A Don Julio toast to Danielle Peters and all those who make magic happen

At the AMVCA’s Nollywood’s biggest night, Daniella Peters delivered a message that the room needed to hear.

There is a particular kind of bravery in speaking your truth. Danielle Peters didn’t wait for the winners to be announced, or for the standing ovations, or for the room to be filled with a generous energy.

At the 12th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCAs), held on the 9th of May at the Eko Convention Centre in Lagos, Daniella Peters took the stage at the start of the ceremony and shared a piece titled Por Amor; “For Love”. This was written and performed as a tribute to the people who built African cinema with their own hands, resources and unrewarded devotion. The directors, the editors, the storytellers who write despite their doubts and direct all their fears into film frames that capture our culture.

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Honouring the legacy, labour and love behind Nollywood

In her speech, Danielle Peters reached for a Yoruba proverb from her childhood: Ọmọ tó bá mọ́ ọwọ́ wẹ, á bá àgbà jẹun, which means those who honour the craft will dine with greatness. In one line, she celebrated the reason for the black-tie ceremony and the work ethic, dedication and drive behind the industry.

The performance, commissioned in partnership with Don Julio Tequila, was anchored in a shared philosophy, devotion to craft, patience in process and respect for the long road behind excellence. A brand built on time and intention found in Daniella, a voice that understood messaging and lived experience.

The script she delivered was unflinching in its tenderness. “This is for the ones who stayed when the ‘no’s echoed louder than any applause”. The piece was commissioned in partnership with Don Julio Tequila, whose presence at the AMVCA was built around a single idea: showing up for the culture, not just for the occasion. In Daniella, they found the right messenger. 

A brand that prides itself on patience and craft, “born of patience, refined by time”, as she put it, needed a voice that understood what those words actually meant. Peters understood. She has lived them. She closed with a raised glass and three words she had already earned the right to say. “We see you”. Then: “Por amor. For love”.

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