NCLR ALMA Awards to Air September 18 on ABC Honoring Indelicato, Plana, Ortiz, Sigler, Perez, Smits, Ramirez, Molina & More

NCLR (National Council of La Raza) the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization today announced that this year s revamped 2009 ALMA Awards® will showcase more Latino talent in more arenas than ever before. NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía and Executive Producer Eva Longoria Parker made the announcement at a news conference at Beso Restaurant, Longoria Parker s Latin-themed restaurant in Hollywood. Among the major changes to this acclaimed show is the addition of a co-host, the actor, comedian, and talk show host George Lopez.

The 2009 ALMA Awards will tape September 17 at the Royce Hall Auditorium at UCLA and will air FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 (8:00 to 10:00 p.m., ET/PT), on the ABC Television Network. Visit www.almaawards.com for more information.

If you like the ALMA Awards, you will love this year s show because we re bringing you more of what you love most, unique musical pairings and the best Latino entertainment, said Murguía. The ALMA Awards is one of the few opportunities in primetime to spotlight the Latino presence in entertainment, and we want to celebrate the impact Latinos had last year not only in film and television, but also in music and sports television.

I am proud that we will be able to pay tribute to a record number of Latino performers and just thrilled to have one of the funniest men on the planet, George Lopez, as my co-host this year. If you know me and you know George, anything can happen so tune in! continued Longoria Parker.
The show will have a significant format change with specially produced packages highlighting Latinos in their entertainment field. One of the Latino performers in each category will be honored for Special Achievement. This year s categories and honorees are as follows:

2009 ALMA AWARDS (as of 8/25/09) YEAR IN TELEVISION

COMEDY
Actor
Special Achievement Honorees
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men, CBS Demián Bichir, Weeds, SHO George Lopez, Mr. Troop Mom, NICK Horatio Sanz, In The Motherhood, ABC Jake T. Austin, Wizards of Waverly Place, DISNEY CHANNEL James Roday, Psych, USA
Joshua Gomez, Chuck, NBC Mark Indelicato, Ugly Betty, ABC Oscar Nunez, The Office, NBC Ricardo Antonio Chavira, Desperate Housewives, ABC Tony Plana, Ugly Betty, ABC

Actress
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty, ABC Ana Ortiz, Ugly Betty, ABC Eva Longoria Parker, Desperate Housewives, ABC Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Entourage, HBO Jessica Alba, The Office, NBC Joanna Garcia, Privileged, CW Judy Reyes, Scrubs, ABC Lupe Ontiveros, Reaper, CW Maria Canals-Barrera, Wizards of Waverly Place, DISNEY CHANNEL Nadine Velazquez, My Name Is Earl, NBC Rosie Perez, Lipstick Jungle, NBC Salma Hayek, 30 Rock, NBC Selena Gomez, Wizards of Waverly Place, DISNEY CHANNEL

DRAMA
Actor
Adam Rodriguez, CSI Miami, CBS Amaury Nolasco, Prison Break, FOX Benito Martinez, The Shield, FX Benjamin Bratt, The Cleaner, A&E Cristian de la Fuente, In Plain Sight, USA Danny Pino, Cold Case, CBS
Edward James Olmos, Battlestar Galactica, SYFY Enrique Murciano, Without a Trace, CBS Esai Morales, Jericho, CBS Jimmy Smits, Dexter, SHO
Jorge Garcia, Lost, ABC
Miguel Sandoval, Medium, NBC/CBS Nestor Carbonell, Lost, ABC David Zayas, Dexter, SHO Carlos Bernard, 24, FOX

Actress
Alana De La Garza, Law & Order, NBC Cote de Pablo, NCIS, CBS Dania Ramirez, Heroes, NBC Eva La Rue, CSI Miami, CBS
Francia Raisa, The Secret Life Of The American Teenager, ABC Family Julie Gonzalo, Eli Stone, ABC Justina Machado, ER, NBC Laura Cerón, ER, NBC
Lauren Vélez, Dexter, SHO Michelle Rodriguez, Lost, ABC Paola Turbay, The Secret Life Of The American Teenager, ABC Family; The Closer, TNT Paula Garcés, The Shield, FX Roselyn Sanchez, Without a Trace, CBS Sara Ramirez, Grey's Anatomy, ABC

YEAR IN FILM Special Achievement Honorees
Actor
Alfred Molina, Pink Panther 2 Cheech Marin, Race To Witch Mountain Freddy Rodriguez, Nothing Like the Holidays Oscar Nunez, The Proposal Clifton Collins Jr., Star Trek; Crank: High Voltage Efren Ramirez, Crank: High Voltage Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona Joaquin Phoenix, Two Lovers John Leguizamo, Nothing Like the Holidays
Luis Guzmán, The Taking of Pelham 123 Ramon Rodriguez, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen

Actress
Elisabeth Peña, Nothing Like the Holidays Sofía Vergara, Madea Goes to Jail Cameron Diaz, My Sister's Keeper Eva Mendes, The Women, The Spirit Michelle Rodriguez, Fast & Furious Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona Rosario Dawson, Seven Pounds
Zoe Saldana, Star Trek

Music
YEAR IN MUSIC Special Achievement Honorees
David Archuleta Male Rising Star Enrique Iglesias Maxwell Pitbull Hot Track
Christina Aguilera Demi Lovato Kat DeLuna Female Rising Star Lynda Carter Black Eyed Peas

YEAR BEHIND THE SCENES Special Achievement Honorees
David Ortiz, Producer, Fast & Furious; Hellboy 2: The Golden Army Guillermo del Toro, Director, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army Kenny Ortega, Director, HSM3 Linda Mendoza, Director, various productions, including Jonas; Scrubs Natalie Chaidex, Co-Executive Producer, Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles Peter Murrieta, Writer/Executive Producer, Wizards of Waverly Place
Rene Echevarria, Executive Producer/Writer, Medium Roberto Orci, Writer, Star Trek; Transformers 2; Executive Producer, The Proposal (TV: Fringe) Salma Hayek, Executive Producer, Ugly Betty Louis J. Horvitz, Director, Awards Specials Claudio Miranda, Cinematographer, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Oscar Nominee) Mike Elizalde, Makeup, Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Oscar Nominee) Jeanne Van Phue, Makeup, Twilight Mary Ann Valdes, Hair Stylist, Twilight; Ugly Betty Silvio Horta, Executive Producer/Writer, Ugly Betty Edward James Olmos, Director, Battlestar Galactica Moctesuma Esparza, Executive Producer/Executive, Independent Films Alfredo De Villa, Director, Nothing Like the Holidays Rick Najera, Writer, Nothing Like the Holidays

YEAR IN SPORTS TELEVISION Special Achievement Honorees
Albert Pujols, Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals
Alex Rodriguez, Baseball, New York Yankees Bobby Martinez, Surfing Carmelo Anthony, Basketball, Denver Nuggets Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Soccer, Chicago Fire Emanuel David Manu Ginóbili, Basketball, San Antonio Spurs Evan Longoria, Baseball, Tampa Bay Devilrays
Helio Castroneves, Racecar Driving, IndyCar Juan Manuel Marquez, Boxing Juan Pablo Montoya, Racecar Driving, NASCAR Lorena Ochoa, Golf
Luis Castillo, Football, San Diego Chargers Mark Sanchez, Football, University of Southern California (USC) Miguel Cotto, Boxing Milka Duno, Racecar Driving, IndyCar Ovidio DeLeon, Windsurfing Pau Gasol, Basketball, Los Angeles Lakers Paul Rodriguez Jr., Skateboarding Rafael Nadal, Tennis Rey Mysterio, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Tony Gonzalez, Football, Kansas City Chiefs (recently traded to Atlanta Falcons) Tony Romo, Football, Dallas Cowboys Dara Torres, Swimming, Olympian

Other special tributes and honors:
Anthony Quinn Award for Industry Excellence Salma Hayek
Special Achievement in Sports Television Oscar De La Hoya
Tribute to Ricardo Montalban Presented by Rita Moreno
Fashion Icon Award (online voting)

With NCLR s goal of broadening the work they honor in mind, the show has been restructured to reflect the breadth of amazing performances we saw this past year, said Bob Bain, the new Executive Producer.

Along with these changes, the NCLR ALMA Awards will continue its most popular segments, such as performances from the some of the top acts in music today, including David Archuelta, Luis Fonsi, Nelly Furtado, Selena Gomez, Sean Kingston and Pitbull. In addition, Adam Rodriguez, Amaury Nolasco, Benjamin Bratt, Dania Ramirez, Enrique Murciano, Eva La Rue,
James Roday, Joanna Garcia, Kat VonD, Nadine Velazquez, Roselyn Sanchez, Efren Ramirez, Sofia Vergara, Michelle Rodriguez, Oscar Nunez, and Rey Mysterio will be presenting awards. The NCLR ALMA Awards will also bestow special honors upon two Latino superstars, actor/producer Salma Hayek and boxer/philanthropist Oscar de la Hoya, as well as host a special tribute to the late Ricardo Montalban, who passed away earlier this year, led by Oscar-, Grammy-, Tony-, and Emmy Award-winning actress Rita Moreno.