Some major milestones and memorable moments extracted from a quarter century covering the A&E beat for Weekly Report:

ARTS

Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation, 1965-1985, considered the most comprehensive national exhibit on the history of Chicano art, opened at UCLA’s Wright Art Gallery in 1990.

The National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts was created in 1997 by Jimmy Smits, Sonia Braga, Esaí Morales and Washington, D.C. attorney Félix Sánchez to expand opportunities for Latinos in entertainment.

The National Hispanic Cultural Center was established in Albuquerque in 2000.

Cuban-American playwrite Nilo Cruz became the first Latino to win a Pulitzer Prize in drama with his 2003 play Anna in the Tropics.

Launched in 2002, Chicano Visions: American Artists on the Verge, featuring Cheech Marín’s extensive art collection, has been the core of a five-year, 15-city touring exhibition.

MUSIC

The Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences was established in 1997, with the first Latin GRAMMY Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The National Council of La Raza created the American Latino Music (ALMA) Awards in 1995. The show has gained popularity since being hosted and produced by actress Eva Longoria.

Jazz and Mambo musician Tito Puente, the “King of Latin Music,” dies in July 2000.Puente posthumously received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 2006.

Singer Celia Cruz dies at age 78 from a cancerous brain tumor.

Thousands paid their respects for “la guarachera de Cuba” at New York’s St. Patrick Cathedral. She trademarked the shout “¡Azúcar!”

The “queen of Tejano music” Selena Quintanilla Pérez was murdered at age 23 in 1995. Her album Amor Prohibido won a Grammy in 1994.

The rise to stardom of Columbian beauty Shakira and many other Hispanic performers, including Juanes, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, Daddy Yankee, and Julio Iglesias.

FILM

Actor César Romero dies in 1994 at age 86 The grandson of Cuban patriot José Martí, Romero was widely known internationally, including for his role as “Joker” in the 1960’s Batman series.

Selena the biopic, produced by Montezuma Esparza and the Quintanilla family, was released by Warner Bros. in 1997. The film is credited as the turning point of actress Jennifer López’s career.

Two major U.S. Hispanic films.

La Bamba (Columbia Pictures) and The Milagro Beanfield War (Universal Pictures), were released in 1997, boosting the careers of Esaí Morales and other Latino actors Mexican movie directors Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Inarritu racked up a collective 16 Oscar nominations for their films Children of Men, Pan’s Labyrinth and Babel.

TELEVISION

Eva Longoria broke a celluloid barrier when she became the most visible Latina on television in ABC’s Desperate Housewives that debuted in 2004.

In 2002 ABC picked up the George López sitcom, which aired more than 100 aired prime time episodes.

The finale brought Wilmer Valdarrama to hold the longerst performing Latino actor role on prime time TV in Fox’s That 70’s show.

ABC’s Ugly Betty, co-produced by Salma Hayek and starring América Ferrera, premiered in 2006. The series is an adaptation of Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, La Fea. It won a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award in 2007.

Univisión claimed unprecedented rating victories in 1998 over major English-language stations in Miami and Los Angeles.

Its competitor Telemundo was purchased by NBC for $2.7 billion, highlighting the expansion of Spanish-language media. The purchase was approved by the FCC in 2002 despite being challenged by a coalition of Hispanic organization, including the National Council of La Raza that claimed it would not serve the best interest of the
Hispanic community.

(Reporter Verónica Macías assisted in researching and writing this column.)