Washington, DC - The 9th Annual Hispanic LGBTQ Heritage Awards celebrates Hispanic Heritage and LGBTQ History months on Friday, September 12^th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Human Rights Campaign Equality Forum, 1640 Rhode Island Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. with an awards ceremony and a wine reception with appetizers, entertainment, and networking opportunities with 100 of DC’s leading LGBTQ Latino leaders from national and local government, non-profit, and corporate sectors. This year’s honorees include Gabriela Garcia, Health Educator, NovaSalud with the Sophia Carrero Community Award; Ruben Gonzales, Chief Development Officer, United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) with the Latino Leadership Award; and Lena Hernandez, Associate, D&P Creative Strategies with the Latina Leadership Award. Our emcee is Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez, Managing Deputy Director, United We Dream with music by Washington’s favorite ensemble, Los Gallos Negros.

At this year’s reception, LHP will commemorate 5 years of Héroes Latinos LGBTQ with a digital showcase of 90 commissioned black and white photographs collected from the metropolitan Washington, DC community since 2009 and unveil a traveling poster exhibit to educate the public in DC and beyond about the history and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Latino/a leaders. A preview of the Héroes Latinos LGBTQ poster exhibit will be on display from September 15^th through and October 31^st at the Latin American Youth Center, District of Columbia Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs, Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Library, and The DC Center for the LGBT Community. For locations and hours go to www.LatinoGLBTHistory.org/heritage. The full digital exhibit will be featured in an online education campaign from September 15^th to October 31^st and is expected to draw more than 10,000 views. The exhibit features community leaders, activists, students, artists and professionals who work at the intersection of the Latino/a and LGBTQ communities in metropolitan Washington, D.C. to advance social justice, dialogue, and understanding among our residents. Their stories are those of empowerment and Latino/a pride. Their unique stories about life, love and the struggle to survive show real life examples of LGBTQ Latinos/as living and working in our nation’s capital

Tickets for the awards ceremony may be purchased at www.LatinoGLBTHistory.org/heritage: $30 General Admission, $60 Host Committee; $150 Madrina/ Padrino Hosts. For additional details or to become a sponsor contact LHP Program Coordinator Jesus Chavez at JChavez@LatinoGLBTHistory.org or (202) 670-5547. Event co-chairs are Joanna Cifredo, transgender community leader and blogger of FireBreathingTgirl.com and David M. Pérez, President of the Latino GLBT History Project.

Sponsors and hosts include: Platinum Sponsors: DC Mayor's Office on Latino Affairs, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; Gold Sponsors: Brother Help Thyself, DC Office of Human Rights, D&P Creative Strategies; Silver Sponsors: League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Stonewall Kickball; Bronze Sponsors: Center for Black Equity, Juan Alvarez, Joseph Macias & Elliot Dowling, Ben Francisco Maulbeck, NovaSalud, The DC Center for the LGBT Community; Reception Host: Human Rights Campaign; Partners: ¡Empodérate! of La Clínica del Pueblo, GLOV DC, Grupo Dignity Latino Washington, Latin American Youth Center, Mayor's Office of GLBT Affairs, Metropolitan Community Church Washington DC, Trans-Latina Coalition, Rumba Latina, Armando Valentino Graphic Design, Danny Fowler, El Zol 107.9fm, Tagg Magazine, and CapitalWirePR; Padrino & Madrina Hosts: Jeremy Ayers, Leti Gomez, Adam Luna, Lisbeth Melendez-Rivera & Lisa Emina Weiner-Mahfuz, Russell Roybal, Luis Torres & Thomas Nasvytis; Host Committee Members: Charles Allen, Nancy Cañas & Ana Gomez, Jose Gutierrez, Wilmer Gutierrez, Sergio Lopez, Paul Marengo, Michael Martinez, Jose L. Plaza, May Sifuentes, Jennifer Sanchez.