Hispanic Heritage Foundation and Instagram to recognize 4 Latinx creators for expressing their identities through #YoSoy at Hispanic Heritage Awards at the Kennedy Center

Washington, D.C. – The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) and Instagram will recognize four Latinx creators for expressing their identities and impacting their communities through Instagram during the 32^nd Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards at the Kennedy Center on Oct. 1 in Washington, DC. The awardees include Alexsey Reyes (@alexseyreyes)​, Dulce Candy (@dulcecandy)​, Johanna Toruño (@johannareign)​​ and Walter Thompson-Hernández (@mychivas)​.

This year’s theme for the Instagram recognition is #YoSoy which is part of HHF’s focus on providing platforms for Latinx voices to express, understand and come together around the issue of Latinx identity. The effort with Instagram will encourage everyone, beyond the awardees, to celebrate their personal identity, perspectives and culture by finishing the statement #YoSoy____. (Click here to see #YoSoy Instagram Awardees video)

“The Latinx community is extremely diverse, and when it comes to our identities, we are even more complex,” said Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. “We also don’t want to be defined by others, which has happened in a negative and dangerous way. It’s critical we provide our community with platforms to be able to define ourselves, our culture, our values, but also better understand each other. Through the #YoSoy identity effort with Instagram, we can more powerfully come together and move forward together.”

For Bios of the 2019 #YoSoy Instagram Awardees see below:

@alexseyreyes Alexsey Reyes is an 18-year-old Latino photographer who focuses on community and color to tell stories through his work. He is extremely passionate about creating and believes everyone should have that opportunity, because of this he founded teenscreate.net (a digital zine that connects young artist to one another and provides resources and motivation in hopes to inspire the next generation of creatives.) Alexsey has worked professionally with brands such as Netflix, Converse, Crayola etc. and you can find his portfolio at alexseyreyes.com/color .

@dulcecandy Dulce Candy Ruiz is a content creator who has been sharing her story with the world since 2008 through videos, photos, and blogs focusing on self-love, beauty, and petite fashion. She immigrated to Southern California from Mexico as a young girl, and at 18 joined the armed forces to serve in the US Army in Iraq. Dulce is a published author who continues to reign as a leader in the space having worked with hundreds of global brands while always prioritizing her role as a mother, wife, and big sister to her millions of fans from around the world.

@Johannareign Johanna is a New York based Salvadoran artist & founder of The Unapologetic Street Series. A series created to highlight and utilize public space for people of color in the arts. She has shared her work in communities through out the country and speaks at universities on the importance of story telling and revolutionary acts of healing through art. Her work has been featured in The NY Times, Vice, Huffington Post, NPR, Nylon, and others.

@mychivas Walter Thompson-Hernández is a New York Times reporter and host. He works for paper’s Los Angeles Styles team. He has also written for NPR, Fusion, The Guardian, Remezcla, and other media outlets, and has reported from six continents and throughout the United States. He attended the University of Portland and received his master’s degree in Latin American Studies from Stanford University. Before working for the New York Times, he was enrolled in the UCLA Chicano Studies Ph.D. program.

HHF launched a focus on Latinx identity earlier this year through a series of #YoSoy Charla’s across the country and will be conducting research on the topic.

This is the second year in the HHF and Instagram partnership to recognize the impact of Latinx content creators for their positive and inspiring contributions within the community – whether they are artists, creators, photographers, authors, or activists –  Instagram is the place where they have come together to share their identity, express themselves and connect with the people and things they love.

About the Hispanic Heritage Foundation

 The Hispanic Heritage Foundation is a national nonprofit focused on education, workforce, culture and leadership. HHF is headquartered in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles with satellites in New York, Silicon Valley, San Antonio, and Miami (www.HispanicHeritage.org).

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