Latino Hollywood came together at the first annual Latin Heat Rising Star Award Ceremony to honor actress Annie Gonzalez, star of the popular Netflix series Gentefied, the anticipated feature film Flamin’ Hot and George Lopez’s upcoming Amazon series Once Upon a Time in Aztlan.
Gonzalez was surrounded by many cast members of the film and TV projects she has worked on this year, as well as her family and close friends.
The event was hosted by NEFT Vodka at their headquarters in the city of El Segundo, California. The intimate, exclusive event had a feeling of familia. Special invited guests of seasoned talent who have literally paved the way for the next generation included actors Marlene Forte (Superstore, Star Trek), Enrique Castillo (In Other Words, Blood In Blood Out, DejaVu), Patricia Rae (All Rise) and Seidy Lopez (Selena: The Series, Mi Vida Loca), Art Bonilla (Gentefied) and Emmy Award-nominated writer-producer Nancy De Los Santos (Answer to My Prayers, Selena, Mi Familia).
The young cadre of Latino actors in Hollywood was in full force, a sign that Latinos are a new creative force on the big and small screens. Among the new stars that attended to celebrate Gonzalez were Julio Macias (Selena: The Series on My Block), Joseph Julian Soria (The Flight Attendant, Gentefied), Chelsea Rendon (Maya and the Three, Vida), Julissa Calderon (With Love, Gentefied), Jacqueline Grace Lopez (East Los High), Armida Lopez (Boss Level), Karina Noelle Castillo (NCIS, S.W.A.T.), Suanny Serpas (Eye for an Eye) Momo Rodriguez (Mayans MC) and Jesse Garcia (Flamin’ Hot, Narcos Mexico).
Other guests included Emmy Award-winning actor Terrence Terrell (Giants), NEFT Vodka’s Director of Business Development Enrique Velez, Brenda Herrera of The Herrera Agency, Gabriel Gonzalez of Grammy-winning band Quetzal, and Dr. Jose Luiz Ruiz, president of the Mexican-American Cultural Education Foundation, entertainment photographer Eddie Sakaki and Ruben Cardiel of the Raza Golf Club Association.
Featured Photo: Annie Gonzalez receives the Latin Heat Rising Star Award (Photo: Cesar Arredondo/Latin Heat)