Kennedy Center Honors Revamp Selection Process; Chita Rivera Joins Advisory Committee

As reported by the Washington Post on Thursday, The Kennedy Center has announced revisions to its selection process for the Kennedy Center Honors, after last year's criticisms from Hispanic advocacy groups that Latinos had long been excluded. These changes come after a seven-month review, during which a committee heard from many leaders of the Hispanic community.

"All those leaders came to the table, and they all shared ways to create systems of inclusion and how they had done it in their respective fields," said Giselle Fernandez, who was part of the review committee. "No group or ethnicity wants to be awarded something to fulfill a quota; that's not what this is about. This is about opening up access to a universe of talent that might not have had a pipeline to the table."

Read the original report here.

A new six-member advisory committee will now make recommendations to the Kennedy Center chairman, president and the producers of the Honors broadcast. The new selection process also invites the public to nominate artists online by visiting the Kennedy Center's website. Nominations by the 70-member Artists Committee will also be considered.

The new advisory committee includes Broadway's Chita Rivera, who is the only Hispanic woman ever to receive the Kennedy Center Honors. The six members on the committee will serve for five years each, and their duties include choosing 10-20 nominees before the executive committee selects the five final honorees.

The executive committee -- Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein, President Michael M. Kaiser and producer George Stevens Jr. -- will suggest several groups of the final five honorees to encourage diversity in the arts and artists recognized for 2013 and beyond.

Past Hispanic honorees include Spanish tenor Placido Domingo (2000) and Broadway actress and singer Chita Rivera (2002). The annual event recognizes recipients for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures and television.

Pictured: Past honoree Chita Rivera. Photo Credit: Walter McBride.