You’ve heard of the Best Dressed List, The Hollywood Reporter Top 100 List and the A List , well now there is also “The Dominican List”. It’s an impressive list that includes several of the best known Dominican names: baseball’s Alex Rodriguez, actress Zoe Saldana, Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz, fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, singer/composer Romeo Santos and actor Manny Perez. In addition, another person making history, contributing and setting trends is Isabella Martinez Wall, according to the official list of the 100 most influential Dominicans in the United States for the past 50 years, published by the Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR) and the Nacional Dominican American Council (NDAC) in Washington, DC.
The members of this list were honored this past July 27 in Washington, DC. There was a screening of the documentary highlighting the trajectory of Dominicans in the North-American nation, titled Dominicans in the United States, Celebrating 50 years of Presence and Contribution. A historic congregation of thousands of Dominicans and Latinos in front of the Washington monument followed the presentation the next day.
Isabella Martinez Wall, is an actress, author, producer and philanthropist, born and raised in the Dominican Republic. A naturalized US Citizen residing in Los Angeles and credited as an emerging key figure among the young generation of Latinas in the US, made the list for her contributions in television and radio to promote the Dominican Republic and Latino cultural traditions, like the coming of age celebration of the Quinceañera.
“According to the 2010 US census bureau, the Hispanic population counts with 1,414,703 Dominicans, of which 11,000 are in my state of California, many are in the entertainment and sports industries,” said Isabella Wall at the DANR event in Washington, DC. It’s exciting to see that Dominicans are integrating to the economic power of the Latino influence in so many areas in this great country. Already there is even a specific “Dominican” category for us actors in Hollywood, just like with Mexicans and Cubans. I recently went to an audition for an all-Dominican cast for a Wal-Mart commercial… It doesn’t get any more American than that”.
Wall is considered a media darling and one of the most popular Dominican actors in Hollywood for her roles in the award winning television series, ER, Nip Tuck and Days of Our Lives. Her commercial personality and presence have made her a recognizable Latin face and spokesperson of national campaigns like McDonalds, Burger King, Revlon, Milk, Ford, American Express, Payless shoes and more. Isabella has been compared to Ann Landers and described as a real-life Fairy-godmother, helping to make young girls’ quinceañera dreams become reality by offering ideas to make it affordable and to expose the importance of this celebration in the life of Latino families, through notable media work on NPR, MTV, KTLA, ABC, NBC, FOX, TELEMUNDO, UNIVISION, LA TIMES y TEEN Magazine, as well as with monumental special events at DISNEY and KNOTTS BERRY PARKS.
“The Dominican List” recognizes individuals who get nominated by the public. The inductees are successful in the areas of Politics, Community, Media, Arts, Sports, Literature, Science, Fashion, Finances and Entrepreneurs, among others. The National Dominican American Council (NDAC) is the first Dominican-American forum, with members in 20 states and Puerto Rico. It advocates for the more than 1.4 million Dominicans that reside and contribute to the socio-economic development of the United States of America.
— Bel Hernandez, Publisher
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