Posted by Elena del Valle on June 30, 2006
Jimmy Smits prepares for his first childhood visit to la Isla, circa 1963
Photos: courtesy of Jimmy Smits and WLIW New York
WLIW will distribute “The Puerto Ricans: Our American Story,” a program about Puerto Rico originally produced in 1999, a second time nationwide in August 2006. Entertainer Rita Moreno, late musician Tito Puente, actors Ricardo Montalban, Jimmy Smits and Miriam Colón, singers Justino Díaz and Ednita Nazario, author Esmeralda Santiago, tennis player Gigi Fernández, and former Governor Pedro J. Rosselló share their personal stories.
Filmed in the continental United States and on the island of Puerto Rico, the program explores the customs and traditions that have bonded Puerto Rican families for generations.
The show’s producers set out to illustrate how Puerto Rico’s customs, traditions, music, and dances define the identity of a growing American community. According to them, these cultural connections are so powerful for Puerto Rican families they exist even for those living on the mainland who have never been to the island. They say that for those who have been to Puerto Rico there is an inextricable bond to the island.
The spectrum of Puerto Rican music and dance includes plena, whose rhythms and traditional costume reflect the island’s African influence, Hispanic Day Parade, New York City, October 1998
Jimmy Smits describes the preparations for his first childhood visit at age five as if it were a religious ceremony; with starched white shirt, vest, suit and tie. According to author Esmeralda Santiago (When I Was Puerto Rican), being Puerto Rican American is “like a child jumping double Dutch… two ropes [Puerto Rican and American identity] going in opposite directions very quickly… it is a constant juggling, a constant jumping up and down trying to be in one place or another.”
This duality put tennis player Gigi Fernandez at a crossroads as she prepared for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and had to choose between representing the mainland or the island. Fernandez talks in the program about her personal struggle with the two worlds of Puerto Rican life as “a hard emotional decision but a very easy career decision” because she knew the only way she would win was on the U.S. team. Representing the United States that summer, Fernandez became the first Puerto Rican woman to win an Olympic gold medal.
“The Puerto Ricans: Our American Story” was produced by WLIW New York. They have produced other public television specials celebrating the diversity and ethnic character in America such as “A Laugh, a Tear, a Mitzvah” (Jewish Americans); “The Cuban Americans;” “The Polish Americans” and “The Mexican Americans.” The production team included Ron Rudaitis, director; Roy Hammond, executive producer; Ron Rudaitis and Sam Toperoff, producers; Yvonne Rodriguez Sanchez and Robin Llompart, associate producers; and Sam Toperoff, writer.
Posted by Elena del Valle on June 28, 2006
Alejandro Cosentino, CEO, Voy Music
Photos: Voy Music, Starmedia.com
Miami, Florida – StarMedia and Voy Music recently launched StarMedia Radios, a joint online digital Latin music service powered by Voy. According to promotional materials, StarMedia Radios provides “the broadest selection of Latin music available online,” a network of 26 originally programmed radio stations, a music store, the world’s first Latin music virtual record label as well as podcasting, and news.
StarMedia Radios’ new media player offers streaming music and news that is “fully integrated” with other services including viral networking features allowing users to rate, recommend and share specific selections with friends.
“The launch of StarMedia Radios will provide StarMedia’s customers with a leading-edge digital entertainment platform to discover, explore and enjoy all facets of the Latin music experience,” said Alejandro Cosentino, CEO, Voy Music. “The service is intuitive and comprehensive, allowing Latin music fans to fully search, select, consume and share all things relevant to their passion for Latin music and the best of Latin culture.”
Juan Jose Nuñez, vice president, Operations, Starmedia
“StarMedia has continually sought to strengthen its brand by developing the variety and relevance of its content. The new StarMedia Radios service will significantly enhance our user’s online experience, through an innovative, cutting-edge digital music service, the latest in a series of recent upgrades to the portal,” said Juan José Nuñez, vice president of operations, StarMedia.
Starmedia.com is a free-to-web service connecting approximately 18 million Spanish-speakers through the Internet. Voy Music executives describe their company as a next generation platform dedicated to the discovery, promotion and marketing of Latin music. StarMedia has local operations in Mexico, Spain and the United States (Los Angeles, Miami and New York). It is wholly owned by Wanadoo, a subsidiary of the France Telecom Group and one of Europe’s largest online companies.
Posted by Elena del Valle on June 19, 2006
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“Conector” album cover
Singer Hector Buitrago, best known as co-founder of the Colombian Latin alternative band Aterciopelados, is going solo. His inaugural album, “Conector,” is due out in the U.S. in June 2006. “Conector” features guest vocals from platinum-selling artists Julieta Venegas, Alex Ubago and Aterciopelados frontwoman Andrea Echeverri
The title, “Conector,” translates with a double-meaning of “with Hector” and also “Connector.” Buitrago is following in the footsteps of Aterciopelados frontwoman Andrea Echeverri, whose twice Grammy-nominated debut solo album was released last year (and produced by Buitrago).
Other contributors to “Conector” are Colombian musicians Ever Suarez, Martina Camargo, and Noel Petro. The album is described by promoters as “a musical and spiritual journey with Hector Buitrago forming connections between different cultures, ways of thought and life through music.” It is said to combine elements of contemporary rock and electronica with traditional Colombian and global rhythms as well as thoughtful and spiritual lyrics. The first single is “Altísimo” featuring the unlikely vocal pairing of Spanish pop artist Alex Ubago and Aterciopelados frontwoman Andrea Echeverri.
The Aterciopelados became known as singers of the hit “Gozo Poderoso” which landed the band on the Top 10 of the Billboard Top Latin albums sales chart as well as a coveted appearance on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
Buitrago is also working with Aterciopelados to finish the band’s next album, slated for release this fall on Nacional Records. Aterciopelados is scheduled to make a debut appearance at the Hollywood Bowl this summer with a July 8th co-headlining date along with Bebe, Reyli, and Mexican Institute of Sound (MIS).
To listen to Hector Buitrago “Altisimo” song from the recently released “Conector” album scroll down on HispanicMPR.com until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “Hector Buitrago Altisimo” by clicking on the title or on the play button. You can also download it to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the June 2006 section of the podcast.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on June 13, 2006
Singer and songwriter Diana Mera
Photo: SGM Records
An instrumental version of Diana Mera’s song “Bésame” from the “Dianamera” album will be the theme music for future HispanicMPR.com audio recordings. SGM Records and Diana Mera, the singer and song writer of the song, provided HispanicMPR.com the music and permission to feature it in upcoming recordings. The first podcast to feature the new music was an interview on June 12 with Martin Castro, president and CEO, Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF).
Diana Mera wrote “Bésame” during the summer of 2002 in Phoenix, Arizona, where she found inspiration to write the songs of her first album. The full length of the song with lyrics, which is available at iTunes, is about four minutes (3:54). The “Bésame” music video has aired on MTV/VHUNO, Televisa, Ritmoson Latino, and Univision.
“Bésame means a lot to me and it feels amazing that it is taking me to do and be part of great projects like being the theme song of the Podcast of HispanicMpr.com,” said Diana Mera.
Mera, born in Quito, Ecuador was raised in Lima, Peru. She has lived in México, Venezuela, Switzerland and the U.S. where she now resides. Mera, who always wanted to sing, started her career on television shows such as “Despierta América” on Univisión and “De Mañanita” on Telemundo.
SGM Records, a record label and production company, conducts digital video production specializing in music videos, TV commercials and public service announcements. It manages and promotes Mera’s career. SGM Records is a young enterprise owned and operated by Hispanic women committed to excel “in all areas of the business by working with the most competitive and dynamic professionals in each field.”
To read past HispanicMPR.com articles on Mera, go to Diana Mera. For additional information Mera’s music online, visit DianaMera.com
Posted by Elena del Valle on June 9, 2006
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Hummersqueal: left to right Normand, Christian, Poncho and Salvatore
Los Angeles, California — SourPop Records, a leading Latin alternative independent label, recently welcomed a new addition to its musical family, the band Hummersqueal from Mexico City. With a career that spans more than six years, Hummersqueal is dubbed by promoters as an outstanding indie rock band in Mexico.
According to promoters, the band has received consistent radio play at “Reactor,” a popular pop/rock station in Mexico City, recurrent video play and sales of more than 5,000 units in their native country.
“Di:Helo,” the band’s self-produced debut album in the United States, was recorded in Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico. Mastered by Don Tyler (Beck, Devo, Nirvana, Jimmy Eat World, Julieta Venegas, Jumbo) at Precision Mastering in Beverly Hills, California, it was set for release stateside this month.
Hummersqueal has toured in major the Mexican markets of Mexico City, Toluca, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, and Veracruz. In Mexico, the band has shared the stage and rocked alongside Audioslave, Tristeza, The Misfits, Jumbo, Genitallica, and Amigos Invisibles.
Hummersqueal band members, natives of Mexico City, are: Salvatore Vitale, (guitar) Alfonso Contreras, (drums/vocal) Normand Olea (bass) and Christian Guijosa (guitar/vocals). The band’s collective mission is to play “good/intelligent rock-and-roll about life experiences in the big city, growing up and love, for the new generations regardless of language.”
The band took the unusual name from an equally unlikely source a 1970’s Czech film in which the main protagonist (an autistic child) sports that very word embroidered on his jacket. Hummersqueal is scheduled to perform in the United States (West Coast) during the summer of 2006.
Since 2000, SourPop Records has been a pioneering Latin Alternative label in the United States, uniting bands “that celebrate the spirit of independent music” from the U.S.A., Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Colombia and Japan. SourPop Records’ is distributed in the United States and Puerto Rico by DLN.
To listen to Hummersqueals “Buick A Monterrey” song from the recently released “Di:Helo” album scroll down on HispanicMPR.com until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “Hummersqueals Buick A Monterrey ” by clicking on the title or on the play button. You can also download it to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the June 2006 section of the podcast.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on June 2, 2006
Actors Wanda de Jesus and Rick Gonzalez
New York, New York – New Deal Entertainment announced recently that principal photography will begin for the film “Illegal Tender,” written and directed by Franc Reyes (Empire) and the latest production by Oscar-nominated John Singleton. The expected release for the movie, starring Rick Gonzalez and Wanda de Jesus, is Spring 2007.
The film tells the story of Latino college student Wilson Jr. (Rick Gonzalez) and his courageous mother Millie De Leon (Wanda de Jesus) fleeing from the thugs that killed his father (Manny Perez). After years of uncertainty about the true meaning behind their life on the run, Wilson Jr. and his love, Ana, (Dania Ramirez) find themselves in life-threatening danger. Wilson Jr. must return to Puerto Rico to unveil the dark secrets from his family’s past.
Franc Reyes, writer and director, “Illegal Tender”
“It’s a thrill having John Singleton produce this film for me. We talked for a couple of years about working together which happens all the time in this business without it meaning much. But John is a man of his word,” said Franc Reyes. “More importantly, he understood my desire not to just make movies for Latinos but to make movies with Latinos, to tell stories about Latinos in this country. Latin American films are finally having their day, but truly commercial American Latino films have been few and far between. I think that’s changing now. I feel fortunate to be a part of it.”
“It’s exciting to begin the production of ‘Illegal Tender’ with talented writer and director Franc Reyes. We have both been anticipating this for several years and it’s thrilling to see it come to fruition,” John Singleton. “Even though Latinos drive the national box office every weekend, up to 18 percent of the market by some estimates, no studio is actively making cool commercial films for this huge audience. We have a great director telling a great story with a hot cast, plus plenty of cars, romance, adventure, action and music. I promise you: ‘Illegal Tender’ will bring the hotness, a full entertainment experience that Latinos and all young people will love.”
Production was scheduled to begin in late May 2006 in New York City and continue through June 2006 in Puerto Rico. John Singleton, producer of “Shaft” and “Hustle & Flow,” and Franc Reyes, writer and director of “Empire,” plan to bring to the screen “an exciting and action-packed story of a mother and her son.”
Posted by Elena del Valle on May 25, 2006
Jose Rivera Font, general manager, Yahoo! North Latin America
Photo: Yahoo!
Barely weeks after making news with its World Cup fan sites, Yahoo! has yet another business venture geared towards the Spanish language Hispanic community. This time they united with Telemundo and NBC Universal Television Group to create Yahoo! Telemundo.
Yahoo! en español internet services and Telemundo content will be combined to make one website to take the place of the original Yahoo! en español and Telemundo websites.
“This is a game-changing deal that will reshape the U.S. Hispanic Internet business as we know it, in terms of user engagement, customer value and monetization,” said Jose Rivera Font, general manager, Yahoo! North Latin America. “Yahoo! Telemundo will provide the kind of cross-media interaction that will deliver an integrated and immersive media experience for both users and advertisers.”
Although the staff and advertising profits will be merged there will be no equity investment from one company to the other. Even though the process will take months, the site is already up and running. Visitors to the Yahoo! and Telemundo sites are redirected to the new site.
Yahoo! staples will be available including Mail, Messenger and Search and the new site has the original Yahoo! layout. In addition, Telemundo will furnish content ranging from sports to music.
Randy Falco, chief operating officer, NBC Universal Television Group, stated, “Our partnership with Yahoo! is a win-win deal for both sides that will drive more hits to the site and ultimately expand our capabilities.”
The companies will produce new advertising technologies which they hope will lead to exclusive media campaigns targeting Spanish speaking Hispanics across the country. According to them, this merger marks the first time a national Spanish language television network partners with an established Spanish language online service. For more information online, visit Yahoo!Telemundo.com — Melissa Gonzalez
Posted by Elena del Valle on May 19, 2006
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Los Bunkers “Vida de Perros” album cover
Chilean rockers Los Bunkers recently had their U.S. debut on Nacional Records. After a steady rise to fame in Chile and three albums under their belts, Los Bunkers bring their Brit-pop infused rock to U.S. shores. “Vida de Perros” (“A Dog’s Life”), they feel, is sure to please fans of The Kinks, Franz Ferdinand, and The Strokes.
According to their promoters, the album was received with open arms by Chilean audiences in the tens of thousands during the “Gira de Perros” tour, and the album’s heavy radio play in Mexico of the first single “Llueve Sobre La Ciudad” created a hit single there.
Comprised of two sets of brothers and another friend, Los Bunkers is Gonzalo Lopez (bass), Mauricio Duran (guitar and vocals), Alvaro Lopez (vocals and acoustic guitar), Mauricio Basualto (drums) and Francisco Duran (guitars, keyboards, harmonica and vocals). Los Bunkers, formed in 1999 in Concepcion, Chile, was influenced by The Beatles, Sloan, and Supergrass. They eventually migrated to Santiago, Chile and released three albums, “Los Bunkers” (2001), “Canción de Lejos” (2002) and “La Culpa” (2003) before signing with Nacional Records for their first U.S. release “Vida de Perros.”
To listen to “Llueve Sobre La Ciudad” by Los Bunkers from the “Vida de Perros” soundtrack, scroll down on HispanicMPR.com until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “Llueve Sobre La Ciudad,” hit the play button or download it to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the May 2006 section of the podcast.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on May 17, 2006
The Pinker Tones and Belanova will perform at 2006 LAMC
Photos: LAMC
The 7th annual Latin Alternative Music Conference, LAMC, will continue its tradition of gearing people towards the marketing of Spanish-language alternative music and will once again be held in New York August 2-5, 2006. There is an early bird registration rate of $199 for those who those who register no later than June 1. Registration after that date is $249 and the price moves up to $299 a month before the event.
The event will feature free concerts in Central Park Summerstage, celebrate Brooklyn Festival at Prospect Park Bandshell and Museo del Barrio as well as daytime performances by independent artists in Manhattan’s Puck Building in SoHo. This year’s conference will expose Latin music trends such as reggaeton, rock, pop, electronica and hip-hop merged with local traditions.
“We take pride in being ahead of the curve in exposing people to the latest trends in Latin music,” said Josh Norek, LAMC co-founder and organizer. “We’ve grown every year since we put on this event. It’s a lot of work, and the industry recognizes LAMC is a leading forum to hear music.”
Josh Norek, LAMC co-founder and organizer
The conference will provide networking opportunities for leading artists, label executives, journalists, marketers, managers, retailers and programmers. Independent artists Chetes, The Pinker Tones, Motel, La Monareta, Superaquello, and Spigka have been invited to perform. In addition to the music, industry panelists will also be on hand and to discuss dealing with digital media, Spanish and English concerning American Latinos, revenue streams artists should know about, and artists crossing over, which Jose Tillan, president of MTV Latin America and MTV Tres, will cover.
Tomas Cookman, LAMC co-founder
Norek and Tomas Cookman founded LAMC in 2000. According to them, the event has averaged more than 20,000 concert fans and 1,000 music industry attendees. Past performers include Jorge Moreno, Si Se, Cielo Ceniza, and Los Abandoned. Past panelists include Stella Mars, marketing manager for DMX Inflight, and David Chitel, chairman and CEO for LatCom Communications. For additional information online, visit LatinAlternative.com. — Sergio Carmona
Posted by Elena del Valle on May 8, 2006
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Dianamera album cover
“Dianamera” the album from Ecuadorian singer Diana Mera is available on iTunes, Apple’s online music store store that recently sold its billionth song. Described as “a strong and unique exponent of the Latin Pop genre,” Mera is a composer (BMI) and an actor; she was part of The Vagina Monologues play. She is recording her second music album with producer Gustavo Borner, a two time-Grammy winner, composer Dany Tomas and song writer Claudia Brant.
Mera was born in Quito, Ecuador and was raised in Lima, Peru. She has lived in México, Venezuela, Switzerland and the U.S. were she now resides. Mera, who always wanted to sing, started her career on television shows such as “Despierta América” on Univisión and “De Mañanita” on Telemundo.
ITunes has software that allows users to house or access a music library, Internet Radio, music store, video playing and buying and the popular Podcast format. Mera’s music becomes part of itunes thanks to Iris Distribution who extended a contract to SGM Records that enables distribution of her music worldwide.
To listen to “Besame” by Diana Mera from the “dianamera” soundtrack, scroll down on HispanicMPR.com until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “Besame,” hit the play button or download it to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the May 2006 section of the podcast.
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