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first person

The Producer

NCLR’s Delia de la Vara makes things happen for the organization’s new California office and is setting the stage for this year’s ALMA Awards.

It’s been a busy few weeks in Delia de la Vara’s Los Angeles office. Along with other National Council of La Raza staff, she has been gearing up for this year’s ALMA Awards, set to air on ABC September 18. All is going well with the awards program that celebrates Latinos in the media arts, but this year, there are some new challenges, says de la Vara, the show’s producer. For one thing, there is only a 24-hour turnaround between the tape date and air date. This year the show also boasts a new host; long-time host Eva Longoria will be joined by George Lopez. Also, for the first time the show has a new corporate sponsor in Pepsi.
De la Vara is used to taking on big challenges. She recently assumed the newly created position as vice president of NCLR’s California regional office. The operation represents a new approach for the association, the largest civil rights and advocacy organization for Hispanics in the U.S. The goal is to build bridges between smaller affiliated organizations, and with NCLR’s large corporate and association partners to to help them grow and expand services. “I am good at connecting the dots with opportunities,” she says.
At no time have alliances been more important, especially as neighborhood organizations struggle to stay afloat in this tough economy. Helping them remain vibrant is vital because they are being asked to contribute more and more to assist families.
De la Vara knows how critical the local affiliates can be. In Phoenix, where she was raised, her mother worked in a variety of positions with non-profit, public service and municipal positions including positions with Chicanos por la Causa (Chicanos for the Cause), then-governor Bruce Babbitt’s office, and Fannie Mae.
“I saw how she stayed connected to her community,” she says. “She remained committed; it was natural to be connected to her work life.”
Her mother’s work life was de la Vara’s after school activity. While her youngest sibling went off to daycare, she and her brother were designated as helpers. They answered phones, passed things out, made copies—little things, she says. As she grew, so too did her duties, until she was helping connect people through the switchboard and with events. “My mom encouraged us to be a part of that,” she says. “Now that I look back on that it, [it showed me the] kind of priorities that I wanted in the career path I wanted to choose.”
As her mother motivated her, she hopes the ALMA Awards will continue to inspire people. More than a red carpet event and awards show, de la Vara believes that there is more the organization can do with the awards. She envisions eventual career fairs for people wanting to work in entertainment, theater and writing workshops for students, professional development programs through the affiliates. She doesn’t want to reinvent the wheel, she says, but little by little NCLR can increase the impact the ALMAs have on both the entertainment community and on individual Latinos. “There are opportunities to showcase what people are doing,” she says. “They are bridges two worlds, exposing them to new talents. ... Maybe we can connect folks together.”