Bronx Museum gives Visionaries Award to Desus and Mero

The Bronx Museum of the Arts honored Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, co-hosts of a late-night show on Showtime, with its Visionaries Award, which was presented by the Borough’s President, Ruben Diaz Jr. Behind their stage names, Desus is Daniel Baker and Mero is Joel Martinez. The duo received their award at the Museum’s fundraiser and shared the award stage with two other honorees, Kathleen Chalfant and photographer/documentary filmmaker Henry Chalfant.

Baker took a third-grade field trip to the Bronx Museum, which opened him to the world of the arts in a positive way at such a young age. He remembers thinking that he didn’t even know that the Bronx had museums, places that he thought were found in other places. When thanking the Museum for his award, Variety reports that Mero said it means more to him “than any Emmy or Oscar. When you get recognized by your home borough — your people — that means more than anything.”

At the time when Daniel Baker’s parents immigrated from Jamaica to the Bronx in 1970s, little did they know that their son would end up as co-host of a late-night show on Showtime and that he’d be honored with such a prestigious award.