HBO'S Rodrigo Garcia, Ugly Betty's Tony Plana and Writer Ligiah Villalobos of La Misma Luna to Receive Top Honors at 23rd Annual Imagen Awards Thursday, August 21 at Beverly Hilton Hotel

HBO'S Rodrigo Garcia, Ugly Betty's Tony Plana and Writer Ligiah Villalobos of La Misma Luna to Receive Top Honors at 23rd Annual Imagen Awards Thursday, August 21 at Beverly Hilton Hotel

Imagen Foundation to Acknowledge Contributions for Excellence in Latino Entertainment in 18 Categories

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., July 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At the 23rd Annual Imagen Awards on Thursday, August 21 at 7 PM in Beverly Hills, The Imagen Foundation will bestow the Lifetime Achievement Award to actor Tony Plana; the Creative Achievement Award to HBO's In Treatment Producer/Director Rodrigo Garcia; and the Norman Lear Writer's Award to Ligiah Villalobos, executive producer and writer of the feature film La Misma Luna. LATV's Pili Montilla of En la Zona and Humberto Guida of Wachale hosted today's announcement of the 2008 nominees at the Hilton Hotel in Universal City, California.

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Today's announcement included nods to some of America's favorite shows including Ugly Betty, Heroes, ER, Grey's Anatomy, Cold Cast, Scrubs, Lost, Jericho and many others. A complete list of the 2008 nominees across all 18 categories will be available later today on the Imagen Foundation's Web site: www.imagen.org.

"I am consistently amazed with the exponential growth in both the quantity and quality of the entries we receive each year," stated Helen Hernandez, Founder of The Imagen Foundation and creator of the pioneering Imagen Awards, which annually draws A-list stars and luminaries from the world of Latino entertainment. "The increase of Latino representation across entertainment disciplines is truly indicative of the prevalent role we play in Hollywood, mainstream America, and throughout the world."

The press conference presenters from LATV, the nation's first bilingual entertainment/music network distributed via digital multicast, also unveiled their plans to air a one-hour special on their channel featuring the Red Carpet arrival and behind-the-scenes exclusives of nominated Latinos at the 23rd Annual Imagen Awards.

A partial list of the 2008 event sponsors includes, The Nielsen Company (presenting sponsor), CBS, Inc., The Walt Disney Company, Entravision, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety.

The Imagen Foundation works to enhance opportunities for Latinos in front of and behind the camera. Based in the Los Angeles area, the Imagen Foundation serves as a liaison between the industry and the Hispanic community by providing access, education and resources. Additional information regarding the Imagen Foundation, its awards program and annual job fair in January is available at www.imagen.org or by calling 626/ 836-6300

Note to Editors: Media members wishing to cover the 23rd Annual Imagen Awards should email forrest@beanumgroup.com 310/804-2591 or contact the Imagen headquarters at 626/ 836-6300 for credential information.

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Source: The Imagen Foundation

CONTACT: K. Forrest Beanum, +1-310-804-2591, forrest@beanumgroup.com,
for The Imagen Foundation

Web Site: http://www.imagen.org/

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