Rick Najera (Writer, Nothing Like the Holidays), Salma Hayek (Executive Producer, Ugly Betty), Kenny Ortega (Director, High School Musical 3) Among Special Achievement Honorees in ‘Year Behind the Scenes’ Category
LOS ANGELES (September 9, 2009) –Rick Najera, award-winning writer-actor-producer-director and noted playwright with credits in film, television, theatre (including Broadway) is a Special Achievement Honoree at this year’s 2009 ALMA Awards in the ‘Year Behind the Scenes’ category for his work as writer for the feature film, Nothing Like the Holidays.
The NCLR ALMA Awards is the largest Latino awards show of its kind, promoting fair, accurate and balanced portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry and will be hosted this year by Eva Longoria Parker and George Lopez.
Other Special Achievement Honorees for Nothing Like the Holidays include Alfredo de Villa (Director), John Leguizamo (Actor), Freddy Rodriguez (Actor) and Elizabeth Pena (Actress). The feel-good dramatic/comedic holiday film, which was released nationally last December, is due out on DVD October 27, 2009.
Najera, who took his self-written comedy, Latinologues to Broadway for four months, was a writer on groundbreaking television shows such as MAD TV and In Living Color. He has received two award nominations from the Writers Guild of America in the category of “Outstanding Script for a Comedy/Variety Series”, an ALMA Award for “Best Writing in a Television Show – Comedy”, an Imagen Award for Latinologues for Best Live Theatrical Production and most recently a 2009 Imagen Award nomination for his new one-man show, DADDY DIARIES: Diary of a Dad Man. Najera has been honored as “100 Most Influential Latinos in America” twice from Hispanic Business Magazine and ‘Hollywood’s 50 Most Creative’ by Variety.
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.
For more information on Rick Najera, please visit www.ricknajera.com.
Twitter (http://twitter.com/RickNajera)
Blogger (www.najerainamerica.blogspot.com)
Susie Albin-Najera can be reached at themexicoreport@yahoo.com