Mr. Blades and Los Lobos are among the handful of Hispanic performers recognized by the English-speaking pop audience - and they know it.

It was not just the main concert spot for Hispanic performers in New York, attracting stars from all parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

With records sales of 75 million and a cumulative film gross of over $2 billion, Lopez is the most influential Hispanic performer in the United States, as well as the highest-paid Latin actress.

Described as the most influential Hispanic performer in the United States, she is widely credited with breaking barriers in the entertainment industry for Hispanic people.

The newly announced "legends" constitute a multiethnic coalition, assembling influential white, black and Hispanic performers.

In 1975, Mr. Strachwitz went to Mr. Blank with the idea of filming the Hispanic performers of Northern Mexico and America's Southwest who sing in a style known as Norteno.

I love them," she said of the Hispanic performers, "and we can't reject what in a way helps us get on the radar screens of corporate America.

In this light "Miss Saigon" has been something of a gold mine, employing actors of Filipino, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Hawaiian descent as well as black and Hispanic performers.

Other Hispanic performers who feel comfortable singing in both English and Spanish are taking another approach, seeking to establish, in the words of the Cuban-born singer Jon Secada, "dual careers."

HOLA works within the entertainment industry to insure that the Hispanic community has equal access to jobs while also functioning as a safe haven where Hispanic performers, writers and directors can share ideas, concerns and thoughts about the industry.