The legacy award of the annual Hispanic Television Summit is the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television, presented by B+C and Multichannel News. This year’s recipient is Diego Luna, an actor, director and producer for theater, film and television.
Each year, the Award for Outstanding Achievement acknowledges an individual or series for their contribution to the growth of the industry, including driving the employment of Latino talent in front of and behind the camera. Luna is being recognized for his remarkable television career.
Since 2018, Luna has starred as drug cartel leader Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo in the hit Netflix series Narcos: Mexico. The Mexican-born Luna is also known to audiences for his major film roles, including Cassian Andor in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
Luna started his career as a child actor in telenovelas with the encouragement of his father. He first came to the attention of U.S. and international audiences in 2001 with his role in the hit Spanish-language sex farce dramedy film Y Tu Mamá También. He has appeared in more than 30 films since then, including Vampires: Los Muertos, which also starred rocker Jon Bon Jovi, and the Oscar-winning Frida, as well as The Terminal, Havana Nights: Dirty Dancing 2 and the critically acclaimed Milk.
Most recently, Luna and his production company introduced Pan and Circo, a new series available on Amazon Prime Video. The series offers insightful group conversations over a meal, involving scientists, innovators, activists and artists. The conversations are led by Luna himself, and focus on current or controversial topics and social problems from violence, to immigration to abortion to racism to COVID.
“I am thrilled to receive this honor,” Luna said. “I am anxious to continue to introduce many new important projects to create positive change in society.”
Luna joins a list of distinguished prior recipients of this award including boxing’s “Golden Boy,” champion Oscar De La Hoya; soccer sportscaster Andrés Cantor; news anchors José Díaz-Balart, María Celeste Arrarás, Jorge Ramos and María Elena Salinas; show hosts Don Francisco, Cristina Saralegui, Lili Estefan and Raúl De Molina; telenovela stars Lucero and Rafael Amaya; and the cast of TUDN’s Republica Deportiva, among others.
Presenting the award will be his close creative associate, Isaac Lee, the founder and chairman of Exile Content. The Hispanic Television and Video Awards ceremony is virtual and can be seen online for free on Monday, Sept. 21, starting at noon. It’s one of four daily segments of the 18th annual Hispanic Television Summit.
