AwardsChita Rivera to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award From Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors
Past HOLA lifetime achievement award honorees include fellow Broadway alums José Ferrer and Raúl Juliá.
By
Logan Culwell-Block
October 25, 2022
Chita Rivera
Living Broadway legend Chita Rivera will be honored with the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actor (HOLA)'s lifetime achievement award at a November 14 ceremony at Instituto Cervantes in New York. The honor, previously given to fellow Broadway alums José Ferrer and Raúl Juliá, will also be permanently renamed for the West Side Story and Chicago star.
"I applaud the work HOLA does and am honored to receive their Lifetime Achievement Award, joining their illustrious group of honorees," says Rivera in a statement.
With a more-than-60–year career on Broadway, Rivera is perhaps best known for creating the roles of Anita in West Side Story, Rose in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma in Chicago, and Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman. She has won two Tony Awards, for Spider Woman and The Rink. She was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2018, recognizing a career that also includes performances in Nine, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and, most recently, The Visit. Rivera is also a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Rivera is closely associated with the writing team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, having starred in their musicals Chicago, The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and The Visit. An upcoming memoir will also cover Rivera's work with such theatrical luminaries as Stephen Sondheim, Bob Fosse, Dick Van Dyke, Arthur Laurents, Gwen Verdon, Leonard Bernstein, Liza Minnelli, and Hal Prince.
The Fred Ebb Award recognizes excellence in musical theatre songwriting, by a songwriter or songwriting team that has not yet achieved significant commercial success.
