What Happened at the 2013 Imagen Awards?

**SPOILER ALERT**

'Hola LA!'  Did not win the Imagen Award

First let me tell you, 'Hola LA!' was proudly nominated for Best Local Informational Program and we got all gussied up, walked the red carpet, sat at the CBS table and, and, and...waited for our name to be called so we could all go up on stage and claim our award............But, alas, the beautiful Imagen Award slipped through our well manicured and bejeweled hands.  

You know the saying, "It's an honor just to be nominated"?  I can vouch for that!  We were, after all, glad to be recognized for our hard work and efforts; that alone is pretty impressive.   So instead of this blog being about how amazing it was to win and all that happened (which is how I originally envisioned it - hehe) it's now an insightful photo blog chronicling the before, during and after.  

*Photo Blog*

Photo by: Kevin Carmona

With tips from my hair stylist, I attempted to style my own hair...No, this isn't the finished result.  But I did get a little nervous right at this point.

Meet my paparazzi friend, Kevin Carmona, who came over to take behind the scenes photos of me prior to leaving for the award show

Photo by: Kevin Carmona

Edgar Anthony Arreola putting on the finishing make up touches.  And look, my hair did come together :)

 Edgar Anthony Arreola and Kikey Castillo

And here is Edgar Anthony Arreola showing off his excellent make up work.  I loved it!!  And I'm dressed and ready to go, but not before taking a few pictures

Actress & TV Host: Kikey Castillo, Styled by: Steve Galindo, Dress from: InPRess LA, Make up: Edgar Anthony Arreola, Photo by: Kevin Carmona

I like this picture a lot because I'm at home looking all glamorous and I'm posing right next to two of my favorite pictures - my college graduation photo and my gold medals from Wushu martial arts...says Fierce and Smart!

Styled by: Steve Galindo, Dress from: InPRess LA, Make up: Edgar Anthony Arreola, Photo by: Kevin Carmona

Now it wouldn't be me without getting a little silly and poking fun at myself  :p -- OK, I'm off to the red carpet to meet up with the 'Hola LA!' gals!!

Hola LA! Hosts: Kikey Castillo, Dyana Ortelli, Naibe Reynoso, Bel Hernandez & Hola LA Producer: Lorena Alvarado

At the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills just finished walking the red carpet.  Don't we all look super FABULOUS!!!  Wow, I was so excited and proud of us at this moment.  Now to the red carpet interviews where we will plug our show, 'Hola LA!'

And don't say, "this is our good side" hahaha.  Plugging away and having a good time doing it!

LtoR: Dyana Ortelli, Kikey Castillo, Robert (CBS Hola LA! editor), Mansan (CBS Hola LA! Sr. Producer)

After the red carpet, it's time to sit at the CBS table so we can eat and get the show started.  Hope dinner is good.  I've been on a strict diet so I could look good in that body hugging dress!

It's tradition that right after the salad and before the main course you get up and mingle going from table to table...I guess you would call that "schmoozing" :)  Ran into actress friend Jacqueline Calderon-Guido (we did the play "8 Ways..." together) her son, Fabrizio who was in World War Z and actress Patricia Rae, who was a guest of ours on 'Hola LA!'  Among many others...

Joe Minos from Chicago Fire and Kikey Castillo

First of all let me say, I love me some 'Chicago Fire'. Ok now during the show I needed to get up and stretch my legs and I ran smack dab into Joe Minoso, who plays Joe Cruz on 'Chicago Fire'...my fav show!!  He too was nominated for an Imagen Award and he too did not win, we talked about that LOL.  Lovely man, who was very nice.

So here we are, after the show hanging outside enjoying the beautiful evening air - still having fun, smiling, and laughing even though we did not bring home the trophy.  We even had some fans and friends of 'Hola LA!' come hang with us a bit...we always enjoy that :)

This is just a great shot of actor Enrique Castillo looking all dapper and handsome with two beauties on each arm lol.  He's the man in our 'Hola LA!' lives as Senior Producer of the show and we adore him!!

Lorena and I at Johnnie's Pastrami in Culver City

And that brings me to the end of the night...What?? I had to eat!!!!  You've never seen two girls in sequin dresses pigging out on pastrami sandwiches late at night :p  No more strict diet for me...mmmmmm, so good!!

Don't forget 28^th Annual Imagen Awards will premiere locally on PBS SoCaL this Saturday, September 21^stat 10pm and will re-air on Sunday, September 22^nd at 4pm. The show will also air outside of the Greater Los Angeles area on different PBS stations across the nation, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston, Phoenix, Miami, Houston, and more. 

**Special Thanks to my friend and go to Stylist, Steve Galindo for Styling me and to InPRess LA Celebrity PR for the loan of the dress**

Steve Galindo and I celebrating with mimosas after finding my Imagen dress!

"East Los High" a HUGE hit on HULU!

Have you seen it yet???  OK, I'll admit, I was slow on the trigger to tune in.  You see, I was eager to support the show because it's Latino written, directed, acted and produced.  And typically, Latino shows and movies need a lot of love to succeed in mainstream today.  Also, I was excited to see many of my friends who got cast on "East Los High." 


But I just couldn't pull myself away from watching my mainstream shows on my Hulu queue.  Then one Sunday, tired of my mainstream shows on my Hulu queue, I pulled the trigger and watched the first episode of "East Los High."  Uhmmm, where did my Sunday go?  I binged watched like 6 episodes!!! Can you say Hooked!  I couldn't get enough of the show!  And trust me, you will get hooked, don't be fooled by the title "East Los High."   


You see, although I'm a Latina, I did not go to East Los High or even grown up in East LA, more like Hermiston High in a rural cowboy town of Oregon...so other than my Latin heritage, I too thought, "can I relate to a show about East LA teens?"  DON'T be fooled my fellow blog readers, let me ask you, do you like the TV shows "Scandal", "Nashville", "Chicago Fire"?  Well here's a doozy, this show is right in that league, with it's storylines, acting and juicy cliff hangers.  So GOOD!  What I realize now, is that this show IS MAINSTREAM entertainment...can you say egg on my face. 


So after being sufficiently hooked consuming as many episodes as I could in my free time (24 episodes...phew!) I attended NHMC's MediaCon where the co-creator, Carlos Portugal, was speaking on a panel about "East Los High"...My lucky day!!  After the panel, I immediately went up to Carlos, and embarrassingly so, gushed to him about my enthusiasm for the show and that I would like to blog about it to help him get viewers to tune in.  Needless to say, he does not need my help garnering attention, this show is doing just fine, actually more than fine on Hulu garnering super high ratings and breaking records.  But he was gracious enough to agree - thank you Carlos :)   Click here for my interview with Carlos Portugal.

Kikey Castillo and Carlos Portugal at NHMC's MediaCon 

Another key player in "East Los High," who not only is my friend but a phenomenal casting director is Blanca Valdez, who cast the entire series.  As an actress, I wanted to know the low down and dirty on the casting process.  Hold a sec, are you thinking what I thinking???  "Hey, why wasn't I on this show?"  Don't worry, I did ask her...she's my friend after all :)  Needless to say, I think Kikey Castillo will be on Blanca's shortlist from now on - love ya Blanca!   Click here for my interview with Blanca Valdez. 

Blanca Valdez and Kikey Castillo at "8 Ways to Say I Love My Life!" play at Casa 0101 

Still want more?  How about an interview with the writers of "East Los High" - written by Elia Esparza of Hola LA! and Latin Heat Entertainment: 'East Los High' Opens Doors for Latino Writers



Watch on Hulu at: www.hulu.com/east-los-high
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EastLosHigh

Hola LA! Stands for Hope in Support of Padres Contra el Cancer's 5K Run

'Hola LA!' sharing Celeb MC duties at the event.  Naibe, Kikey and Bel with Esperanza, Padres Contra el Cancer's mascot

PADRES Contra El Cáncer (Parents Against Cancer) is a nonprofit organization committed to improving the quality of life for children with cancer and other blood disorders and their families

At 4:30am "Don't Stop Believin'" blared from my phone waking me from my sweet slumber.   Yes, 4:30am - thank goodness I don't mind being an early bird.  On this special day, Sunday, June 23rd, I was to join my 'Hola LA!' co-hosts, Bel Hernandez, Naibe Reynoso and other celeb's for shared MC duties at Padres Contra el Cancer's Stand for Hope 5K Run/Walk at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.  I was so excited about the event that I didn't even press snooze!

Kikey talking about the Stand for Hope 5K run/walk with Naibe and Bel

Kikey with boxer, "Bam Bam" Brandon Rios who's next fight is in Nov against Manny Pacquiao

Did you know that More than 13,500 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States every year. PADRES focuses on the needs of the entire family affected by childhood cancer and blood disorders, helping THOUSANDS of children from across the country, including California, South Florida, New York City and Las Vegas.

Esperanza, the mascot, with wonderful children who attended the 5K run/walk

Naibe and her daughter crossing the finish line

And the event was particularly close to my heart as cancer has also touched my life...my grandmother has a rare form of skin cancer and is currently getting treatment.  

  

Kikey, taking a turn at MC'ing the event with fellow 'Hola LA!' co-hosts  

Funds from the 2013 ‘Stand for HOPE!’ will support PADRES’ commitment to raise awareness for childhood cancer and also help expand its level of support services, which include transportation to hospitals for treatment; interpreters & case managers; grocery vouchers; and emotional support groups.

'Hola LA!' Exec. Producer and Actor Enrique Castillo crossing the finish line

In conjunction with the 5K run/walk,  Be the Match held a bone marrow drive for 18 year old Laura Garcia and 17 year old Jose Rodriguez. They both need a bone marrow transplant to save their lives. And they had a tremendous amount of new registrants...as they should, it only involves filling out a form and a simple cotton swab of the inside of the cheek.  Do you think you may want to register for the bone marrow registry??

  

So CALL (contact) Padres Contra el Cancer and Be the Match to find out how you can help these two AMAZING organizations!  I know I have :) 

Padres Contra el Cancer (Parents Against Cancer) http://www.iamhope.org

Be The Match (National Marrow Donor Program) http://bethematch.org

I'm a Cindo de Mayo Parade Grand Marshal?

Me along with my three other beautiful Hola LA! co-hosts we were the Grand Marshals for Cyress Park's annual Cinco de Mayo Parade!

What an gift to be included in the Cypress Park Parade which has a 22-year old tradition of having a Latino Celebrity serve as Grand Marshals - and this year Bel Hernandez, Dyana Ortelli, Naibe Reynoso and myself took that coveted honor - wow, even as I write this, I realize how so darn cool that is!  

Personal moments that happened behind the scenes:

As Grand Marshals, our duties included a VIP Meet and Greet breakfast reception where we got to mingle with fellow entertainers and meet great people from the community.  But it's never an Hola LA! outing without some sort of  "excitement"  happening.  As it turns out, poor Dyana was lost and could not find the VIP reception location (so she missed breakfast, coffee and the meet and greet).  Many calls and texts later and still lost, her phone died at the very point the parade was starting and our parade car was taking off...with out Dyana!!   We three took off sad that Dyana got lost and had to miss the parade but, we had to go on and wave and say HOLA to all the beautiful faces of Cypress Park.

A favorite heart fullfilling moment on the parade route for me was when I would lock eyes with a little boy or girl and say "hi mija" or "hi mijo"...their eyes would grow wide as saucers and their smile would grow really big...that made my day each and every time. 

Was the parade route really short?  Or was I having too much fun?  because before I knew it, we were parked at the festivities location - where we were to be introduced on stage and the fun party would continue with food and entertainment.  As we were parked, still sitting in the car chatting and taking pictures, out of nowhere DYANA shows up!  She missed the whole parade but she made it to the festivities.  Apparently she found a cop who kindly drove her to us.  As she sat shotgun (although it would have been hilarious to hear otherwise) she regally waved out of the cop car window - getting in her parade experience...lol.   Reunited, we finished out our Grand Marshal duties strong and had a very fun day!

Excited about our sign!

Ready to take off, missing our colorful Dyana, no really behind the smiles we were sad :( 

Still sad :( we managed to lift our spirits
I'm hoisting our Hola LA Celebrity Grand Marshal trophy!  Cue song... "We are the Champions..." 

Ta-Dah!! Real smiles of JOY as Dyana magically appears
Dyana was born wearing that sombrero LOL

On stage introduction to the crowd and officially presented our wonderful trophy

Special Thanks To:

Rafael Lopez, the parade’s celebrity liaison - you were just wonderful Rafa!

Ed Reyes, L.A. City Councilman has partnered with Cypress Park Neighborhood Council in helping with some of the city logistics and permits to host the parade

Cypress Park, for having us represent your wonderful city

New Episode Airs

Saturday, May 25th at 6:00pm on KCAL9

Sunday, May 26th at 4:30pm on CBS2

Latin Heat Article on the Cinco de Mayo Parade:
http://www.latinheat.com/2013/04/24/hola-la-hosts-grand-marshals-at-cinco-de-mayo-parade

5 Things You Don't Know About the 'Hola LA!' Hosts

Hola LA! returns to CBS/KCAL9
on March 30, 7:00pm

And the hosts are getting personal!

 I've asked my co-hosts to reveal five things about themselves that only their closest friends may know.  Check out what they reveal to only my Livin' la Vida LA! blog readers.

Photo by:

Bel Hernandez

The CEO/Moderator

1. My life's motto is Just Do It!
2. I lived in Mexico City for 2 years working as a Mexican Folk dancer
3. I'm one of the authors and also on the book cover for 8 Ways to Say I love My Life and Mean It
4. I have 3 children, 2 grandchildren and the BEST husband in the world!
5. I recently made the switch from an iPhone to a Galaxy III 

Photo by:

Kikey Castillo

The Actress/'In The City Gal'

1. My last audition was for an NBC TV Pilot
2. I take it as a huge compliment when people say I look like Eva Longoria
3. My favorite place to eat is Gratitude Cafe, and it's great for celeb spotting too!
4. I was very shy as a child
5. I once interviewed Anjelica Huston who's now on one of my favorite TV shows, Smash

Dyana Ortelli

The HAC (Host, Actress, Comedienne) and Fashion Victim!

1. I'm Spanish and Aztec.  Does that make me"Spaz-tec"? 
2. The first time I realized I was funny was when I tried to sing "Killing Me Softly" without being funny
3. I've been featured as "fashion victim" in The National Enquirer, Star, and People en Español (for reals!)
4. I hyper-ventilated in the ladies room at the Laugh Factory the first time I did stand-up comedy!
5. I don't play any instruments -- except for the organ :P

Naibe Reynoso

The Mom/Award Winning Journalist

1. I worked a red carpet event 10 days after giving birth to my son
2. I was once a guest co-host on The View
3. The book I would recommend to the first lady is "The Four Agreements"
4. My husband is a writer for the Disney show A.N.T. Farm
5. I used to host a weekly show dedicated to the Twilight franchise

We're baaaack so tune in Saturday, March 30, 7:00pm on KCAL9.  We LOVE our wonderful viewers!!!