953, The Puerto Rico-born actress moved to New York City, where she was accepted by Actors Studio co-founder Elia Kazan after a single audition, becoming the Studio’s first Puerto Rican member. While in the Big Apple, Colón worked in theater and later landed a role on the soap opera Guiding Light.

Early on in her career, she appeared mostly in westerns such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The High Chaparral, and Have Gun, Will Travel.

Most recently, Colón appeared on television and film in Better Call Saul, Top Five and Bless Me, Ultima.

She’s also the founder and director of the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in New York City.

This year’s ceremony will be held Thursday, September 10 at 12:00 pm in the White House’s East Room. First Lady Michelle Obama will also be in attendance.

Here’s the complete list of recipients:

John Baldessari, visual artist
Ping Chong, theater director, choreographer, and video and installation artist
Miriam Colón, actress
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Sally Field, actress and filmmaker
Ann Hamilton, visual artist
Stephen King, author
Meredith Monk, composer, singer, and performer
George Shirley, tenor
University Musical Society
Tobias Wolff, author and educator

Moreno Among the Recipients of This Year’s Kennedy Center Honors

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Rita Moreno continues to rack up the honors…

The 83-year-old Puerto Rican actress, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s SAG Awards, has been announced as one of recipients of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.

Each year, the Kennedy Center recognizes a select group for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts with the primary criterion in the selection process being excellence. Honorees are chosen by the center’s board of trustees.

Moreno, a Grammy, Oscar, Golden Globe and Tony Award winner, will be honored along side Star Wars patriarch George Lucas, actress Cicely Tyson, songwriter Carole King, conductor Seiji Ozawa and the Eagles.

Moreno, who recently guest-starred on the CW’s Jane the Virgin, has previously received the Library of Congress Living Legends Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a National Medal of Arts and the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

The event, a fundraiser for the Washington, D.C. arts center, will take place on December 6. CBS will broadcast the star-studded event on December 29.

Hispanically Yours

Celebrating the Latino Influence

Tag Archives: National Medal of Arts