Elena of Avalor
Rita Moreno, the Isley Brothers, Lucian Grainge, Milton Nascimento Honored at Berklee College of Music Commencement
Nearly 900 graduates from 68 countries received degrees today at Berklee’ s 2016 commencement. Berklee President Roger H. Brown presented honorary doctor of music degrees to music legends Rita Moreno, the Isley Brothers, Lucian Grainge, and Milton Nascimento. Moreno delivered the commencement address to the graduating class and an estimated audience of nearly 7,000 guests at the Agganis Arena. The annual commencement concert, held the previous evening at the Agganis Arena, featured some of the college’ s most accomplished students paying tribute to the honorees with performances of music associated with their careers. In what is surely a first for a Berklee commencement address, Moreno broke into a rap mid-speech. She rhymed,“ You must have the au-dacity, the pluck, the grit the pers-pi-cacity. Your talent may be terrific, your writing pro-lific— but do you have the mo-ti-vation to use your cre-a-tion for this gener-ation, to give it the passion, the voice to speak its choice? Will you invent the vo-cab-u-lary of dis-o-nance for love, for good, for rev-olution, if needed, in the insti-tution of society, should it fail to provide the variety to include all people, races, kinds? If it is blind to the human condition, will you call it to contrition? Speak truth to power, infuse the news— there are other views to choose.”
To great cheers, she added,“ Yo, I’ m sayin’ write your score for more than popularity— live life with clarity— of who you are— your worth on earth. Don’ t try to stop the critics. Keep writin’ the lyrics. Do that and pass the
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Master Class.” Ernie Isley, moved by the previous evening’ s student tribute concert, accepted the doctorate with these words:“ Berklee, I want you to know, last night, you outdid yourselves. You’ re professionals. Ronald and I, and in the spirit of all the brothers, appreciate it beyond words, and appreciate you. And I’ m fully confident that the future of music rests in good hands because of Berklee.”
Lucian Grainge also praised the graduates in his acceptance.“ The respect that I have for you, this class, your graduation, your contributions, and your musicianship— I’ m in awe of you... I’ m very honored and humbled to be here. I want to thank you for this honorary doctorate …[ and ] congratulate you all, really well done. And I hope that you have as much joy from music as I have done in my career.”
President Brown, in his introduction of Milton Nascimento, quoted jazz legend Wayne Shorter, who said,“ As a Brazilian asset, Milton’ s cultural value cannot be measured. Milton‘ s treasure can be divided in ways not yet imagined.”
This year’ s honorary doctorate recipients were recognized for their achievements in contemporary music, for their enduring contributions to popular culture, and for the influence their careers and music have had on Berklee’ s international student body. Past recipients include Duke Ellington( the first, in 1971), Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Smokey Robinson, Steven Tyler, Loretta Lynn, Juan Luis Guerra, Annie Lennox, Paco de Lucia, Carole King, Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, George Clinton, Julio Iglesias, Plácido Domingo, and A. R. Rahman.
With strikingly good looks and an infectious personality, Latin beauty Jacqueline Piñol has had a successful career in Hollywood as an on screen and voiceover actor, currently starring on Fox ' s " Bordertown,"( Sunday ' s at 9:30 / 8:30c) the newest animated series from comedic genius Seth MacFarlane alongside an outstanding cast which includes Hank Azaria, Missi Pyle, Judah Friedlander and Alex Borstein. Shockingly on the show Piñol is the voice of ' Pepito,' a rambunctious 5-year-old boy whose curiosity gets him into trouble with nearly everyone in the neighborhood. Additionally, audiences will see a completely different side of her as the in-control, veteran detective ' Julie Espinose ' in Season 2 of Amazon ' s " Bosch."
The half Colombian, half Guatemalan knockout was born in Queens and moved to LosAngeles at a young age with her parents and 2 sisters. A determined child, Piñol always knew she wanted to be an actress. While attending Beverly Hills High School, she was busy early on with commercial jobs and landed her first television role as Ricky Martin ' s younger sister on " General Hospital." She went on to attend college at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and continued to pursue her dreams. Her resume grew quickly, landing major roles on popular shows including " Ponderosa," " Resurrection Blvd," " CSI: New York," " Lincoln Heights " and many more. A woman that can do it all,
Latin Times Magazine www. latintimesmedia. com Abraza el calor de tu cultura!
Piñol has also excelled as a voiceover actress in feature films such as BRIDE WARS( Anne Hathaway & Kate Hudson) and in some of the most popular video games including " Transformers: The Game," " Unchartered 3 " and most recently " Quantum Break," which comes out April 2016.
Not just a multifaceted actress, Jacqueline is a jack of all trades in her personal life. Most don ' t know that Piñol fluently speaks 4 languages: English, Spanish, French and Italian. She is also a passionate animal advocate and works with various charities throughout the states and is currently working on a documentary about saving abandoned animals across the country. As if that wasn ' t enough to keep her busy, Piñol is also expecting her first child in 2016.
With back-to-back projects in 2016, we would love to arrange an interview with you and Jacqueline to discuss the premiere season of " Bordertown " and her role in " Bosch." We can be reached at AGPR @ andersongrouppr. com to arrange and look forward to hearing from you.
Elena of Avalor
Actress Aimee Carrero, who voices the title role in Disney ' s " Elena of Avalor," gets a first-look at the new Elena doll during a recording session for the series in Burbank, California. The doll, from Hasbro, will debut at Toy Fair in New York City on Friday, February 12, and " Elena of Avalor," a new animated TV series set in a fairytale kingdom inspired by Latin cultures and folklore, will premiere this summer on Disney Channel.