Delia Delavera: The NCLR Alma Awards

Delia Delavera said it plainly: "NCLR is the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. In 1995 NCLR created the Alma Aw…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

NCLR — the National Council of La Raza — is the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. In 1995, NCLR created the Alma Awards as a complement to its work advocating for Latino families and the Latino community. The 2011 NCLR Alma Awards air on NBC with presenting sponsor PepsiCo, co-hosted by Eva Longoria and George Lopez. Delia Delavera, Vice President for NCLR's California region, spoke with Premier Guide Miami's Daedrian McNaughton ahead of the broadcast.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What is it like to be a part of NBC this year, and will the show also transmit onto Telemundo?

DELIA DELAVERA: It's been a great partnership. It really has been fantastic working with — it's not just NBC but it's the entire family. Telemundo and Mun2 are key partners in helping us promote and present the show. I understand it's going to be rebroadcast. This is one of the first times ever that the show will actually have a commitment to rebroadcast, and so we're very excited about that — letting more people experience and take part in the presentation. Because we get such great feedback when we've aired it in the past but we've only had one airing. So NBC has really stepped up to the plate and the broader NBC Universal Comcast family has really stepped up and put a lot of resources into turning this program around so quickly. We're very appreciative, and also very engaged, as well as our other partners, looking at a number of different ways we can activate and get the audience excited about the show. Everyone has been coming up with a lot of really creative ideas. There is a lot of commitment from the leadership and throughout the entire company. So we're very pleased about the partnership and what it's been able to do to help us reenergize the Alma Awards for 2011 and hopefully going forward as well.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What are some of the major changes and cutbacks in categories?

DELIA DELAVERA: It was difficult knowing that we were going into a one-hour show — to kind of see what works, how we were going to maintain the quality and the star power and the energy of the show in half the time. There were lots of different categories that we've been able to recognize and honor over the years, and every year it changes. You have strong film years, strong TV years, or some special acknowledgment that we need to incorporate into the show. So every year is different. We do hope that we can build this show back into a two-hour program and incorporate more of these other categories. But this year we focused on film, television, and music. We also engaged the audience in a virtual VIP rating so they can vote for their favorite stars and earn a VIP experience attending the show — another way to engage a larger audience and get them energized to tune in. There is a lot of great work being done in front of and behind the cameras, and those are things we want to acknowledge. They're core to the mission of the Alma Awards. And with more time, and also looking at maybe other platforms we could leverage in the future — maybe other events or other forums — we look forward to strengthening the Alma Awards portfolio and how we're able to leverage that into other opportunities down the road.

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