Awarding Excellence

Henry Guerra Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Journalism

Launched in 2001, this award is named after San Antonio broadcast pioneer, community leader and local historian, Henry Guerra.

Potential candidates for this award must be from the San Antonio or South Texas area who is distinguished in the field of journalism who has contributed to improving and enlightening the community at large, effected change for the betterment of the Hispanic community, has served as a “bridge of understanding” between all communities and who has always maintained the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.

San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists
2022 Ramón Hernández
2021 Ciro Villarreal
2019 Antonio Guillen KWEX-TV
2018 Elaine Ayala San Antonio Express-News
2017 John W. Gonzalez San Antonio Express-News
2016 Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez University of Texas at Austin
2015 Michael Quintanilla San Antonio Express-News
2014 John Quiñones ABC News
2013 Monica Navarro Univision
2012 Jessie Degollado KSAT-TV
2011 Mexican Journalists Various Media Outlets
2010 Martha Tijerina KWEX-TV
2009 Maria Elena Torralva-Alonso San Antonio Light
2008 Elizabeth Ruiz KTSA 550 AM
2007 Charles Kilpatrick San Antonio Express-News
2006 Lionel Sosa Bromley Communications
2005 Emilio Nicolas Sr. KWEX-TV
2004 Pedro and Cruz Cortez Mi Tierra Café
2003 Veronica Salazar Escobedo Hearst Corp.
2002 Tino Duran La Prensa
2001 Henry Guerra WOAI-TV

Community Service Award

SAAHJ’s Community Service Award is given each year to recognize an exemplary community servant — individual or group — that has made significant contributions to San Antonio or South Texas in a wide range of fields, including the media, education, government, business, arts and culture, politics, science and technology or philanthropy. The individual or group can be actively engaged in such work or be retired from it.

Community Service Award recipients are nominated and voted on by active, dues-paying members of the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists.

San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists
2022 San Antonio Food Bank San Antonio nonprofit that served families tremendously during the coronavirus pandemic
2021 Shea Serrano San Antonio-native and New York Times best-selling author who advocates for more Latinos in the book publishing industry and beyond
2019 Catholic Charities Archdiocese of San Antonio, Inc. Selected for their role in helping reunite Central American migrant parents with their children, who had been separated from them at the U.S.-Mexico border under Trump administration policy.
2018 American Indians of Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions With the Alamo City celebrating its tricentennial in 2018, this group was in the community spotlight.
2017 Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) Headquartered in San Antonio, RAICES is the largest immigration legal services provider in Texas.
2016 Maria Antonietta Berriozábal The first Mexican-American woman elected to the San Antonio City Council
2015 Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) Formed in 1968 and headquartered in San Antonio, MALDEF is a national non-profit civil rights organization that protects the rights of Latinos in the United States
2014 Henry Cisneros Former mayor of San Antonio
2013 Karen Martinez
2012 Father David Garcia
2011 Jesus Rangel
2010 Rosie Castro Political activist and the mother of U.S. Congressman Joaquin Castro and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro
2009 Chicano Walkout Students of 1968
2008 Patricia Diaz Dennis
San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists

Corazón de Oro Award

Launched in 2014, SAAHJ’s Corazón de Oro Award honors an individual whose work and leadership reflects positively on the U.S. Latino experience and/or who explores Latino perspectives.

The Corazón de Oro Award was conceived as an award given to San Antonians (and potentially non-San Antonians) who have made a national impact on the U.S. Latino community philanthropically, politically, culturally, educationally, or socially. The recipient will have made financial or social contributions that have influenced U.S. Latinos broadly and significantly in their fields.

The recipient will have “un corazón de oro,” referring to the Mexican or Spanish-language phrase, literally, someone with a heart of gold.

2022 Flaco Jimenez Musician
2019 Maria Hinojosa Reporter for NPR's Latino USA
2018 Carmen Yulín Cruz Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico
2017 Jim Acosta CNN White House Correspondent
2016 Little Joe Hernandez Tejano Singer
2015 Vikki Carr Pop Singer
2014 Robert Rodriguez Filmmaker