by the El Reportero’s staff
George López y Eve Longoria
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — NCLR (National Council of La Raza) the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization today announced that this year s revamped 2009 ALMA Awards® will showcase more Latino talent in more arenas than ever before. NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía and Executive Producer Eva Longoria Parker made the announcement at a news conference at Beso Restaurant, Longoria Parker s Latin-themed restaurant in Hollywood. Among the major changes to this acclaimed show is the addition of a co-host, the actor, comedian, and talk show host George Lopez.
The 2009 ALMA Awards will tape September 17 at the Royce Hall Auditorium at UCLA and will air FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 (8:00 to 10:00 p.m., ET/PT), on the ABC Television Network. Visit www.almaawards.com for more information.
If you like the ALMA Awards, you will love this year s show because we re bringing you more of what you love most, unique musical pairings and the best Latino entertainment, said Murguía. The ALMA Awards is one of the few opportunities in primetime to spotlight the Latino presence in entertainment, and we want to celebrate the impact Latinos had last year not only in film and television, but also in music and sports television.
I am proud that we will be able to pay tribute to a record number of Latino performers and just thrilled to have one of the funniest men on the planet, George Lopez, as my co-host this year. If you know me and you know George, anything can happen so tune in! continued Longoria Parker.
The show will have a significant format change with specially produced packages highlighting Latinos in their entertainment field. One of the Latino performers in each category will be honored for Special Achievement.
With NCLR s goal of broadening the work they honor in mind, the show has been restructured to refl ect the breadth of amazing performances we saw this past year, said Bob Bain, the new Executive Producer.
Along with these changes, the NCLR ALMA Awards will continue its most popular segments, such as performances from the some of the top acts in music today, including David Archuelta, Luis Fonsi, Nelly Furtado, Selena Gomez, Sean Kingston and Pitbull. In addition, Adam Rodriguez, Amaury Nolasco, Benjamin Bratt, Dania Ramirez, Enrique Murciano, Eva La Rue, James Roday, Joanna Garcia, Kat VonD, Nadine Velazquez, Roselyn Sanchez, Efren Ramirez, Sofia Vergara, Michelle Rodriguez, Oscar Nunez, and Rey Mysterio will be presenting awards.
The NCLR ALMA Awards will also bestow special honors upon two Latino superstars, actor/ producer Salma Hayek and boxer/philanthropist Oscar de la Hoya, as well as host a special tribute to the late Ricardo Montalban, who passed away earlier this year, led by Oscar-, Grammy-, Tony-, and Emmy Award-winning actress Rita Moreno.
