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Awards of Excellence
This award recognizes remarkable Mexican Americans, Chicano/a/e/x, and Latino/a/e/x individuals or groups who have demonstrated utmost artistic excellence or distinguished service, leadership, and dedication to the cultural arts of Austin, TX. Established in 2009, the full list of past award recipients may be viewed on this page.
Announcing the 2024 Awardees:
Watch the recording of the June 2024 Ceremony, and see winner biographies and past winners below!
Emerging Artist Award Winner: Ana Barajas
Ana is a singer/songwriter from Colombia who explores a whole palette of sounds and textures through her music, creating a personal and intriguing sound fusing elements of latin folk, tribal sounds, and electronic. Ana grew up learning traditional music from the Colombian Altiplano and classical music, and was in Colombian metal scene as the lead singer of various metal bands. When she moved to Austin in 2011, she joined the local Latin folk scene and released her debut album in 2018 “La Botánica de los Sueños.” Today, Ana collaborates with artists from around the world, from jazz to electronica, metal and folk.
Arts Award Winner: Mauricio Callejas
Mauricio Callejas is a singer-songwriter from El Salvador who has lived in Austin for twenty years. Mauricio has released six albums as a soloist: “Cosas de la Calle” in 2002, “Mágico” in 2008, “Ice Cream Pop” in 2012, later came the EP “Preambulo” in 2016, his fifth album “Crisis” released in 2020 and his most recent album “Twenty” from 2022 which is a tribute to the two decades living in Texas. He founded and produced Centroamericanto Fest, a Central American music festival that for 15 years has brought together artists from Central America the US to present live music performances for the Austin community.
Service Award Winner: Velia Sanchez Ruiz
Velia Sanchez-Ruiz is a graduate of Texas Women's University who worked for Austin Independent School District (AISD) at the elementary school level for over 30 years. Ms. Sanchez-Ruiz always included dance in her P.E. classes and Mexican music & dance were part of her program. She provided leadership for Cinco de Mayo and 16 de Septiembre events. She worked with Emma S. Barrientos to establish and support the Roy Lozano Ballet Folklorico. She was part of the effort to pass the bond election to establish the MACC, assisting with getting out voters in support of the bond program. After retiring from AISD, she served on the MACC Advisory Board.
Arts Education Award Winner: Adolph Ortiz
Adolph Ortiz graduated from Travis High School in Austin and was a product of Zeke Castro's Mariachi Ensemble. Mr. Ortiz has played a pivotal role in establishing Austin's Mariachi Relampago in 1991 which was honored with the award of "Mejor Mariachi" from Univision's Premios a la Musica Latina. Mariachi Relampago are also the winners of Austin's first mariachi competition, "Fiesta del Mariachi" held at the Long Center.
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: Dolores Carrillo Garcia
Dolores has been a great supporter of the arts in Austin, from working with La Peña, with the UT Center for Mexican American Studies, Sam Coronado, Coronado Studios and the Blanton Museum at UT-Austin. A native of Lubbock and a UT Austin alumna, she retired from UT Austin in 2008, after 30 years of service working in Latino-focused programs. García curated numerous exhibitions at venues such as the UT Center for Mexican American Studies and the Dougherty Arts Center. For the last 16 years, she and her husband Gil Cárdenas have built one of the largest private collections of Chicano and other Latino art. Recently, in 2023, the Blanton Museum of Art announced that it had acquired more than 5,000 works from the Gilberto Cárdenas and Dolores Garcia Collection, which constitutes the largest single donation of Latino art to a museum.
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: Gilberto Cardenas
Gilberto Cárdenas is internationally recognized as a scholar of Mexican immigration, and authored and edited numerous books, articles, monographs, and reports on topics covering several fields of specialization, including international migration, economy and society, and race and ethnic relations. At UT Austin, he was the director of the Center for Mexican American Studies from 1992–1996. At Notre Dame, from 1999–2012, he was Assistant Provost, held the Julián Samora Chair in Latino Studies, and was the founding director of the Institute for Latino Studies. In Austin, he established Galería Sin Fronteras (1986), and in 1993, he was the founding executive director of Latino USA, a half-hour weekly radio program produced at UT Austin and distributed nationally by National Public Radio. He helped to create the Smithsonian Institution’s Latino Center. Recently, in 2023, the Blanton Museum of Art announced that it had acquired more than 5,000 works from the Gilberto Cárdenas and Dolores Garcia Collection, which constitutes the largest single donation of Latino art to a museum.
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner (posthumous): Marcelo Hernandez Tafoya
A Pillar of Tejano Culture and Community Leadership Marcelo H. Tafoya, a native of Austin, Texas, where he resided for over 55 years, was a foundational figure in Tejano broadcasting and a staunch advocate for Chicano civil rights. His formative years, marked by a deep connection to his community and a passion for music, laid the groundwork for his later contributions. During the 1960s and 1970s, Marcelo became one of the pioneering voices of La Onda Tejana, a movement that revolutionized the Tejano music genre. His broadcasting career, which spanned over four decades, included impactful tenures at stations like KGTN, KUT, and KAZZ. He received the first "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Tejano Music Awards, a testament to his early and lasting contributions to the music industry. Marcelo launched Central Texas's first Hispanic television show, "Austin Presenta," on KTBC channel 7. Beyond his roles in broadcasting and community service, Marcelo was a passionate collector of Tejano Music memorabilia and founder of the Tejano Artist Music Museum.
Lifetime Achievement Award Winner (posthumous): Maria Emilia Martin
Martin was a Latina journalist who focused primarily on Latin American and Latino affairs. She was the founding executive producer of Latino USA, a half-hour weekly radio program produced at the University of Texas at Austin and distributed nationally by National Public Radio. She reported on the politics, violence, and resilience of indigenous communities in Central America. Martin was born in Mexico City and grew up in California. She got her start at KBBF in Santa Rosa, Calif., the first Latino-owned community radio station in the U.S. Later, she was an editor on NPR’s national show Latin File, before becoming the network’s first and only Latin American affairs editor on the national desk. She left NPR in 1993 to create the English-language radio program Latino USA. In her memoir Crossing Borders, Building Bridges: A Journalist’s Heart in Latin America, she wrote about overcoming racism and sexism in her work devoted to training other Latina journalists. She won many awards, including for her documentary series Después de las Guerras: Central America After the Wars, was a Fulbright fellow, and was inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame.
NOMINATION CATEGORY DESCRIPTIONS:
The Arts
Those currently working as a professional artist including: visual arts, dance, music, theater, radio, TV, film, performing arts, and history. Know a great arts administrator? Consider the Service Award category instead.
Emerging Artist
Those who have demonstrated artistic excellence as a beginner to mid-career artist of any age (but may also include youth).
Service
Those who have demonstrated outstanding service as a volunteer, employee, or professional in arts administration, community-based organizations, and more in the cultural arts.
Arts Educator
Those who have demonstrated unparalleled commitment in education in our community in the cultural arts.
Lifetime Achievement
Those who have demonstrated a lifetime of passion and dedication to the cultural arts.
Posthumous Award
Those who in their lifetime made a significant contribution to the cultural arts.
ABOUT THE SELECTION PROCESS:
How are the MACC Awardees selected?
The MACC has a selection panel made up of previous Awards of Excellence winners and community members who represent diverse backgrounds, ages, experience in various art forms, occupations, and community involvement.
Panelists do not receive the list of nominees until after the nomination process is closed, to preserve the integrity of the process.
Why is the nomination deadline extended?
At least a minimum of 40 submissions must be received in order to have a fair and equitable review process by the panelists. The deadline was extended due to receiving a very low amount of submissions by the original deadline.
With so many wonderful people doing great work in our community, we want to maximize opportunities for someone to be selected as an Awards of Excellence recipient. Therefore, we had over 40 submissions combined total and highly encourage future nominations of anyone who is making an impact in our community for a chance to be acknowledged, recognized, and receive an Awards of Excellence. Several awardees this year had been nominated in previous years!
Can I nominate anyone?
Nominations are open to everyone. These awards are determined by the community- we have open nominations in May, and then our selection committee reviews them and scores them! We encourage you to send in a nomination for ANYONE!
Does the Award come with a prize?
Award winners are invited to the award ceremony, and their names will be carved into the Petalos sculpture at the MACC- see bottom of this page for more info about Petalos. There is no monetary prize.
Past Awards of Excellence Recipients: 2009-2023
2023
Jacqueline Olivier - Emerging Artist
Serena Tijerina - Emerging Artist
Raul Garza – The Arts
Roj Rodriguez – The Arts
Bertha Rendon Delgado - Service
Monica Araoz- Arts Educator
Zita V. Vázquez – Arts Educator
Paul Saldaña- Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Roén Salinas – Lifetime Achievement
Yolanda Sanchez – Lifetime Achievement
Farah Rivera – Lifetime Achievement (posthumous)
Henry Gonzalez – Lifetime Achievement (posthumous)
VIEW THE 2023 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE CEREMONY ON YOUTUBE
2021
Ana Maciel, Service
Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, Service
Bobbie Garza-Hernandez, Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Angela Valenzuela, Lifetime Achievement
Jose Pasco, Emerging Artist
Fany Macias, Emerging Artist
Lydia Cdebaca Cruz, Arts Educator
Dr. Tracey Flores, Arts Educator
Mery Godigna-Collet, The Arts
Federico Archuleta, The Arts
*The entire 2021 Awards of Excellence ceremony is available to watch below:
VIEW THE 2021 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE RECORDING
2019
John Estrada, Emerging Artist
Leticia Urieta, Arts Educator
Ender Martos, Visual Art
Ire'ne Lara Silva, Literary Art
Carrie Rodriguez, Music
Luis Guerra, Lifetime Achievement
2018
Lesly Reynaga, Emerging Artist
Dr. Emilio Zamora, Service
Nancy Flores, Media Arts
Fidencio Duran, Visual Arts
Ruben Ramos, Music
Martha P. Cotera, Lifetime Achievement
2017
Tomas Salas, The Arts
Edgar Yepez, Arts Educator
Hector Miranda, Emerging Artist
Gloria Mata-Pennington, Lifetime Achievement
Enrique Cruz, Patronage
2016
Liliana Wilson, Visual Arts
Tomas Medina, Music
Toni Bravo, Dance
Hector Galán, Film
Rupert and JoAnn Reyes, Theater
Michael Anthony Garcia, Multidisciplinary
Nora Comstock, Patronage
Council Member Renteria, Service
Gerardo Arellano, Emerging Artist
Roberto Mendoza, Arts Education
Sylvia Orozco, Lifetime Achievement
2015
Jaime Salvador Castillo, Emerging Artist
Paloma Mayorga, Emerging Artist
Mario José Troncoso, Emerging Artist
Frank Rodriguez, Service
Rene Renteria, Service
Dr. Andrés Tijerina, Lifetime Achievement
2014
Ezekiel “Zeke” Robert Castro, Lifetime Achievement
Eugenio del Bosque, Service
Mary Gonzalez-Reyna, Music
Rodolfo “Rudy” Mendez, Theater & Dance
Cynthia Pérez, Service
Ishmael Soto, Visual Arts
José Treviño, Visual Arts
Tiarra Girls, Emerging Artist
Telemundo Austin, Patronage
2012
Claudia Zapata, Service
Alfredo Estrada, Patronage
Anthony Ortiz Jr., Emerging Artist
Austin Latino Theater Alliance, Arts
Raul Valdez, Lifetime Achievement
Manuel “Cowboy” Donley, Lifetime Achievement
Johnny Degollado, Lifetime Achievement
2011
Latinitas, Service
Gavin Garcia, Patronage
Luis Ordaz, Emerging Artist
Sam Z. Coronado, Arts
Maria F. Salinas, Lifetime Achievement
2009
Simon Orta, Service
About Pétalos
Robert Mezquiti's Pétalos is a permanent art installation at the ESB-MACC that serves as an award wall in which members of the Mexican-American Community are honored. Pétalos is a series of petals, each representing an equal part of our cultural fabric. Each individual petal honors a member of our community who has contributed significantly through service or art and holds a place for those who will continue to shape our culture in the future. Pétalos embodies the potential of infinity- only possible through the collection of continuous equal parts.
