WASHINGTON, DC – The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) announced today the 29th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards will be broadcast nationally Friday, September 30, 2016, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET on PBS during Hispanic Heritage Month. The Awards are among the highest honors by Latinos for Latinos and are supported by 40 national Hispanic-serving institutions. The 2016 awardees who have been announced include Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (Leadership Award), Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Junot Díaz (Literature Award), Actress/Singer Angelica Maria (Legend Award), and Latin music’s breakout new superstar J Balvin (Vision Award). Announcements of additional honorees will continue over the coming weeks leading up to the event taping, which will take place on September 22nd at the Historic Warner Theatre in Washington D.C.
The awards were established in 1987 by The White House to commemorate the creation of Hispanic Heritage Month in America. The program will include top Latino performers and personalities paying tribute to the honorees from the stage. The Awards recognize the contributions and accomplishments of Latino leaders in various fields while celebrating cultural pride and the great promise to America.
“The Hispanic Heritage Foundation is thrilled to be back on PBS to highlight the tremendous contributions of our community in an inspiring and entertaining way,” said Jose Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of HHF. “It’s more important than ever that we share this preeminent celebration of our culture with all of America.”
“We are pleased to join the Hispanic Heritage Foundation in honoring the significant contributions of Latino Americans to our country,” added Beth Hoppe, Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming for PBS. “PBS and our member stations are committed to offering programming that reflects the diversity of the people we serve and look forward to celebrating the 2016 Hispanic Heritage Awardees.”
Past Honorees of the awards have included Juan Luis Guerra, Rita Moreno, Plácido Domingo, Celia Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Tito Puente, Anthony Quinn, Carlos Gutiérrez, Juan Marichal, Los Tigres Del Norte, Ricky Martin, Juanes, Rubén Blades, José Feliciano, Isabel Allende, Alejandro Sanz, Oscar de la Hoya, America Ferrera, Carlos Fuentes, Gloria Estefan, Martin Sheen, Andy García, Carlos Vives, Zoe Saldana, and Pedro Martínez, among many others
The Hispanic Heritage Awards serve as a launch of HHF’s year-round, award-winning programs which inspire, prepare and connect Latino leaders in the classroom, community and workforce to meet America’s needs in priority fields. HHF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. For more information on the mission of HHF visit www.hispanicheritage.org.