El Premio de la Gente-Ritmo Latino Music Awards 2002

Business Wire, Oct 26, 2002

Entertainment Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 2002

El Premio de la Gente - Ritmo Latino Music Awards:

-- Paulina Rubio, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Jerry Rivera, Jennifer Pena and Pilar Montenegro headline awards show celebrating the best in Latin music.

-- Los Sonideros make their grand debut at El Premio de la Gente.

-- Tribute paid to the legendary Tigres del Norte, as well as internationally known Christian artist Marcos Witt.

On Friday, October 25, 2002, Hollywood's majestic Kodak Theatre was the stage for the fourth annual El Premio de la Gente - Ritmo Latino Music Awards. The awards show featured the biggest names in Latin music. The hottest stars walked the red carpet at the Kodak Theatre, on the legendary Hollywood Boulevard. The event will be broadcast on the Telemundo Network on Sunday, December 8th, at 9 p.m.

El Premio de la Gente - Ritmo Latino Music Awards brought together major Latin music celebrities, revealed winners in 14 categories -- including a first time award in the Christian Music genre -- and contained two very special acknowledgements, the "Estrellas de la Gente" award, presented to an artist of significant importance to the public, and the "El Tributo de la Gente" award, honoring an artist's contribution to the development of Latin music.

Famed Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte was honored with the "Estrellas de la Gente" award. The "El Tributo de la Gente" award was presented to Christian artist Marcos Witt.

Mexico's "Golden Girl," Paulina Rubio, entertained the audience with her performance of "Todo mi amor," a song from her successful Border Girl album.

Pilar Montenegro, a three-time Ritmo Latino Music Awards nominee, was featured in two musical numbers, including a surprising rendition of her smash hit "Quitame ese hombre."

Cuban diva Albita delighted the audience with a musical tribute to Hispanic Hollywood legend Desi Arnaz.

Los Tucanes de Tijuana and Jerry Rivera combined their talents in an unprecedented performance.

New Tejano and Pop sensation Jennifer Pena performed "El dolor de tu presencia," her top-charting hit.

The fast-growing urban DJ movement known as "sonideros" will be seen for the first time on U.S. television combining Sonideros La Conga, Fascinacion and Amistad Caracas. Other artists present were Mexican ranchera diva Alicia Villareal, Colombian idol Charlie Zaa, Chile's top rock band La Ley and Los Angeles' Mariachi Sol de Mexico.

El Premio de la Gente - Ritmo Latino Music Awards is the only awards show of its kind that allows the public to vote for their favorite Latin music stars. This year music fans were able to vote through the Internet page www.premiosritmo.com and in over 2,300 Vons, Albertsons, Sedano's, Bravo, C-Town, Jewel, Acme, Ritmo Latino stores as well as in other retail participants throughout the nation.

The El Premio de la Gente - Ritmo Latino Music Awards evening was hosted by Roberto Angelelli and Candela Ferro, two of Telemundo's hottest personalities, along with the Leading Lady of Argentinean Television, Susana Gimenez. The winners were announced in seven cities: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco and Phoenix.

The selection of the nominated artists was based on the sales of albums between November 1, 2001 and May 31, 2002 at Ritmo Latino stores in the United States. El Premio de la Gente - Ritmo Latino Music Awards is a production of UNO Productions, Executive Produced by Luis Medina and co-Executive Produced by Harry Abraham Castillo, with the support of firms across the nation such as Vons, Albertsons, Krasdale, Sedano's, Nestle, Radio Unica, Viva 107.1 FM, Telemundo Networks, Terra Lycos, La Opinion, TV y Novelas, Furia Musical, Southwest Airlines, Galpin Ford and People en Espanol.

                         OFFICIAL WINNERS 2002

Female Pop Artist or Group of the Year      ALEJANDRA GUZMAN

Male Pop Artist or Group of the Year        ALEJANDRO SANZ

Ranchero or Corridos Artist or Group        ALICIA VILLARREAL
 of the Year - Male or Female

Tejano or Norteno Artist or Group           LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE
 of the Year - Male or Female

Regional Mexican Artist or Group            JOAN SEBASTIAN
 of the Year - Male or Female

Tropical Artist or Group                    OLGA TAOON
 of the Year - Male or Female

Christian Artist or Group                   RABITO
 of the Year - Male or Female

Rock en Espanol Artist or Group             ALEJANDRA GUZMAN
 of the Year - Male or Female

New Artist of the Year - Male or Female     PILAR MONTENEGRO

Music Video of the Year                     "SUERTE" - SHAKIRA

Composer of the Year - Male or Female       "EL PRIMER TONTO"
                                             - JOAN SEBASTIAN

Song of the Year - Male or Female           "APRENDIZ"
                                            - ALEJANDRO SANZ

Album of the Year                           "Mis Romances"
                                            - LUIS MIGUEL

Artist of the Year - Male or Female         LA LEY