Ugly Betty patriarch Tony Plana celebrated a birthday yesterday (I wonder if he and America Ferrera, whose birthday is April 18th,  have a mutual celebration each year?).

Plana was born in Havana, Cuba in 1953.  In 1963, his family moved to Miami. He is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University and was trained in acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, UK. He has been married to actress Ada Maris since 1988 and they have two children.

Plana has been an outspoken advocate/spokesperson for Latinos in the entertainment field.

I will say this, and I’m pretty sure that many of you will not agree:  on the show, Plana’s character Ignacio is one of the few whose direction has not only seemed right, but has been fun to watch.  The fast food job, his reaction to his overprotective children, the TV cook-off, the relationship with Elena (she’s been missed lately), even the mostly slapstick role Ignacio played in 3.19, The Sex Issue, have been interesting and funny. 

OK, the heart attack that came and went in the blink of an eye was silly, but still, I think the writers overall have done a great job with Ignacio.

Anyway, happy birthday, er, belated birthday, Tony!

Image: SplashNewsOnline.com

Today is an historic day in the United States. It would be if it were any presidential inauguration (sometimes we overlook how miraculous it is to have a peaceful transfer of power every 4 or 8 years). Of course, history looms extra-large over this inauguration with the swearing in of America’s first African American persident.

I’ve been wondering if any Ugly Betty stars made it down to Washington DC for the festivities, and what do you know? The first one I find is Tony Plana, who attended Sunday’s Voto Latino Inaugural Party.

Remember all the “get out the vote” work Plana did last spring and summer? Those telenovelas were a hoot. Other notables at the gala were Marc Antony, Rosario Dawson, and Wilmer Valderrama.

Anyway, it’s good to see Plana looking all dapper. I think he wears formal very well.

I’m looking out for Ugly Betty stars who might be in Washington (word is Vanessa Williams, the first African American Miss America, made it down with ex-hubby Rick Fox, but I’m working on confirming that and getting some pictures).

Stay tuned…

Just to remind any of you who might be new to UBN, we don’t really do politics here; there are a gazillion other places for those discussions. But I really believe today’s event transcends politics, so let’s keep things at that level.

Besides, it’s much more fun to discuss what everybody’s wearing. That’ll tide us over till this Thursday’s episode of Ugly Betty.

Here are a few photos of Ugly Betty’s Mark Indelicato and Tony Plana on Good Morning America yesterday morning. 

They are quite a hoot (especially one of them).  Did any of you see this?  I’m trying to figure out what was going on.  So far, I haven’t been able to find video at YouTube or even ABC.com.  The caption isn’t really much help, either.

It’s almost as if Indelicato has surprised with something.  The look on Plana’s face is priceless.

If anyone saw this and can fill me in, I’d be forever grateful.

EOnline’s Kristin has a pretty shocking spoiler in her Spoiler Chat column about Ignacio and Betty.

Mel in Temecula, Calif.: How about some Ugly Betty news?
I’m hearing that Betty’s father will suffer a heart attack soon. Fortunately it’s not fatal, but it will prompt Betty to move back home.

Holy cow!  That’s huge.  I’m not sure how I feel about this one yet.

On the one hand, there is a great opportunity for some real drama, which America Ferrera can handle deftly.  Not to mention the fact that Tony Plana would have a major storyline for the first time this season.

But on the other hand, what I don’t like is the idea of Betty moving back home.  Although realistic, doesn’t that defeat the whole purpose of Betty’s storyline the first half of season 3? 

Yet, on the 3rd hand, all the angst Betty will harbor after tasting freedom and adulthood only to have it snatched away again - that’s good stuff.

I guess that if this comes to be, it means that Ugly Betty will be taking a pretty strong dramatic turn.  If so, hopefully Marc and Mandy will have some bigtime comedy scenes to counteract it.

All in all, I think such a move would be a plus for the show.  I trust the writers; they’ve shown me that this year they know what they’re doing.

Image: Newscom

America Ferrera, Tony Plana, and Ana Ortiz have gotten involved in a very direct way in California politics. Here is the video:

I guess now would be a good time for a little UBN policy reminder:  we don’t directly discuss politics here, but if Ugly Betty stars are in the news, we will discuss THAT. 

Here is a primer on Prop 8.

It is interesting that the three now technically spend most of their time in New York City, yet felt compelled to submit this ad in the middle of California politics.  However, Ferrera is a lifetime California resident, so it’s quite logical she’d be involved in “hometown” politics.  Ortiz and Plana have also spent quite a few years in CA until this year.

As a side note, Ferrera was heavily involved in Hillary Clinton’s campaign this past spring, but  for a while now (since Clinton dropped out of the race), she’s been on the sidelines politically.  And although I will not comment on my opinion of her views, you have to admire a young woman so young yet so aware and involved.  I didn’t realize how intelligent and in touch America was until I read Lindsay Lohan’s incoherent political blog post a while back.  (It’s not her beliefs, it’s her total inability to express them in a way people who aren’t professional celebrities can understand). 

OK, I’ll stop now - It’s been hard not to pile on LiLo lately.

But then again, if you’re talking politics with the expressed purpose of NOT taking sides, it’s just best to unload on Lindsay Lohan

Ugly Betty’s Tony Plana and Mark Indelicato recently spoke with ETOnline, and of course, we’ve got the video!

There are no true spoilers in the interview (they talk about Christian Siriano, Nina Garcia, and Eddie Cibrian, who will be guest starring). However, it’s nice to see Indelicato in an interview - he really interviews well for such a young man. And of course, Tony Plana is a classic.

Plana says that Siriano is just the start: next season there will be more designers on the show, and for many of them, a line will debut on Ugly Betty! What a great tie-in with the fashion industry!

As always, I’ll pass along any news when I find out the designers and/or lines that will be featured.

[EDITED] Video placed after the ‘more’ link because the darned thing autoplays and there’s no way to turn it off. But if you haven’t seen it, take a look after the jump, it’s worth it!

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Here’s the final set of photos of the Ugly Betty cast at the Alzheimer’s benefit “A Night at Sardi’s” in Hollywood on Wednesday. Let’s get to the MEN, shall we?

Mark Indelicato looks cool (although he’s so skinny I think David Blue needs to take that boy out for a few cheeseburgers), Tony Plana looks CLASSIC, we’ve already seen that David Blue cleans up pretty good, and chris Gorham is quite hansdsome here.

MAN - I can’t wait till they get back to work. At this event, Ana Ortiz dropped a few juicy nuggets: We’re all so hungry for it and so excited. My character’s going to start dating, and I know the salon is getting built up. And I can’t wait to see that cast of characters.”. Hat tip Anna!

More after the jump!

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Ugly Betty’s Tony Plana (who we hope to see a little more in the coming episodes) will be appearing on Food Network this weekend.  He’ll be the guest on Simply Delicioso with Ingrid Hoffmann this coming Saturday, February 16.  Chek your local listings.

Plana’s character, Betty’s father Ignatio, is a great cook (a man after my own heart), it will be awesome if Plana knows his way around the kitchen in real life.  It would appear he does.  This episode of Simply Delicioso revolves around Hoffmann and Plana preparing dinner for friends who are joining them to watch TV.

Recipes include Black Bean Dip, Fastest-Ever Enchiladas, Avocado and Cilantro Tostaditas with Corn Salsa, Ugly Betty Cupcakes and a minty Beautifying Betty Martini.  Yum!

I wonder which TV show they are sitting down to watch?  You’d hope it would be Ugly Betty, but maybe Tony doesn’t want to bring his work home with him.  A piece of advice: never have a big Mexican dinner while watching CSI.  Don’t ask me how I know.

I am particularly interested in the “fastest-ever Enchiladas”, but regardless, whenever the beautiful and bubbly Hoffmann is on screen, I’m good.

Set your DVRs!

Hat Tip: Rocky Mountain News

Tony Plana, Ugly Betty’s Ignacio, is part of a telenovella being posted at DeclareYourself.com .  It is called La Pasion de la Decision, and it’s all about getting young (I’m assuming Latino) voters to register.

In the first installment, Plana only makes an appearance during the opening credits, so there is obviously more to come.  But, I have to tell you, once I started watching, it had me hooked.  It doesn’t hurt that Rosario Dawson (Sin City) and Wilmer Valderrama (That 70’s Show) star as well.

Check out the first installment

It’s very well done, funny, and made me want to go register!

This past Saturday, a couple paid $50,000 for a walk-on part on Ugly Betty, and lunch with Tony Plana and the cast.  This occurred at the “Drive the Dream Gala”, held in Scottsdale, Arizona.  This event kicks off the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event.

Carole and Bob Machiz bought the walk-on role as part of a fundraising auction, one of many swanky, high-dollar auctions held during the night.  Tony Plana , (Ignacio) and his wife actress Ada Maris (Nurses), were present at the event.  They were joined by Caspar Van Dien and his wife Catherine Oxenberg, along with politicians like U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl and Rep. John Shadegg.

Another item auctioned was a Dream Sports package that included infield tickets and a pool party for a[n Arizona] Diamondbacks game

Franki Valli  and the Four Seasons performed following  the gourmet dinner.  The event raises funds for Childhelp’s Arizona programs for abused children and it’s hotline based in Scottsdale.

Now, why wasn’t I invited to this soiree?  No, I don’t have $50k to bid toward a part on Ugly Betty, but I could’ve been a heck of an auctioneer!

Source: Arizona Republic