About HOLA
HOLA is a 501c(3) arts service and advocacy organization founded in 1975 by a core group of Latino actors working in New York to address the inequities created by the casting system that underemployed Hispanic actors and relegated Latino characters to negative stereotypes. HOLA is dedicated to expanding the presence of Latin/Hispanic artists in entertainment and media through their development, cultivation, education, empowerment, and recognition. For almost 50 years, HOLA has been a crucial resource to the New York Latin artistic community, providing educational programs, networking opportunities, and hosting a Hispanic talent database available to casting directors and agents in addition to distributing casting notices to members.
Acerca de HOLA
HOLA es una organización sin fines de lucro fundada en 1975 por un grupo de actores latinos que trabajaban en Nueva York para hacerle frente a las desigualdades creadas por la industria, y que subempleaba a los actores hispanos y relegaba a los personajes latinos a estereotipos negativos. HOLA se dedica a ampliar la presencia de los artistas hispanos en el entretenimiento y los medios de comunicación a través de su desarrollo, educación, empoderamiento y reconocimiento. HOLA ha servido a la comunidad artística de Nueva York durante casi 50 años, a través de programas de educación, oportunidades de crear conexión dentro de la industria y construyendo una base de datos de talentos disponible para los directores y agentes de casting, además de compartir audiciones y oportunidades de empleo con sus miembros.
HOLA strives for an accurate, informed and non-stereotyped portrayal of the full spectrum of Hispanic/Latin culture and heritage in all entertainment and media industries.
Over the years, HOLA has functioned as a leading advocacy group in the industry and facilitated industry access to jobs, playing an instrumental role in increasing the percentage of Hispanic actors employed in the media from less than 1% in 1975 to about 7% in film today, 6% in TV, and 4.8% in NYC theater. However, this is still short of the percentage of Hispanics in the total U.S. population (now over 18.7%).
The following are some of the services and programs HOLA offers:
- ONLINE TALENT DIRECTORY – an actor database of our members offering casting directors a comprehensive resource of Latin actors
- REFERRALS – email blasts to our subscriber list offering employment opportunities and professional development
- ANNUAL HOLA AWARDS – providing prestige, publicity and visibility for Latinx artists and institutions
- EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING – professional development and free training to members which is also open to non-members at a discounted fee
- DIVERSITY INITIATIVE – focuses on our HOLA Spotlights and HOLA Panels series for conversations on inclusion and empowerment of our communities
Why our work matters:
NYC Theatre
Theatrical Film
Theatrical Film Leads
Theatrical Film Directors
Theatrical Film Writers
Streaming Film
Streaming Film Leads
Streaming Film Directors
Streaming Film Writers
TV Broadcast
TV Cable
Digital TV
TV Broadcast Leads
TV Cable Leads
Digital TV Leads
Latinx artists remain wildly underrepresented among all film, TV, and theater roles in the US