The Hispanic Heritage Foundation announced that Transgender Actress and Activist Mj Rodriguez will receive the Trailblazer Hispanic Heritage Award during the 31st Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on September 12, 2018. The Awards will broadcast nationally on PBS stations on September 28.
“The Hispanic Heritage Foundation is proud to recognize the talent, courage and social impact of Mj Rodriguez as a public figure,” says Jose Antonio Tijerino, President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. “Her story is a journey of triumph as she leads the way for transgender representation in Hollywood and beyond.”
In 2017, Rodriguez accepted the starring role of Blanca Rodriguez-Evangelista in FX’s groundbreaking new drama Pose, a show exploring the lives of queer people of color in the New York City ballroom scene of the 1980s. The show made history for its casting of five transgender women of color in reoccurring roles, the largest ever for a scripted series. Critics alike have called the show “Unwavering, Unflinching and Raw.” The New York Times declared that “Pose Demands to be Seen.”
Past Honorees of the Hispanic Heritage Awards have included Sonia Sotomayor, Rita Moreno, Plácido Domingo, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Gloria Estefan, Oscar Hijuelos, Martin Sheen, and Ricky Martin, to name a few.
