Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Awards Highlight 8 Exemplary Houston Leaders With Notable Honors

What: The Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Awards Ceremony

Where: The Ballroom at Bayou Place

PC Moment: Mayor Sylvester Turner honored eight exemplary Houstonians in the Hispanic community, recognized for their outstanding contributions toward improving the quality of life within that community. The awards are presented annually in conjunction with the city’s Hispanic Heritage Month.

Accepting honors before the gathering of more than 250 were mariachi talent Jose Longoria, recipient of the Mayor’s Hispanic Arts in the Community Award; educator Adriana Tamez, PhD.,  recipient of the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Education in the Community Award; Sandra Rodríguez, recipient of the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Community Activist Award; Dr. Flor Muñoz, recipient of the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Healthcare Award; Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, recipient of the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Healthcare Award; first generation college graduate Aylin Rodriquez, recipient of the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Youth Activist Award; food author, chef and filmmaker Adan Medrano, recipient of the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Lifetime Achievement Award; and the late Christian Navarro, lawyer, restaurant owner and community philanthropist, recipient posthumously of the Mayor’s Hispanic Heritage Lifetime Achievement Award.

The cocktail event was chaired by Tim Martinez and Lauren Soliz. Instrumental in the reception that included a taco bar and pasta bar were Roland Garcia and Lenora Sorola-Pohlman, both of whom co-chair the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Board. Sponsors of the evening contributed $75,000 that the committee will use for grants for outreach to the Latino community on COVID awareness and education.

The contingent of elected officials joining the festivities included U.S. Representatives Sylvia Garcia, Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green; Houston City Council members Karla Cisneros, Sallie Alcorn and Tiffany Thomas; and State Representative Armando Rodriguez; plus City Attorney Arturo Michel.

PC Seen: Alex Lopez-Negrete, Geraldina Wise, Gracie Saenz, Karen Garcia, Angelica Ximenes, and Houston Hispanic Heritage Advisory Board members Rebecca Reyes, David Solis, Frances Castaneda Dyess, Helen Cavazos, Tony Diaz, Dr. Keila Lopez, Ximena Magana, Estefania Ayala and Epi Salazar.