Chayanne Crowned Artist of the Year

Son by Four, Mana and Chayanne Among Winners At Ritmo Latino Music Awards El Premio De La Gente 

Telemundo Network to Televise Second Popularly Voted Latin Awards Show 

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Hot Latin stars and sizzling live music performances were in evidence at the Ritmo Latino Music Awards El Premio de la Gente last night at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles, California. Now in its second year, the award show is a testament to the growing popularity of Latino music in the United States, where music fans determined the outcome and celebrated their colorful Latino heritage. The Telemundo Network will televise the event as a two-hour special on October 29th at 9:00PM (ET\PT). 

(Photo: <http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990913/HSM027> ) 

Gloria Calzada of Telemundo's new morning program ESTA MANANA and Roberto Angelelli of Telemundo's AY CARAMBA! co-hosted the gala event which headlined performances from top stars in Latin music, including Jaci Velasquez, Paulina Rubio, Chayanne, Pedro Fernandez, Bertin Osborne, Charlie Zaa, Son by Four and Jaguares.  The biggest surprise of the night came with the unannounced special performance by legendary Marco Antonio Solis, who took the stage at the end of the evening. 

One of the more moving moments of the evening was the tribute to music recording artist Joan Sebastian with the "Tributo Nacional Lifetime Achievement Award." A successful composer and recording artist, Sebastian has written and collaborated with the biggest names and voices in Latin music, having composed numerous types of music ranging from Latin pop, ballads, norteno and ranchera, with many countless hits. The award is based on an artist's overall body of work and their contributions to Latin music and culture. 

Sponsored by VONS, a Safeway company, La Opinion and Viva 107, the nominees were selected on the basis of SoundScan, Inc.'s report on record sales from July 1999 to June 2000. The winners were selected by the public, who were invited to vote for their favorite artists between August 9, 2000 and September 12, 2000 by visiting VONS and Ritmo Latino Record Stores located throughout the U.S. 

To underscore the importance of "the people's" involvement in the awards, the public was invited to announce the awards in l4 categories, including Pop, Rock, Salsa, Merengue, Ranchero, Regional and Tejano. 

Winners were as follows: 

FEMALE POP ARTIST OR GROUP -- Ana Gabriel / "Soy como soy" 

MALE POP ARTIST OR GROUP -- Mana / MTV Unplugged 

RANCHERO ARTIST OR GROUP (Male or Female) -- Pepe Aguilar / "Por una mujer 

bonita" 

TEJANO ARTIST OR GROUP (Male or Female) -- Intocable / "Contigo" 

ARTIST OR GROUP REGIONAL MEXICAN (Male or Female) -- Los Tigres del Norte 

"Herencia de familia" 

SALSA ARTIST (Male or Female) -- Carlos Vives / "El amor de mi tierra" 

MERENGUE ARTIST (Male or Female) -- Elvis Crespo / "Pintame" 

ROCK EN ESPANOL, Artist or Group -- Jaguares / "Bajo el azul de tu misterio" 

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR -- Son By Four 

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR -- Chayanne / "Atado a tu amor" / Directed by 

Rocky Schenck 

COMPOSER OF THE YEAR -- Omar Alfanno / "A puro dolor" / Son By Four 

SONG OF THE YEAR (Male or Female) -- "A puro dolor" / Son By Four 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR -- MTV Unplugged / Mana / Producers: Fher Olvera & Alex 

Gonzalez 

ARTIST OF THE YEAR (Male or Female) -- Chayanne 

Uno Productions and Telemundo Network produced the Ritmo Latino Music Awards El Premio de la Gente. Founded by Luis Medina, Uno Productions has been a leader in the field of marketing to the Latin community for more than 15 years. Uno's clients include some of America's largest corporations, including the Miller Brewing Co., Target, Mervyn's, Clairol, and virtually every major record label in the U.S. 

Telemundo, the fastest growing US Spanish-language television network, reaches 85% of Hispanic viewers. Telemundo Network Group LLC is owned equally by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media. 

SOURCE Telemundo 

Thanks to Barbara!  Gracias a Barbara!