2023 POBLADORES AWARDS GALA

October 12, 2023 @ 6:00PM — 9:00PM Pacific Time (US & Canada) Add to Calendar

LA PLAZA DE CULTURA Y ARTES: 501 N Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90012 Get Directions

CELEBRATE OUTSTANDING LEADERS WITH LA PLAZA DE CULTURA Y ARTES

The Pobladores Award recognizes individuals, organizations, and companies who, much like the original pobladores settlers from Mexico, have blazed a trail that continues to endure, inspire, and enrich. This must-attend event, which caps Latino Heritage Month in Los Angeles, welcomes more than 400 cultural, business, and government leaders. The Pobladores Awards Gala serves as LA Plaza’s primary fundraising event making the museum and cultural center’s many educational, exhibition, and programming initiatives possible. LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (LA Plaza) centers the history of Mexican and Mexican Americans in Los Angeles, and collects, preserves, and shares the stories, accomplishments, and experiences of Latinx people and Latino Culture. Purchase your tickets, become a sponsor, or make a 100% tax-deductible contribution today.

2023 POBLADORES AWARDS HONOREES

Walmart has been a strong supporter of LA Plaza de Cultura Y Artes since the organization first welcomed visitors. The company proudly served as the Presenting Sponsor of LA Plaza’s Inaugural Gala in 2011, marking the beginning of their support. Walmart provided a $500,000 grant to kickstart the organization's success by funding educational programs and a learning garden. Over time, Walmart continued its support by contributing an additional half of a million dollars through sponsorships and program support.

LA MARISOUL

La Marisoul was born Eva Marisol Hernandez in diverse and vibrant heart Los Angeles. Her first introduction to music was by way of her mother’s singing and her father’s love of music. At an early age, she began to interpret various musical styles, ranging from traditional Mexican songs, romantic boleros, jazz classics, and rock. Inspired by life, love, heartbreak and the drunken rants of the neighborhood, La Marisoul began writing songs incorporating those anecdotes with her own personal experiences, fears, dreams, and desires, with lyrics stemming from observations, aspirations as well as the agony and pleasures of love.

In 2007, La Marisoul became the lead singer for La Santa Cecilia, named after the Patron Saint of musicians. La Santa Cecilia have performed at just about every type of venue from rock clubs to festivals in the US and Mexico, including Walt Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl in LA.

In 2014 La Santa Cecilia won the Grammy for Best Latin Rock Album for their album Treinta Dias. In 2017 they were nominated in the same category for their albums Buenaventura, Amar y Vivir, and Quero Verte Felíz. The band celebrated their Quinceañera with the release of Cuatro Copas in 2023.

La Marisoul also performs solo. She was a special guest with Elvis Costello and The Roots on their Wise up Ghost album, was a part of the ‘Joni Mitchell Tribute’ at the Music Center and ‘The Work and Music of Yoko Ono’ tribute at Walt Disney Hall. She debuted her first solo album, La Marisoul and the Love Notes Orchestra, Volume 1, in 2022.

La Marisoul has made acting appearances in "The Bridge," "Artbound Presents: Studio A," and "Mavericks." She was also featured as a guest performer on Pepe Aguilar’s MTV Unplugged, which turned out to be the first Unplugged by a ranchero artist.

ANTONIA HERNÁNDEZ
The inaugural Gloria Molina Community Champion Award

Nationally regarded for her expertise in immigration, civil rights and philanthropy, Antonia Hernández has spent more than four decades advocating for social justice and improving the lives of underserved communities in Los Angeles County and beyond.

Since 2004, she has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of California Community Foundation, one of Southern California’s largest and most active philanthropic organizations, which has served Angelenos for over a century. The Foundation partners with more than 1,800 individual, family and corporate donors and holds assets of more than $2.3 billion. During her tenure, California Community Foundation has granted over $3.4 billion, with a focus on health, housing and economic development, education, and immigration programs.

Previously, Ms. Hernández was president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a national nonprofit litigation and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of the nation’s Latinos through the legal system, community education and research and policy initiatives.

Hernández began her legal career as a staff attorney with the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice and worked as counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary before joining MALDEF in 1981 as regional counsel in Washington, D.C.

Hernández is a founding board member of LA Plaza de Cultura y Arte. She is a member of the board of directors of the Automobile Club of Southern California, Educational Testing Service, Forest Lawn Memorial-Park Association, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, and Urban Institute. She currently serves on advisory boards and committees including the Commission on Presidential Debates and for the Anne Ray Foundation among others. Hernández is a frequent public speaker and has been awarded several honorary degrees and awards.

Hernández is a member of the State Bar of California, United States Supreme Court, District of Columbia Bar, American Bar Association and the Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Law Institute.

Hernández earned her B.A. in History at UCLA in 1970 and J.D. at the UCLA School of Law in 1974.

EVENT SCHEDULE

6 PM - 7 PM RECEPTION

7 PM - 9 PM DINNER & ENTERTAINMENT

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