New York, .- The Maestro Cares Foundation, singer Marc Anthony, recognized this Thursday in New York actors Rita Moreno, Lin Manuel Miranda and Vin Diesel for their contributions to art or their humanitarian work.
In addition to the actors, former Mexican President Vicente Fox (2000-2006) received the Maestro Cares Humanitarian Award for his work at the Fox Center, fighting poverty and creating opportunities for low-income children.
“I had to climb fences and walls to get here, it was a long way,” he joked when receiving his Fox award, a great critic of the border fence with Mexico that drives the US president, Donald Trump.
In statements to Efe, the former president explained that the Fox Center provides various services to some 50,000 children, such as medical care or nutrition, under the slogan “you were not born to be poor, you were born to do great things in your life.”
The Maestro Cares Foundation, created by Marc Anthony and the Colombian entrepreneur Henry Cárdenas, holds an annual gala, this year in its sixth edition, to raise funds for the construction of orphanages in Latin America and another aid to children in need.
The first to take the stage, however, was the legendary and veteran Puerto Rican actress Rita Moreno, “the only Rita Moreno”, as presented by Marc Anthony.
Moreno, 87 years old and one of only fifteen actors and actresses who have won the four most important awards in the world of entertainment (Oscar, Tony, Emmy and Grammy), received the award as Ambassador of Art and Culture, which she dedicated to her mother, Rita María, remembering that she worked to make her life better.
The actress, who also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of the Arts, granted by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, reminded Rosa Dolores Alverio (her real name), “that little girl who came from Puerto Rico, who one day dreamed that he would do what he is doing now. “
For his part, the actor Vin Diesel, known for the saga “The Fast and the Furious”, was recognized as “Voice of change” for the work he does with his foundation “One Race Global” in the Dominican Republic, a country he defined as his “second home”.
“One Race Global” uses cinema as a tool for change among young people with limited economic resources.
Vin Diesel, who recalled that he was “a child with dreams in New York”, and who drew laughter from the audience with his anecdotes, is also in charge of the founding of his late friend Paul Walker.
Finally, the actor, singer and composer Lin Manuel Miranda, creator of the musical “Hamilton”, one of the greatest successes on Broadway, was recognized as a “Hero of the Community” for all the work done by Puerto Rico after the scourge of the hurricane Maria in September 2017.
Miranda told Efe that it seemed incredible to him to be tonight in the same room as Marc Anthony, his idol, whom he has admired for many years.
He said that receiving the award is a way to continue helping Puerto Rico: “I remain connected with that island”, where he said that his roots are where his family lives.
The actor of Puerto Rican origin confessed that he wants his children to maintain a relationship with the island like he had in his childhood.
He explained that the best thing about having presented “Hamilton” on the island this year, to raise funds to help affected by Mary, was that their children discovered the coquí (a frog) and enjoy the country’s cuisine.
“These things you can discover but you have to live it,” said Miranda, who plans to start filming the movie “In The Heights” in the summer, which emerged from the award-winning musical of the same name.
“In The Heights”, with music and lyrics by Miranda and libretto by Quiara Alegría, was the first Latin musical that arrived on a Broadway stage and revolves around characters from a community in Washington Heights, the Manhattan suburb where Miranda grew up . (EFEUSA)
