Communiqué

The band Los Lobos on hilltop with major city in the background

Appearances by some of the country’s most celebrated Hispanic artists and visionaries in “The 35th Hispanic Heritage Awards” – Sept. 30 at 9 pm


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HISPANIC HERITAGE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 35th ANNUAL HISPANIC HERITAGE AWARDS
September 30th at 9 pm on WOUB

Legendary Band LOS LOBOS Is The First Honoree Announced For the Special 35th Anniversary Broadcast

The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) announced that the 35th ANNUAL HISPANIC HERITAGE AWARDS will air Friday, September 30th on PBS stations and stream on pbs.org and the PBS Video app. The historic program, which was created by the White House to commemorate the establishment of Hispanic Heritage Month in America, is among the highest honors by Latinos for Latinos and supported by 40 national Hispanic-serving institutions.

The band Los Lobos on hilltop with major city in the background
Los Lobos – 2022 Arts Award Honoree

Multiple GRAMMY winning-band LOS LOBOS is also the first announced honorees this year and will be presented with the Hispanic Heritage Arts Award.  Stay tuned for additional honoree, host, and performance announcements for the 35th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards.

“Los Lobos is an American roots band, and those roots run deep from their East Los Angeles barrio to influences from blues, rock, jazz, and, of course, Mexican and all Latin American music,” said Jose Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO, HHF.  “Those ingredients created a unique sound and representation that has never been comprised, which is why the Hispanic Heritage Foundation is  honored to recognize Los Lobos with our Arts Award.  We are also extremely grateful to once again partner with Target to celebrate and share the Latino community’s accomplishments, cultural pride and great promise.  We are also thankful to share our celebration with the entire country and beyond through our partnership with PBS and Nationwide.”

“As the presenting sponsor of the Hispanic Heritage Awards for the ninth consecutive year, Target is proud to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the Latino community and its lasting contributions to our communities, our country and the world,” said Laysha Ward, Target’s Executive Vice President and Chief External Engagement Officer. “We are inspired by the 2022 honorees and honored to help share their stories that have shaped our culture.”

“Nationwide is honored to, once again, support the awards presentation and broadcast of this special showcase of Hispanic excellence,” said Ramon Jones, Chief Marketing Officer at Nationwide. “We look forward to celebrating the many cultural contributions of this year’s inspiring honorees.”

Hispanic Heritage Foundation logo“PBS is proud to broadcast the Hispanic Heritage Awards for the eighth year,” said Sylvia Bugg Chief Programming Executive and General Manager, General Audience Programming at PBS. “We are committed to serving the diverse communities of our country and celebrating the cultures that make it so unique. We look forward to honoring the remarkable contributions of Latino Americans for years to come.”

The journey of the 2022 Hispanic Heritage Arts Award honoree Los Lobos began in 1973, when David Hidalgo, Louie Perez, Cesar Rosas and Conrad Lozano earned their stripes playing revved-up versions of Mexican folk music in restaurants and at parties. The band evolved in the 1980s as it tapped into L.A.’s burgeoning punk and college rock scenes. Los Lobos enjoyed critical success early on, winning the GRAMMY® for Best Mexican American Performance for “Anselma” from their 1983 EP …And a Time to Dance. A year later, the group was joined by saxophonist Steve Berlin and released its full-length, major-label debut, How Will the Wolf Survive? – which became a college rock sensation that helped Los Lobos tie with Bruce Springsteen as Rolling Stone’s Artist of the Year. Additional milestones followed when Los Lobos’ rendition of Richie Valens’ signature song “La Bamba” topped U.S. and UK charts in tandem with the same named 1987 movie biopic, followed by a second GRAMMY win in 1989 for La Pistola y El Corazón, a tribute to Tejano and Mariachi music.

35th HISPANIC HERITAGE AWARDS logoThat kind of sharp artistic turn has become Los Lobos’ trademark, serving to both fuel the band’s creativity and keep its fans engaged as they continued to deliver daring and diverse albums, such as 1992’s landmark hit Kiko and many more to follow – including celebrated Live recordings, tribute albums, and additional movie soundtracks. To date, Los Lobos has sold millions of records, won numerous prestigious awards and made fans around the world as an always dynamic live touring band.  But perhaps their most lasting impact is how well their music embodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot. In it, styles like son jarocho, norteño, tejano, folk, country, doo-wop, soul, R&B, rock ’n’ roll and punk all come together to create a new sound that’s greater than the sum of its parts. This makes it all the more fitting that this year sees the band garner a fourth GRAMMY Award, as their latest album Native Sons won for Best Americana Album and join the pantheon of  leading cultural figures recognized by The Hispanic Heritage Awards.

A small sampling of previous HHA winners across the last 35 years include Rita Moreno, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Gloria Estefan, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Martin Sheen, Ricky Martin, Rubén Blades, Fania All-Stars, José Feliciano, Los Tigres Del Norte, Anthony Quinn, Juanes, Diego Luna, Juan Luis Guerra, and right up to the continued relevancy of recent winners such as Carlos Santana, Linda Ronstadt, Bad Bunny, Ivy Queen, Zoe Saldana, Residente, Selena Gomez and more inspiring figures ranging from essential farmworkers to pioneering NASA engineers.