IMPACT AWARDS GALA HONORS AMERICA FERRERA, ISABELLA GOMEZ AND JAY HERNANDEZ

 

America Ferrera honored at the 2020 Impact Awards  Photos: Getty Images for National Hispanic Media Coalition

The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) hosted its 2020 annual Impact Awards Gala last week in Beverly Hills.

Justina Machado and Jacob Vargas emceed the event which honored America Ferrera, Jay Hernandez, Hiram Garcia, Isabella Gomez and more.  

Highlights from the evening included:

America Ferrera’s acceptance speech for Outstanding Series Producer Impact Award earned unanimous applause: “Thank you to our allies in the room – those of you who are not particularly from the Latino community – and yet, you have the capacity to see the value of our lives, of our stories; you invest your money in our storytellers and give real creative power to our voices.” She continued, “If you empower us, we will deliver beautiful content and voracious audiences – and we promise to make it a party!”

Jay Hernandez received cheers during his remarks for Outstanding Television Performance Impact Award: “They use words like ‘criminal,’ ‘illegal,’ ‘drug runners,’ ‘animals’ – these are terms that describe us in media. But in ‘Magnum P.I.,’ a remake of an absolutely iconic American show, a guy with a ‘Z’ in his last name gets to be the hero.”

Hiram Garcia presented the Outstanding Film Producer Impact Award to his sister, Dany Garcia, founder, chair, and CEO of The Garcia Companies and TGC Management and Co-Founder of Seven Bucks Companies. Turning to thank her husband, Dave Reinzi, the honoree explained the significance of her surname as an entrepreneur: “[He] understands that having a credit with the last name ‘Garcia,’ means so much more than just me getting credit – it means something to our community.” She added, “I was always emboldened by the fact that the steps I was laying down would make the path easier for those who would come behind me.”

Isabella Gomez was recognized with the Impact Award for Outstanding Performance in a Series for her role as “Elena Alvarez” on “One Day At A Time.”

Ann Sarnoff, CEO and chair of Warner Bros., accepted the Visionary Impact Award for the studio’s forthcoming film “In The Heights.”

“Vida” showrunner Tanya Saracho presented the Outstanding Executive Producer Impact Award to Roberto-Aguirre-Sacasa, showrunner of “Riverdale,” “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” and “Katy Keene.”

Nely Galan, the first Latina president of entertainment for a U.S. television network, “Telemundo,” presented the Trailblazer Impact Award to Ozzie Areu, the first Latino to own a major production studio.

Executive producer Amy Lippman accepted the Outstanding Television Impact Award on behalf of “Party of Five.