This year 2,800 performers vie for an Emmy nomination in 2022.  That is 935 more entrants than last year. One hundred and ninety-seven (197) of the contenders for an Emmy nomination, considered the highest honor a TV performer can attain, are Latinos.   

While there isn’t any known research to compare the number of Latino entrants in the past years, this year’s list of Latino contenders for a 2022 Emmy nomination is remarkable.  Will the large number of possible Latino nominees lead to Emmy winners?  Historically, Latinos are usually left out of the Emmys, underrepresented, or not even in the running. The decidedly record number of submissions could be an indication that Latinos are being proactive in increasing the visibility of their work at the Emmys, that would definitely elevated their stature in Hollywood.

This year there seem to be more “independent” submission by either the talent themselves of the production companies. Typically, the networks, cablers or streamers pay the entry fee to submit performers and/or creatives who they feel have a good chance of winning the Emmy. This year several independent production companies and individuals submitted themselves when their broadcast platforms indicated they would not be submitting them. One such production company is New Cadance Production who produce HBO Max’s The Garcias. Executive Producer/Creator Jeff Valdez share with that their production company had submitted in 29 different categories, the majority in the acting categories and definitely some of their creatives.

Come September 12, 2022 when the Emmys air on NBC, it will be interesting to see if diversity at the Emmys will, this year also include Latine talent.

For a bit of an overall perspective.  The number of submissions vying for an Emmy nomination as a whole, is up in all categories and it breaks down like this:

• Entries in the Comedy category are up from 576 to 984 entries.

• Entries in the Drama category are up from 928 to 1,243 entries.

• Entries in the TV Movie/Limited category are up from 361 to 573 

These numbers do not take into account all the categories.  This break down is only for the performer categories.  The creative categories which include the producers of the shows, the directors, writers, and the technical categories could number in the thousands.

Of the 197 Latine contenders, the shows with the most Latinos submitted for an Emmy nomination are FXs Mayans MC created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James with 13 submissions; HBO Max’s The Garcias created by Jeff Valdez, Gibby and Mike Cevallos with 12 submissions; and  Apple TV’s Acapulco created by Eduardo Cisneros, Jason Shuman and Austin Winsberg with 10 submissions. Gentefied, created by Linda Yvette Chavez and Marvin Lemus, and executive produced America Ferrera has submitted eight names for possible noms.  On My Block, created by Eddie Gonzalez, Jeremy Haft and Lauren Lungerich submitted five talents; while Hightown, created by Rebecca Perry Cutter and starring Monica Raymund, and With Love, created by Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce, both submitted four talents each. 

Actors in some of the most popular and/or critically acclaimed shows currently airing on broadcast, cable and the streamers include Rosario Dawson and Benjamin Bratt in HBO Max’s DMZ; Adan Canto in FOX’s The Cleaning Lady; Rosie Perez in HBO Max’s The Flight Attendant; Nicholas Gonzalez in NBC’s La Brea, and many more in contention. 

The breakdown for the Latino Emmy Award contenders is as follows:

ACTOR:

38 – Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama

22 – Outstanding Supporting Actor in Comedy Series

13 – Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology or Movie

11 – Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series

10 – Outstanding Actor/Comedy Series

  7 – Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

  5 – Outstanding Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

ACTRESSES:

32 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in Comedy Series

22 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

10 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

  8 – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy

  6 – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama

  6 – Outstanding Lead Actress in Limited or Anthology Series of Movie

  5 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology or Movie

  4 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama

  2 – Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama

The TV shows with most Latino performers seeking an Emmy nomination are:

TO SEE FULL LIST OF NAMES SUBMITED FOR EMMY CONSIDERATION CLICK HERE

^{*We have included a couple of Brazilian actors to this list}

The post Close to 200 Latinos Submitted For Emmy Nominations 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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Two Hour Season Finale, Monday at 10 PM on ABC

David Del Rio, who finds himself in the “middle” of ABC’s hit romantic dramedy, The Baker and the Beauty, plays the aspiring DJ and record producer Mateo Garcia. Del Rio is a gregarious, thoughtful, and multi-talented, young actor who shared his journey of working on The Baker and the Beauty.

Del Rio is a Miami, Florida native of Cuban heritage. For such a young actor, he has an eye-opening resume of career accomplishments that have served him well and will be the foundation for what, no doubt, will be a long career.  

Upon graduating from the New World School of the Arts in Miami, David fine-tuned his acting and filmmaking craft in the New York Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts, School of Film and Television. Shortly afterward, David got the part of Felix Garcia on Nickelodeon’s The Troop. In between seasons Del Rio made his Broadway debut in Lin Manuel Miranda’s hit musical In the Heights. He kept himself busy appearing in hit films like Pitch Perfect and The Belko Experiment, as well as a critically acclaimed television performance in Grease Live!

Del Rio recalls with his characteristic, upbeat and good humor, how he got the role of Mateo Garcia on The Baker and the Beauty.

“I was doing the auditioning rounds during pilot season. Originally, I read for the part of older brother, Daniel, the one who gets involved with the supermodel, entrepreneur, Noa Hamilton, Del Rio recounted”.  He heard nothing for three months, then he got a call from the show’s producers to read for the part of the younger brother, Mateo.

“I was thrilled to become a part of the show.”

The Baker and the Beauty revolves around the chance meeting and improbable, culturally-at-odds romance between Daniel Garcia (Victor Rasuk), a working-class, Cuban baker’s son and Noa Hamilton (Nathalie Kelley), the beautiful Australian, supermodel and businesswoman. However, series creator, Dean Georgaris, has skillfully woven together several interesting sub-plots and intersecting storylines that David described with just a thinly veiled hint of cultural pride. “The show brings to mind those great Latin American telenovelas.

Mateo is the middle child of the Garcia family, stuck in the middle between older brother, Daniel, who is gaining notoriety as the boyfriend of Noa Hamilton, and his super whiz, perennial Honor Roll student little sister, Natalie (Belissa Escobedo).

Music is Mateo Garcia’s passion.  He bills himself as MC Cubano, and dreams of becoming a DJ and music producer. Unfortunately, Mateo’s father, Rafael Garcia (Carlos Gómez) and mother, Mari Garcia (Lisa  Vidal) would prefer Mateo become more involved in the family bakery business and put aside his musical ambitions.

When Vanessa Sanchez (Michelle Vientimilla), Daniel’s ex-girlfriend, becomes Mateo’s manager, and books some gigs for him, Mateo’s confidence grows. Eventually, Vanessa gets Mateo a meeting with a record producer that promises to lead to bigger and better things.  The meeting does not go well.

The producer tells Mateo that, as a performer, he is not interesting.  He calls his music derivative and advises Mateo to forget about his music career. It is a devastating, heart-breaking moment. Del Rio, in a touching piece of acting, portrays the disappointment of the gut punch to his ego, with just a subtle shift in his facial expression. No dialog was necessary.

“Rejection,” explains Del Rio, “is something every actor will experience in their career. But you learn from it and move on. That’s what Mateo is going to do.”

Subsequently, his dad, Rafael builds a small recording studio for Mateo, and gives his blessing to his dream sealing the deal with a loving embrace.

“That scene was so cool,” recalls David fondly, “Carlos planted an authentic Cuban kiss on my neck, like all the men in my Cuban family do.”

David loved working with the all-Latino cast and crew, and felt it created an atmosphere of cultural unity and cooperation on set that inspired everyone involved with a sense of common purpose.

“Whenever we felt like we nailed a take, it was festive and incredibly supportive for each other. The idea was to highlight the culture, not highlight individual characters.”

Del Rio went on, “The individual characters are part of the culture and vice versa. Plus working with a crew that is 99% Hispanic, felt like we were all striving together, as part of a team, to tell a story. It was real kismet with everyone working in harmony and with fiery, fiery passion.”

Mateo is a hyper-kinetic, slightly madcap, and often less than serious young man. However, when it comes to his relationship with his kid sister, Natalie (Belissa Escobedo), he does an emotional 180-degree turn. Mateo is a loving, doting, concerned brother and confidant to Natalie as she is going through a difficult sexual identity crisis —  he is always there for her. According to both David and Belissa, the on-screen, loving sibling relationship has morphed into a seamless transition from the script to their off-screen friendship.

Asked if he could put, in a single sentence the one thing he personally loves about working the hit ABC show.

“It’s so great to be in a show that is set in Miami and also celebrates Miami,” Del Rio said. “It is also great to see a show that celebrates the Latino family, which by extension, honors and celebrates the All-American family.” 

In a recent episode, Vanessa and Mateo share a brief, spontaneous kiss, which set social media buzzing and viewers into thinking there might be a budding romance between the two. That kiss might be the intersection of another storyline by creator, Georgaris.

So as we all wait patiently to hear if there will be a season two of The Baker and the Beauty, what becomes of that kiss between Vanessa and Mateo is anyone’s guess. However, we will not have to wait too long to see David Del Rio grow, as an actor, producer, and director. Armed with his boundless enthusiasm and talent, David Del Rio’s show business future is as promising as a Miami sunrise.

The two-hour season finale of The Baker and the Beauty airs on ABC, Monday, June 1 at 10 PM.

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