This month, guest host and executive producer Antonio Caro pulls back the curtain with acclaimed set designer Gerardo Díaz Sánchez—the creative mind shaping this year’s Hispanic Heritage Awards stage. From the show’s guiding theme of gold (not of greed, but reciprocity and ancestral respect) to designing a world that works both live and on TV, Gerardo breaks down how he turns stories into spaces, memory into architecture, and heritage into design.

They get into: Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rico–rooted staging and what it signals about home and identity; how queerness and culture shape Gerardo’s voice; the do-or-die realities of designing with tight budgets; and the line between spectacle and intimacy when the set should shine—and when it should disappear so the story can lead.

In this episode:

• The vision behind this year’s Hispanic Heritage Awards set and its “gold” as offering & reciprocity
• Designing for two audiences at once: the room and the national PBS broadcast
• From Guayama, Puerto Rico, to Yale
• Stage Design Process Deep-Dive
• Authenticity on screen

Learn more about Gerardo's work at https://www.gerardodiazsanchez.com/ 

Watch the Episode on YouTube @HispanicHeritage
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Reminder: Watch the 38th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards on PBS – September 26 at 9/8c and stream on PBS.org + the PBS app in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.