Commentary By Bel Hernandez

First and foremost, congratulations are in order for Oscar Isaacs on his Leading Actor Emmy nomination for his role as Jonathan in HBO’s Scenes From A Marriage; and Colman Domingo for Guest Actor in a Drama nomination for his role as Ali in Euphoria. Out of the 197 Latinos submitted for consideration for an Emmy nomination only these two great actors were nominated. That is less than 1%, or to be more specific 0.010%, of the talent submitted.

With a record number of Latinos submitted for an Emmy nomination, it looked like this was going to be the year we would see more inclusion of Latinos at the Emmys. The Acting Peer group of the Television Academy memberships are the group that decided that only two Latinos were worthy of a nomination.

To say that Latinos as sorely underrepresented again this year at the Emmys is an understatement. It happens every year and every year the trades carry the headlines on how Latinos are “missing” from the nominee list or the “lack of inclusion” at the Emmys. But nothing is done. And it’s not just at the Emmys where we are not represented, it’s all Hollywood industry awards, the Oscars, the Golden Globes…you name it. Latinos are always the ones missing on the contender lists.

In past years the excuse was that the roles just weren’t there. Not enough characters were written for Latinos, so how could we expect nominations? That was not the case this year. The work was there, you can CLICK ON THE LATIN HEAT EMMY CONTENDER LIST HERE and you will see the names of the talent submitted and the shows they worked on, in all genres and formats. The majority of the talent on this list is as talented as the persons who were nominted this morning.

Also, not one Latina actress was nominated. Not one. Out of 95 Latinas submitted not one was nominated. Not Selena Gomez for her role in the Hulu hit show Only Murders in the Building. The show was nominated in the best comedy category and since she is an executive producer on the show, she does get a nomination for that…but not for her on-camera work. However, her two co-stars were each nominated for their roles in same show, but not Gomez.

Not Rosario Dawson in DMZ, Dopesick, or The Book of Bobba Fett

Not Rosie Perez in The Flight Attendant

Not Monica Raymund in Hightown

Not Annie Gonzalez in Gentefied. In addition to the other 91 more on-camera Latinas who were not nominated.

What about the talent from shows like Hulu’s Love, Victor (3 actors submitted); 3pas’ Acapulco (with eight submission), Jeff Valdez’s The Garcias (with submissions), Netflix’s Mayans MC (Emilio Rivera, Edward James Olmos and 11 other actors submitted), ABC’s La Brea (Jon Seda, Nicholas Gonzalez & Liliy Santiago), or executive producer America Ferrera’s Gentefied (eight actors were submitted). The names on the list list goes on.

There were 106 Latino actors submitted, only two got the nomination. But, did the voting members even watch the great performances of Adan Cano in FOX’s The Cleaning Lady, JD Pardo in FX’s Mayans MC, Joe Minoso in NBC’s Chicago Fire, or Jon Huertas critically lauded for his role on NBC’s This is Us? Which of your favorite actors were not nominated, but should have been?

This happen year after year. The excuses are varied and some are even good ones, but excuses are no longer good enough. Latinos are the largest “minority” group in the U.S. and an economic force, with a $1.7 trillion annual consumer power. Hollywood knows about the Latino has exluded Latinos number one filmgoing audience for decades we continue to be ignored.

According to the October 13, 2021 Nielsen article “On-screen representation is driving Latino TV Viewing” the reason for the increase in Latino viewership is representation. “Programs that do attract notable Hispanic audiences are those that star Latinos, such as Selena, NCIS and Criminal Minds. This viewing behavior is in sync with the sentiment from nearly 60% of Latinos who say they’re more likely to watch programming featuring their identity group.”

So I am taking the advice of my good friend, Ana Valdez, Executive Director of the Latino Donor Collaborative when she says, “Expand the message. Demand Representation“. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE, and pass it on. It’s time to get loud. We have nothing to lose, yet recognition to gain.

The post Super EMMY Fail For Latinos…So What Else is New first appeared on .

The Garcias is a New Cadance Production.  The sitcom and its talent both in front and behind the camera have been submitted for consideration for 29 Emmy nominations by the production Company.  Deadline to vote by Television Academy members ends on June 27.

By Roberto Leal

The HBO Max TV series, The Garcias is a carryover from its earlier incarnation, The Brothers Garcia, which ran on Nickelodeon from 2000 to 2004.  It was created by Jeff Valdez, along with Gibby and Mike Cevallos and originally aired on Nickelodeon. 

InThe Brothers Garcia, we are introduced to the three brothers, Larry, George, Carlos and their sister, Lorena.  They are the typical Texican family dealing with everyday life in their San Antonio suburb. The family of six, includes their history professor father, Ray, and their mother Sonia, a hairdresser.

The Brothers Garcia made television history as the first English language sitcom with an all-Latino cast, directors, and producers. In the new reimagined storyline the kids are now grown adults with children of their own. The Garcias and their expanded family find themselves vacationing at their fancy family beach house in Mexico, with kids and parents in tow.  They are now the American Latino family in Mexico, and soon that creates a new set of modern-day family dynamics.

Living in Paradise

The Garcia family find themselves spending the summer relaxing, refreshing and recharging at their beautiful seaside resort in Mexico, still plagued by the usual family dynamics. The brother rivalry between George, (Bobby Gonzalez, Carlos (Jeffrey Licon), and Larry (Alvin Alvarez) continues unabated. Sister Lorena, (Veneza Leza Pitynski) has joined the family in Mexico after her infamous on-air quitting of her TV reporting job went viral on YouTube. 

But when the family finds themselves stranded in Mexico due to stormy weather, they settle in for a couple of months.

Meanwhile, historian dad Ray played by Carlos Lacamera, (The Mexican, Independence Day) is writing a book on the ancient Maya and annoying everyone within earshot with mundane factoids of life in the Mayan civilization. While Sonia, Ray’s wife played by Ada Maris (Mayans MC, Nurses) is restless and bored with the vacation and wants to go back to work as a hairdresser. So without telling the rest of the family, she takes a job in town at a hair salon.

As the showrunner/director, Valdez wants to see Latinos represented in television beyond subservient or demeaning caricature portrayals. The Garcias is a huge success in that regard. Their family problems, presented in a light-hearted, quirky and funny way are universally recognizable and appeal to a wide audience. However, Valdez also has some fun exploring some cultural conflicts within the Mexican and the Mexican-American communities.

To Be or Not to Be a Mexican

George is adamant about identifying as a Mexican. But his native-born Mexican wife, Ana, (Nitza Chama), who lovingly calls him Gordito (chubby), reminds him he was born in Texas and not Mexico. Meanwhile, George and Carlos meet two potential Mexican business partners who want to strike a deal with them but dismiss them as “pochos del otro lado” or Mexicans born in the United States.

And when Sonia takes the job in a local hair salon, she is immediately dubbed as la gringa (not a “real Mexican”).  However, Sonia’s excellent hair cutting skills garner her new wealthy Mexican clients who insist on only Sonia cutting their hair.  When Sonia points out the Mexican owner of the salon can cut their hair, they refuse. The owner later explains to Sonia that the new wealthy clients she has attracted would never lower themselves by allowing the hairdresser who cuts their maids and servant’s hair, to cut theirs.

Lorena lands a part in a film about the Maya, being filmed locally.  When Ray, the expert on ancient Mayas visits the set and discovers the whole cast looks very Anglo, he declares to anyone within earshot, “The Mayas didn’t look like Vikings.” Lorena becomes disenchanted with the role and the inaccurate portrayal and quits.

George discovers his neighbors in the big house next door are filming a reality show titled, Keeping Up with the Cartels. When the director says he thinks George looks like a cartel member and offers him a small part in the show, George is flattered and accepts. But that night he is awakened by a ghostly apparition who informs him that shows like Keeping Up with the Cartels reinforce every negative stereotype of Latinos as gang bangers, drug dealers, gangsters and criminals. George wakes up and realizes he can’t do the part.

Valdez avoids making these cultural points in a heavy-handed, “author’s message” way. But instead makes his points in a humorous, self-effacing manner that delivers the intended emotional impact but is neatly blended within the flow of the overall storyline.

The Tease of an Eternal Vacation

Season 1 of The Garcia’s was filmed on location in Quintana Roo, Mexico. By setting the story in this gorgeous part of Mexico, Valdez has intentionally made the location an important and very eye-pleasing character in his story. So, it was disheartening when Ray, as head of the family, announced that when summer is over, it will be time to return to San Antonio, Texas.

But a glimmer of hope was raised in the final episode of season one when Carlos announces to the family, he has secured a major business deal with some Mexican investors that will allow the Garcia clan to stay in Mexico in a new location, teased to be revealed in season 2 of The Garcia’s.

Staying in Mexico would create some interesting storylines for the Garcia family. For instance, would the Garcias hire native-born Mexicans to work as cooks, housekeepers, or gardeners in their new, large home? How will Carlos’ business success affect his relationship with his brother, George? Will Sonia open her own hair salon business?

Whatever challenges the Garcias face in season 2, through the talented vision of Valdez and head writer Joey Gutierrez, they will face it with a characteristic Mexican-American sense of humor and charm, guided by the universal Latino principle of “todo para la familia”.

Season 1 of The Garcia’s is streaming on HBO Max.

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Emmy-award-winning Estefan is the co-host of Univision’s El Gordo y la Flaca (The Scoop and the Skinny).

With over 25 years in the television industry, she received a Daytime Talent in Spanish Emmy Award from NATAS in 2018. She also won a Career Award at Univision’s Premio Lo Nuestro in 2017 and received her own star in Las Vegas’ “Walk of Stars” and the “El Paseo de las Luminarias,” Mexico’s equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Spanish-language ceremony will feature presenters and guests such as Ilia Calderon (Noticiero Univision, Aquí y Ahora), Andrés Cantor (Telemundo Deportes), Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman & CEO Golden Boy Promotions, Ernesto Jerez (ESPN Deportes), Jose Diaz-Balart (Noticias Telemundo), Suki Lopez (Sesame Street), Gaby Natale (SuperLatina con Gaby Natale), Judge Cristina Perez (Justice For All With Judge Cristina Perez) Alejandra Oraa (Café CNN, Destinos CNN) and Maria Alejandra Requena (Panorama Mundial).

The Spanish-language ceremony and all Emmy Award celebrations are available on the web at Watch.TheEmmys.TV and via The Emmys apps for iOS, tvOS, Android, FireTV and Roku. The show and other Emmy Award events can be watched anytime.

The ceremony honors programming content from submissions that originally premiered in calendar-year 2019, judged by a pool of peer professionals from across the television and streaming/digital media industry.

The complete list of nominees is available on the National Television Academy’s website: www.emmyonline.tv

The post Lili Estefan to Host Univision’s Live-Streamed Emmy Awards first appeared on .

The 2020 Daytime Emmy Awards, will be airing live on television, on CBS, June 26, 2020. However, due to COVID-19, this year’s awards ceremony will be virtual. Hosting this year’s virtual awards ceremony is veteran Daytime Emmy host Mario Lopez.

The multi-talented Lopez, looks to be everywhere at once. While the Access Hollywood co-host just finished filming the Saved by the Bell reboot for the NBC Universal streaming service Peacock TV, Lopez is currently in Carson City, Nevada, filming the Lifetime’s Christmas rom-com Feliz NaviDad. This is one of the first movie sets to begin shooting since the initial Covid-19 outbreak. Lopez will be hosting the first televised Daytime Emmy Awards show, after a five-year on-screen hiatus.

Along with Lopez, Latino representation is visible as nominees in a diversity of categories from animation to talk show programs.

Highlighted Latino nominees/nominated Latino shows include:

Access Hollywood (Lopez)

Outstanding Entertainment News Show

Carmen Sandiego:

Outstanding Casting for an Animated Series or Special

Outstanding Directing for an Animated Program

Outstanding Sound Mixing for an Animated Program

Outstanding Special Class Animated Program

Café CNN

Outstanding Morning Show in Spanish

The Casagrandes

Outstanding Main Title for an Animated Program

Despierta America

Outstanding Morning Show in Spanish

Destinos

Outstanding Entertainment Program in Spanish

El Corazon de Sergio Ramos

Outstanding Entertainment Program in Spanish

Outstanding Main Title and Graphic Design for a Live Action Program

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Live Action Program

Elena of Avalor

Outstanding Casting for an Animated Series or Special

Outstanding Directing for a Preschool Animated Program

Outstanding Music Direction and Composition

Outstanding Original Song in a Children’s, Young Adult or animated Program

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Preschool Animated Program

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Preschool Animated Program

Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Program

Elena of Avalor: The Magic Within

Outstanding Special Class Animated Program

El Gordo y la Flaca

Outstanding Daytime Talent in a Spanish Language Program (Katrina Banda)

Outstanding Daytime Talent in a Spanish Language Program (Tanya Charry)

Outstanding Daytime Talent in a Spanish Language Program (Oscar Petit)

Outstanding Daytime Talent in a Spanish Language Program (Gelena Solano)

LOL: Last One Laughing

Outstanding Daytime Talent in a Spanish Language Program (Eugenio Derbez)

Outstanding Entertainment Program in Spanish

Nuesto Mundo

Outstanding Entertainment Program in Spanish

The People’s Court (Marilyn Milian)

Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program

Un Nuevo Dia

Outstanding Morning show in Spanish

Vera’s Latin America: Panama

Outstanding Directing for a Singe Camera Daytime Program

The View (Ana Navarro)

Outstanding Informative Talk Show

Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host

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