ALMA Matters: The 2007 Awards Are Here
ABC Special Presentation Helps Celebrate Latinos’ Excellence in American Film, Music, and Television
Que bueno. Yes, the 2007 ALMA Awards extravaganza happened last Friday at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be enjoyable seeing the festivities for oneself when ABC presents the two-hour 2007 ALMA Awards tonight at 9pm EST. Presented annually by the National Council of La Raza, or NCLR for short, since 1995, the ALMAs (American Latino Media Arts Awards) honor entertainers of Latino ancestry who have made notable artistic achievements in mainstream United States media. Not coincidentally, I’m sure, the Spanish noun alma also means “soul” or “spirit” in English.
Two of the biggest events of the program will occur when actor-comedian George Lopez of the just-canceled, six-year-old ABC sitcom The George Lopez Show receives the 2007 ALMA Award for Special Achievement in Television, and the legendary Tex-Mex band Los Lobos—responsible for the hugely successful 1987 cover version of Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” from the movie of the same name, as well as one of my personal favorites, “Mas y Mas”—accepts the Pioneer in Music Award.
Desperate Housewives star and soon-to-be real-life wife Eva Longoria hosts, while such celebrated names as the still-grooving Prince, beatific Beyoncé Knowles, reggaeton hip-hoppers Calle 13, emotive Dashboard Confessional, and Tejano rockers Los Lonely Boys supply the musical accompaniment.
And how worthy would an entertainment-industry awards show be without a slew of famous celebrities to give viewers something delish to ogle? Not very. That’s why folk like film starlette Jessica Alba, (dead) Heroes hunk Santiago Cabrera, light middleweight boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya, versatile character actor Hector Elizondo, last season’s Dancing with the Stars runner-up Mario Lopez, Prison Break jailbird Amaury Nolasco (Michael Scofield’s trusted former cellmate and current fellow escapee Fernando Sucre), Ugly Betty pretty sis Ana Ortiz, Scrubs nurse diva Judy Reyes, Without a Trace lady FBI agent Roselyn Sanchez, and My Name Is Earl cleaning woman/stripper extraordinaire Nadine Velazquez will all be onboard to provide welcome visual diversions, not to mention loads of talent.
To peruse the entire field of nominees beforehand, take a look at the official list.
The 2007 ALMA Awards airs tonight on ABC at 9pm EST
Eva Longoria photo courtesy of WireImage.com
