The red carpet is supposed to be like a one-way street with all eyes pointed in the same direction toward the stars. Yet, a couple days before the Golden Globes, it was a photographer who seemed worthy of our focus.
At just 8-years-old, Juanita Hernandez was getting lessons so she could take pictures at the big show. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for a girl who was diagnosed with cancer when she was just 5.
"It’s really painful. You, as a parent, don’t want to hear from a doctor saying your kid's got cancer,” Juanita’s mother, Amanda Ardila, said of her daughter’s diagnosis.
Juanita had to endure surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. What made things easier was a program that taught her photography.
"I used to think I would be, nobody would want to play with me because I had cancer, but then this program changed me and it changed my mind," Juanita told NBC News.
The program is called Pablove Shutterbugs, named after Pablo Thrailkill Castelaz, who died of cancer at 6 years old. Through photography classes, the organization says young patients can express what they’re going through.
It certainly helped Juanita. With her cancer now in remission, she made her way to the Golden Globes Sunday night and made a statement of her own on the red carpet.
And not did she take pictures of Hollywood’s biggest stars — but with them. Juanita posed with the likes of Amy Adams, Goldie Hawn, and Kerry Washington at Hollywood’s big event.