Ellen Ochoa has earned a special presidential honor…
The 65-year-old Mexican American engineer, former NASA astronaut and former director of the Johnson Space Center is among the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor. The White House last held a ceremony in July 2022.
In 1993, Ochoa became the first Hispanicwoman to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Ochoa became director of the center upon the retirement of the previous director, Michael Coats, on December 31, 2012. She was the first Hispanic director and the second female director of Johnson Space Center.
But Ochoa isn’t the only Hispanic person recognized this year.
Teresa Romero is also being honored.
The Mexican immigrant and activist is the president of the United Farm Workers and the first Latina to become president of a national union in the United States.
She has secured key victories to improve the lives of the workers who feed and fuel our nation.
Other honorees include Phil Donahue, Michelle Yeoh, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), former Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of State John Kerry and former senator Elizabeth Dole. Jesuit priest Gregory Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, also will be honored.
Others on the list include Clarence B. Jones, the civil rights activist and lawyer who helped draft Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech; swimmer Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky; educator and activist Opal Lee; astronomer Jane Rigby; and LGBT activist Judy Shepard.
Being honored posthumously will be Medgar Evers, former senator Frank Lautenberg and multi-sports legend Jim Thorpe.
The 40-year-old television personality and actress will guest star on the Peacock comedy series “Bupkis,” from Pete Davidson.
In addition to the Anthony, the guest line up Charlamagne That God, Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly), Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Philip Ettinger, Al Gore, Paul Walter Hauser,Sunita Mani, John Mulaney, Oona Roche, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Jon Stewart and Marissa Jaret Winokur will be featured in the television series.
The upcoming comedy series “Bupkis,” which will premiere on Thursday, May 4.
Previously announced guest stars include Charlie Day, Brad Garrett, Simon Rex, Ray Romano, Kenan Thompson and Chase Sui Wonders.
“Bupkis” is an eight episode comedy series that Davidson will star in. Davidson, too, serves as writer and executive producer. Aside from himself, series regulars include Edie Falco and Joe Pesci. The show is a fictionalized retelling of Davidson’s life as he navigates family dynamics, fame and relationships.
Judah Miller serves as showrunner of the series in addition to writer and executive producer alongside Dave Sirus. Lorne Micheals, Andrew Singer and Erin David, too, join “Bupkis” as executive producers.
Gomez, one of nine Latino/as to make this year’s list, has been recognized for “unabashedly spreading her wings and influence into whatever lane her passions lead her,” writes America Ferrera in an essay about the artist.
“He’s opened up the doors for Latino artists everywhere by making the world hear and fall in love with our culture, our sounds and our spirit,” says pop star Camila Cabello in an essay about the man born as José Álvaro Osorio Balvín. “What I truly admire and love the most about José is that he is just himself. He’s himself to the world, he’s himself to his friends and his peers, and he’s got the kind of heart that makes him a person everyone is rooting for. When he wins, we all win.”
Anne Hidalgo has been named to the Time 100.
The 61-year-old French–Spanish politician, who has served as Mayor of Paris – is the first woman to hold the office – since 2014, is being recognized for being a leader in the movement to solve the global climate crisis.
“Even in the midst of confronting the global pandemic, Mayor Hidalgo has turned Paris into a shining example of how cities can lead the transition to cleaner, healthier and more prosperous societies,” writes former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. “She is transforming the city’s landscape to make it friendlier to pedestrians and bikers, cutting car traffic and making the air safer to breathe.”
Dr. Cecilia Martinez is also being recognized for her environmental work…
“As a leader in everything from international projects to grassroots organizing, Cecilia Martinez has dedicated her impressive career to a moral imperative: the pursuit of environmental justice and the inclusion of equity and justice in environmental policy,” writes U.S. Senator Cory Booker about the co-founder and executive director at the Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy (CEED).
Bonnie Castillo, the 60-year-old Latina registered nurse and executive director of National Nurses United, has earned her spot on this year’s list for support of frontline health workers.
“She was among the first to call attention to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to nurses across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, and fought layoffs and pay cuts that nurses faced despite their vital frontline work,” writes civil rights activist and United Farm Workers of America co-founder Dolores Huerta. “Bonnie’s commitment to the labor movement and unions is unwavering; she states that unions are the foundation of a democratic society. Bonnie does not just work to heal patients; she works to heal society.”
Felipe Neto has also made this year’s list…
The 32-year-old Brazilian social media star, who has 39 million YouTube subscribers and 12 million Twitter followers, is considered the most consequential digital influencer in Brazil and possibly in the world.
“A decade ago, from his family’s humble Rio de Janeiro home, he began creating content for YouTube and quickly found fame, a huge and loyal young audience, and lucrative endorsements,” writes Brazilian congressman David Miranda. “What has changed—radically—is how Neto uses his platform. His early notoriety was generated by standard fare for online adolescents: video games, celebrities and girls. But with the 2018 election of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and the empowerment of his proto-fascist movement, Neto, risking his brand and safety, repurposed his popularity to become one of Bolsonaro’s most effective opponents.”
For the second year in a row, Jair Bolsonaro has been named to the Time 100.
“The story of Brazil’s year can be told in numbers: 137,000 lives lost to the coronavirus. The worst recession in 40 years. At least five ministers sacked or resigned from the Cabinet. More than 29,000 fires in the Amazon rain forest in August alone. One President whose stubborn skepticism about the pandemic and indifference to environmental despoliation has driven all these figures upward,” writes Time’s international editor. “Yet the number that really matters is 37—the percentage of Brazilian society that approved of Jair Bolsonaro in a late-August poll, the highest rating since he took office early last year. Despite a storm of corruption allegations, and one of the highest COVID-19 death tolls in the world, the right-wing firebrand remains popular with a large section of Brazilians.”
Sister Norma Pimentel is being heralded for her work with immigrants…
“Sister Pimentel has been on the front lines of mercy for three decades, supporting migrants who are seeking refuge in the U.S. along Texas’ border with Mexico. As executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, she directs efforts to provide shelter, food, sanctuary and comfort to people often treated as less than human. Her organization has housed and assisted well over 100,000 people at the border,” says former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro. “Her work has taken on greater importance in the era of Donald Trump, and for good reason. As he has acted with cruelty toward migrants, she has acted with compassion. As he has preyed on the vulnerable and sought rejection, she has preached community and acceptance. As he has promoted fear, she has taught love.
Gabriela Cámara is being recognized for being “more than a chef—she is a Renaissance woman on the front lines of our industry,” writes chef Jose Andres about the Mexican chef.
Through her visionary career, Camara has become one of Mexico’s leading culinary diplomats, both in spirit and in practice.
“Not only does she run two of the most iconic kitchens on the continent—Contramar in Mexico City and Cala in San Francisco—offering the very best of her cultural heritage, she is also an adviser to the Mexican President, showing by example how food can have an impact far beyond the walls of a restaurant kitchen,” continues Andres.
The 44-year-old Colombian superstar is set to perform at the 23rd annual Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo, Norway, on December 11, joining a star-studded lineup including Sting, Halsey and Icona Pop.
The event is set to take place at Oslo’s Telenor Arena and will be hosted by Conan O’Brien.
“Advocating that all people have a right to live in peace has long been a cornerstone of my music and the work of our foundation, so I’ve been flattered to participate in past Nobel concerts recognizing global leaders pursuing peace across our world,” Juanes said in a statement. “With this year’s award recognizing the efforts of President Santos to bring a lasting peace to my own nation, I am beyond honored to be asked to perform at the ceremony in Oslo once again this year.”
It’s not the first time Juanes has performed at a Nobel Peace Prize concert: The “Fuego” singer performed in 2005 and 2007 for laureates Mohamed ElBaradei and Al Gore.
“Juanes is an old and dear friend to the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, and we are delighted that he will be back on stage this year,” said Olav Njølstad, director of Norway’s The Nobel Institute. “Besides being a brilliant musician he is devoted to charitable work and a strong supporter of the peace process in his home country Colombia. Together with his fabulous band and dancers Juanes will certainly ignite the audience and inject a lot of positive energy into the concert.”
This year’s honorees include Colombia’s president Juan Manuel Santos and Bob Dylan — who became the first musician to earn the Nobel Prize in literature.
Charly Alberti is rockin’ his way through Latin America and the U.S. with a purpose…
The 51-year-old Argentine musician and former Soda Stereo drummer’s R21 Foundation is cashing in on his rock star appeal educate young people in Latin America about environmental issues.
Since 2009, Alberti has toured the region, giving presentations on global warming enhanced with music and videos to school kids, leading them in a pledge to protect the planet.
Alberti has now joined with the Natural Resources Defense Council, whose board members include Leonardo De Caprio and Robert Redford, to spread the message to Spanish-speakers in the U.S. as well.
“Alberti’s dedication in creating consciousness and action about these important issues and his capacity to communicate to the public are a very important addition for the NRDC and for the world,” NRDC’s Latino Outreach director Adrianna Quintero said in a statement. “In the United States and Latin America we have an opportunity to adopt changes that will help us to combat the climatic crisis and develop clean and renewable energies and thus prevent worst damage in the future, but we need the support of the public.”
Alberti was the youngest and publically quietest of the three members of pioneering Argentine rock band Soda Stereo, which he formed with frontman Gustavo Cerati, whose tragic passing this year shook the Latin music world, and bassist-turned-DJ Zeta Bosio.
The drummer first found his voice as an Apple spokesman in the 1990s, and later became a face of Al Gore’s green movement in Latin America.
R21 and NRDC will be present at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, which takes place December 1-12.
Both Alberti and Di Caprio are scheduled to attend.
“The focus of R21 is creating massive awareness among the general public,” Alberti said. “The NRDC… is a prestigious organization that focuses its efforts principally on the analysis and development of public and governmental policy. Our organizations complement each other since we both recognize that the care of the environment can go hand in hand with social and economic development.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor. The White House last held a ceremony in July 2022.
