THE
INCA GARCILASO MEDAL
The Inca Garcilaso medal is bestowed upon exceptional individuals and/or institutions to celebrate their contributions in the fields of art, philanthropy, and in general, cultural endeavors that help build better societies.
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The medal is inspired by the cultural mixing ('mestizaje') of America as a continent where centuries ago Amerindians, Europeans and Africans intermingled, merging their destinies forever.
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Inca Garcilaso can be considered as the 'first mestizo' of the Americas who conciliated his two cultural heritages. He is the quintessential global citizen of this continent. Son of an Inca princess and a Spanish conquistador and born when there were still no borders in this hemisphere, both cultures merged in him enhancing his creative and humanistic capacities.
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The medal is a symbol of that cultural diversity and its connection to the spirit of solidarity.
The Management Committee of the IV América Viva Gala Show is pleased to announce the recipients of the Inca Garcilaso Medal 2024:
SPECIAL MENTION
CELIA CRUZ
- posthumously -
INDIVIDUALS
ART
SHEILA E.
The 'Queen of Percussion'
MEDIA
EDUARDO SÁNCHEZ
CEO Grupo ¡HOLA!
PHILANTHROPY
ADRIENNE ARSHT
Business Leader/Impact Philanthropist
TO BE CONFIRMED
TECHNOLOGY
MANNY MEDINA
Founder Medina Ventures
TO BE CONFIRMED
INSTITUTIONS
TO BE CONFIRMED
HONORARY GALA PATRONS
LUIS GARCÍA
CEO Adonel Companies
ANA TERESA RODRÍGUEZ
CEO ATR Luxury Homes
BRUNO GÓMEZ-ACEBO DE BORBÓN
MELISSA MEDINA
CEO eMerge Americas
TO BE CONFIRMED
NELSON ALBAREDA
CEO Loud And Live
HONORARY GALA COMMITTEE
HONORARY GALA COMMITTEE CHAIRS
ORLANDO & KATIE BRAVO
Founder/MP Thoma Bravo
TO BE CONFIRMED
Committee member
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PAST HONOREES
PAQUITO D'RIVERA
Multi-Grammy winner
ISABEL NOBOA
CEO Grupo Nobis Ecuador
Founder Nobis Foundation
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WILLY CHIRINO
Multi-Grammy winner
NYDIA QUINTERO
Former 1st Lady of Colombia
Founder Solidaridad por Colombia
THE TWO SIDES OF THE MEDAL
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (1539-1616), born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa and known as El Inca, was a chronicler and writer born in what today is Peru. He was the natural son of the Spanish conquistador Sebastián Garcilaso and the Inca noblewoman Palla Chimpu Ocllo.
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Born in the early years of the conquest, he is known primarily for his chronicles of the Inca culture and the Spanish conquest. At the age of 21 he sailed to Spain where he lived and worked the rest of his life. His first major work called “La Florida del Inca” is a vivid and detailed account of conquistador Hernando De Soto's expedition in Florida.
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His work was widely read in Europe, influential and well received. It was the first literature by an author born in the Americas to enter the western canon.
The world map by cartographer Martin Waldseemüller published in 1507 is considered America's birth certificate and for good reason: it is the first document on which the name "America" appears. It is also the first map to depict a separate and full Western Hemisphere. Interestingly enough, the name America is placed on South America.
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The map included data gathered during Amerigo Vespucci’s voyages of 1501–1502 to the New World. Waldseemüller christened the new lands "America" (land of Amerigo) in recognition of Vespucci ’s understanding that a new continent had been uncovered because of the voyages of Columbus and other explorers in the late fifteenth century who still believed they had arrived in India.
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In May 2003, the Library of Congress purchased the only surviving copy of the map.