The Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) and Instagram will recognize four Latinx creators for expressing their identities and impacting their communities through Instagram during the 32^nd Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards at the Kennedy Center on October 1 in Washington, DC. The awardees include Alexsey Reyes, Dulce Candy​, Johanna Toruño and Walter Thompson-Hernández​.

This year’s theme for the Instagram recognition is #YoSoy which is part of HHF’s focus on providing platforms for Latinx voices to express, understand and come together around the issue of Latinx identity. The effort with Instagram will encourage everyone, beyond the awardees, to celebrate their personal identity, perspectives and culture by finishing the statement #YoSoy____. (Click here to see #YoSoy Instagram Awardees video).

Instagram recognition winners: Clockwise from top left are Walter Thompson-Hernandez, Alexsey Reyes, Dulce Candy and Johanna Toruño

“The Latinx community is extremely diverse, and when it comes to our identities, we are even more complex,” said Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. “We also don’t want to be defined by others, which has happened in a negative and dangerous way. It’s critical we provide our community with platforms to be able to define ourselves, our culture, our values, but also better understand each other. Through the #YoSoy identity effort with Instagram, we can more powerfully come together and move forward together.”

HHF launched a focus on Latinx identity earlier this year through a series of #YoSoy Charla’s across the country and will be conducting research on the topic.

This is the second year in the HHF and Instagram partnership to recognize the impact of Latinx content creators for their positive and inspiring contributions within the community – whether they are artists, creators, photographers, authors, or activists –  Instagram is the place where they have come together to share their identity, express themselves and connect with the people and things they love.