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Emmy winner Cristina Saralegui hopes next year's Latino event is televised.
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Leaders of Spanish-Language TV Honored With Emmy Awards
October 24, 2006
By Nancy Ayala
The second annual awards ceremony honoring Hispanic television's top Latino personalities, journalists and executives took place Oct. 19 at the Time Life Building in Manhattan, also home to one of the three event sponsors, People en Español magazine. AT+T and Hennessy were also sponsors of the untelevised intimate gathering at which honorary Emmys were bestowed by the National Television Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS).
The laid-back black-tie awards program kept a steady pace as emceed by actor/singer Carlos Ponce, who has earned his stripes with his recent hosting of the Miss Universe pageant and last year's Emmy event. "I thought I was getting an Emmy," he joked from the podium, later adding about the show, "Or as I like to call it, Lou Dobbs' worst nightmare."
A total of 280 guests arrived dressed to the nines and ready to celebrate the works of six outstanding professionals: Fernando Arau, morning show host of Univision's Despierta America; Saúl Lisazo, the telenovela star recently seen on Telemundo's Tierra de Pasiones; Jessi Losada, a Telemundo sports anchor; Lucero, singer and star of Univison's Alborada; María Elena Salinas, 25-year journalist and co-anchor of Noticiero Univision; and popular media personality Cristina Saralegui of her eponymous talk show, Cristina.
There were many touching familial tributes during the event, such as when Mexican director Alfonso Arau lauded his son, Fernando, before handing him his award. A few in the audience, though, were left scratching their heads as Arau the father was introduced for his U.S.-made film A Walk in the Clouds, without mention of his touchstone film Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate). Losada thanked his now-deceased father, who was also a sports reporter, and Salinas dedicated her award to her parents, who have passed on, for their fortitude as she was growing up in Los Angeles.
Before Ray Rodriguez, the president and COO of Univision, introduced Saralegui, he pointed to her strong views about her role in a show that would bear her name. "Cristina wouldn't tolerate being labeled talent and insisted on executive producer," he said.
Cristina graciously received her award but had a few things she wanted to impart to the audience. "We're not a market, we're a people," she said, which prompted heavy clapping. She also seemed to address NATAS President and CEO Peter Price, saying, "I wish that we could televise [the show]. We would be recognized in a way where we can all celebrate."
She left he podium with this passing thought, "Let's celebrate our Hispanidad."
Last year's awards ceremony was held in San Antonio and also was not telecast. Price told Marketing y Medios after 2005's event, "there are no immediate plans" to broadcast an Emmys en Español on an English-language network. "I can't speak for Spanish-language networks. If it happens, it has to start from the Spanish-language industry."
The Emmy recipients were nominated by a group of their peers, including Telemundo sports anchor Andres Cantor; Maria Celeste Arraras, host and managing editor of Telemundo's Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste; Gilbert Davila, vice president of multicultural marketing for The Walt Disney Co.; Jackie Hernández-Fallous, publisher of People en Español; Mario "Don Francisco" Kreutzberger, host of Univision's Sabado Gigante; Jorge Ramos, co-anchor of Univision's Noticiero Univision; Manny Vidal, president and CEO of New York-based The Vidal Partnership; and Antoinette Zel, senior executive vice president of network strategy for Telemundo.
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Copyright 2007 Marketing y Medios |
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