The Hispanic Marketing Council, pioneering Hispanic ad agency Alma, and Saturday night TV legend Don Francisco were three recipients of the Rafael Eli Awards at the Hispanic Television Summit, presented by Future’s Broadcasting+Cable, Multichannel News and Next TV and produced by Schramm Marketing Group. 

Also honored were Pluto TV, the Award for Corporate Leadership in Hispanic Television winner, and actress Ana de la Reguera as winner of the Legacy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television, Talent. Estrella TV talent competition show Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento was honored with the Legacy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television, TV Program or Series.

Now in its 19th year, the Summit, set for Nov. 18 and part of Future’s virtual Fall TV 2021 (Nov. 15-19) has become the most popular event of its kind. It’s a place where producers, programmers, researchers, marketers, brands, media buyers and investors meet with content providers from every platform.

A highlight of the Summit, this year a virtual event due to health and safety protocols, is the Hispanic Television & Video Awards. The program was expanded in 2020 to add the Rafael Eli Awards, three additional honors for organizations and individuals who are pioneers of Hispanic TV and named for Eli, one of the Summit’s two co-producers, who died in 2020 from COVID-19 complications. The event has been made available on-demand. 

The 19th annual Hispanic Television Summit also included keynote interviews, presentations and panel discussions with leading executives. Topics included media and ad sales, audience metrics, brand marketing, programming (with a focus on election coverage and news), audience promotion, subscription marketing and content distribution. 

Here‘s more on the 2021 Hispanic TV Summit Awards winners: 

Rafael Eli Award for Pioneer in Hispanic TV, Media and Publicity: HMC (Hispanic Marketing Council)

For the past 25 years, the Hispanic Marketing Council (HMC) has championed the Hispanic market in corporate boardrooms and advocated for increased investment in Hispanic marketing strategies — all while ensuring that experts with trusted Hispanic market expertise are at the forefront of the discussion. Through its collective thought leadership initiatives and groundbreaking research, it has helped marketers gain understanding of Hispanic consumers, and its member firms have helped them achieve market share, increase revenue and grow profits by reaching and connecting with them. The association has grown to represent more than 25,000 marketing, creative, research and media executives who have trusted and proven Hispanic marketing expertise.

HMC chair Gonzalo Del Fa will accept the award. Del Fa is also president of GroupM Multicultural, which handles $1 billion in billing from clients across all of the GroupM agencies: Mediacom, Wavemaker, Mindshare, Essence and mSix.  

Rafael Eli Award for Pioneer in Hispanic Television, Creative Agency: Alma

Alma’s team hails from 31 different nationalities, and together they have fueled exceptional business growth with creativity that has earned them 23 Cannes Lions and 7 Effie Awards, as well as numerous One Show, Clio, ANA, and New York Festival awards. Alma has been named to Ad Age’s prestigious A-List six times this decade and has earned “Agency of the Year” titles from El Ojo, El Sol, FIAP and USH Ideas, all while nurturing a culture of optimism, curiosity and collaboration from its offices in Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Tallahassee.

“Diversity and inclusion, without addressing the marketplace from a more multicultural standpoint, may not be enough,” said Alma co-president and chief operating officer Isaac Mizrahi, whose agency works with the likes of Pepsi, McDonald’s and Netflix. “Conversely, multicultural marketing without diversity and inclusion may not happen as effectively as it could with a more diverse organization. The two go hand in hand, but they're not the same effort.”

Alma creative chairman and CEO Luis Miguel Messianu will accept the agency’s award.

Rafael Eli Award for Pioneer in Hispanic Television, Talent: Mario Kreutzberger, aka “Don Francisco,” Presenter, CNN en Español

Mario Kreutzberger, also known as Don Francisco, was born in Talca, Chile. He is the creator and star of Sabado Gigante, which ran from 1962 to 2015, airing on Univision in the U.S., and holds the Guinness World Record for being the longest-running TV variety program. 

Kreutzberger is widely recognized for his extensive travels around the world and his use of humor and wit to unify cultures through his entertainment platform. 

During his tenure at Canal 13 in Chile and both the Univision and Telemundo networks in the United States, he developed and hosted numerous fundraisers benefiting victims of natural disasters. Since 1978, his annual “TELETON” in Chile has funded 14 rehabilitation centers throughout the country and brought the needs of some 100,000 disabled children to the forefront. He is a UNICEF ambassador, a “Champion of Health” for the Pan-American Health Organization and a VP of the U.S. Muscular Dystrophy Association, which inspired him to create the Chile TELETON. 

Kreutzberger’s career has led to many honors, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Papal Benemenrenti medal from Pope John Paul II, membership in the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame in the U.S. and several honors in his native Chile. 

He’ll return to TV this year with Don Francisco: Reflections 2021 on CNN en Español, highlights from which can be seen here.

Award for Corporate Leadership in Hispanic Television, Platform or Provider: Pluto TV 

The Hispanic Television Legacy Award for Outstanding Achievement is presented to individuals, programs or organizations in recognition of their career achievements that have raised the worldwide perception of, and respect for, the business of Hispanic Television. 

This year’s recipient, ad-supported streaming service Pluto TV, chose Cinco de Mayo to unveil an expanded and rebranded category of Spanish-language offerings tailored to U.S. Hispanics. The new Pluto TV en Español is a rebrand of Pluto TV Latino and now totals more than 45 Spanish-language channels, both linear and on-demand, across a variety of genres. "Our goal with Pluto TV en Español is to bring an authentic and artisan approach to the market," said Pluto TV en Español senior programming manager Cosette Molina, who noted that the specially-curated channels are "designed to reflect the rich tapestry that exists within the U.S. Hispanic community.”

Accepting the award will be Tom Ryan, president and CEO of streaming at ViacomCBS and cofounder and CEO of Pluto TV.

Legacy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television, Talent: Ana de la Reguera

Award-winning actress Ana de la Reguera is one of the most influential artists of this time. She most recently starred opposite Dave Bautista and Omari Hardwich in Zach Snyder’s blockbuster Netflix film, Army of the Dead, and led the cast of Universal’s The Forever Purge, the final installment of The Purge for franchise set on the U.S.-Mexico border. 

In 2019, she became a multi-hyphenate, creating and starring in her own series, Ana, one of only a handful of Latin actresses before her to have done so. The half-hour series, now in production on its second and third seasons, streams on Pantaya in the U.S. and runs on Amazon Prime Video and Comedy Central in Latin America. De la Reguera was named one of People en Español’s “25 Most Powerful Women of 2020.” 

Legacy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television, TV Program or Series: ‘Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento,’ Estrella TV

EstrellaTV’s flagship talent competition series, Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento, kicked off its 25th season on Sept. 20. Mexican regional music superstar El Fantasma joined the panel of judges, which includes artist Ana Bárbara, producer and radio programmer Pepe Garza and radio host Don Cheto. Hosting the show is regional Mexican music artist Luis Coronel, with Christy Garza, a disc jockey from Estrella Media’s radio station La Raza in Houston, serving as the show’s DJ. Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento is the longest-running talent competition in U.S. Spanish-language television history and originates from EstrellaTV’s Burbank, California, studios. Thousands of contestants from the U.S. and Mexico audition for the series, ranging from musical artists to dancers, magicians, comedians and even ax throwers, all in the quest to be named the best new Latin entertainment star. Contestants receive special coaching sessions with some of Latin music’s hottest recording artists in the U.S. and Mexico. ■

When the final curtain falls Sept. 19 on Sábado Gigante, one of Spanish-language television's most iconic programs, host Don Francisco — aka Mario Kreutzberger — will certainly be missed.

Kreutzberger will also miss entertaining generations of viewers who have enjoyed his kitschy variety show since The Ed Sullivan Show commanded top ratings.

In an interview with Miami TV station WPLG, the Chile-born Kreutzberger said he’ll miss "everything" associated with his role as Don Francisco, and that he's going out on a high.

"We have high ratings, we're doing a good program, and I think this is the right moment to close Sábado Gigante and open a new life," Kreutzberger told Victor Oquendo, a reporter for the ABC affiliate, on Sept. 11.  

Update: Univision has confirmed that Hispanic entertainment heavyweights including Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Juanes, Marc Anthony, Prince Royce and Gloria Estefan will appear on the September 19 finale.

He also offered fans a hint that his visage may not be disappearing from the small screen anytime soon.

"I'm not retiring and I don't think I have to retire ... That would damage my mind and my health," he said. "I am so used to communication with the audience, even though I don't see them, I feel them and I need them."

The comments are intriguing, as Telemundo saluted Kreutzberger by presenting him an award as an icon for his work on Sábado Gigante — despite its long-time presence on its top competitor, Univision.

Such honors are an extreme rarity in Hispanic media, let alone English-language media. Telemundo Network president Luis Silberwasser would not comment when asked by Hispanic Television Update if Don Francisco could appear, even if only occasionally, on the forthcoming Saturday-night variety show ¡Que Noche!.

Officially, Kreutzberger will continue working for Univision on specials and promotional campaigns. He will also continue to host TeletonUSA, an annual pledge show that raises money for disabled children.

Meanwhile, New York City on Sept. 8 saluted Kreutzberger by renaming a section of a street in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood as “Don Francisco Boulevard.”

Later that day, The Paley Center for Media hosted a special Q&A session with Kreutzberger; Lili Estefan, host of Univision's weekday entertainment news program El Gordo y La Flaca; and Entertainment Tonight reporter Nina Terrero, reflecting on the host's 53 years in television.

Univision also donated a collection of specially curated Sábado Gigante episodes to the Paley Center’s permanent archives. They represent some of the series’ most important episodes and include classic performances and interviews with world leaders.

Sábado Gigante is certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running variety show in television history, with more than 2,600 episodes aired.