The Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB MACC), an arts and culture venue operated by the city of Austin, has announced the winners of its semi-annual awards.
Since 2009, ESB MACC has recognized the work of artists, art educators, and others involved in supporting Latinx arts and culture in and near the Austin area. Though in the inaugural year there was only one award recipient, over the years the number of awards granted has grown.
Awardees are selected from nominations submitted by the local community via an online form. This year, ESB MACC received over 40 individual nominations, which were scored by a selection committee. The selected awardees were announced and celebrated during a ceremony on Saturday, July 29.
Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center 2023 Awardees
During the event, Mayor Kirk Watson remarked, “In our midst are great people that make a difference in lives. They’re not always the ones that are on the TV station or on the front page of the newspaper, but they’re making a difference in our lives… It may be that all their doing is satisfying our soul when we see art… It may be that what they’re doing is teaching how to do that sort of thing so that others will be able to touch people’s souls. Those people are what makes Austin, Austin. We need to celebrate that.”
The 2023 awardees include:
Jacqueline Olivier, Emerging Artist
Serena Tijerina, Emerging Artist
Raul Garza, The Arts
Roj Rodriguez, The Arts
Bertha Delgado Rendon, Service
Monica Araoz, Arts Educator
Zita V. Vázquez, Arts Educator
Paul Saldaña, Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Roén Salinas, Lifetime Achievement
Yolanda Sanchez, Lifetime Achievement
Farah Rivera, Lifetime Achievement (Posthumous)
Henry Gonzalez, Lifetime Achievement (Posthumous)
Learn more about each of the awardees here.
