The Latin Recording Academy(R) Announces Official Sponsors for the 9th Annual Latin GRAMMY(R) Awards

The Latin Recording Academy(R) Announces Official Sponsors for the 9th Annual Latin GRAMMY(R) Awards

MIAMI, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Latin Recording Academy(R) announced today it has partnered with leading organizations in a variety of industries for sponsorship as well as promotional partnerships to help spotlight the 9th Annual Latin GRAMMY(R) Awards and its surrounding events. Latin music's hottest night will be held at the Toyota Center in Houston on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008. This will mark the first time the city of Houston will host the Latin GRAMMYs, which will be broadcast live on the Univision Network from 8 - 11 p.m. ET/PT (7 - 10 p.m. CT).

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080819/LATU001LOGO )

Major corporate sponsors include Heineken, Verizon, McDonald's, Eclipse Gum, Hennessy, the Houston Chronicle, Reliant Energy, Univision Radio, and Univision Online. These sponsors will help support programs surrounding the biggest night in Latin music, including the festive Latin GRAMMY Street Parties, the prestigious 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year tribute honoring Gloria Estefan, and the official Latin GRAMMY After Party, which will be presented by Heineken.

"The Latin Recording Academy is thrilled to welcome its strong supporters and partners as they join us in celebrating excellence in the Latin recording arts," said Latin Recording Academy President Gabriel Abaroa. "We are proud to be aligned with such a stellar roster of partner brands and look forward to making this Latin GRAMMY season another huge success."

Heineken has partnered with The Latin Recording Academy since the telecast's inception, and for the ninth consecutive year will serve as the official beer and malt beverage sponsor of the Latin GRAMMY Awards. Heineken will sponsor the "green carpet" arrivals at the telecast, the 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year tribute to Gloria Estefan, and will serve as presenting sponsor of the Latin GRAMMY After Party. Additionally, the Heineken Green Ribbon Initiative will support Latin music again this year and will benefit local Houston organizations such as National Association of Latino Arts and Culture and Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts. Latin GRAMMY nominee Banda El Recodo will serve as the Heineken Green Ribbon Initiative's ambassador.

Verizon has returned for the third consecutive year as the official telecommunications partner of the Latin GRAMMYs. In addition to offering exclusive VCAST artist interviews, for the first time Verizon Wireless customers will have access to streaming video live from the green carpet and backstage. Verizon sponsored the 2008 Latin GRAMMY Street Parties in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and New York, giving music fans the opportunity to meet headlining performers, customize their wireless phones with Latin GRAMMY artists' music and get their own moment in the spotlight at Verizon's photo experience station.

McDonald's will bring alive its Latin GRAMMY sponsorship through its Latin GRAMMY Sweepstakes. By uploading their "If I Won An Award" acceptance speech to www.meencanta.com, consumers will have an opportunity to win tickets to the 9th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards. McDonald's will also highlight the Fiesta Tour McDonald's Music Experience, a traveling music exhibit showcasing memorabilia from a variety of Latino artists, at the official 2008 Latin GRAMMY After Party. The 50-plus-foot exhibit includes a walk-through display of unique artifacts and memorabilia loaned by Latin musicians and is organized by decades, from the 1940s to the present. The exhibit also provided a great addition to each of the Latin GRAMMY Street Parties.

In its second year as the official gum sponsor of the Latin GRAMMYs, Eclipse sugar-free gum will provide serious fresh-breath solutions for all attendees of the Latin GRAMMYs.

The Houston Chronicle has come on board as the official newspaper of the 9th Latin GRAMMY Awards, offering local residents up-to-the-minute news on everything Latin GRAMMY-related and helping to bring the excitement of the hottest night in Latin music to the great city of Houston.

A first-time sponsor, Hennessy will bring a new flavor to the 9th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards. Hennessy will be offering attendees of the telecast, the Person of the Year tribute honoring Gloria Estefan, and the official After Party a selection of signature cocktails. They will also bring the energy of the Latin GRAMMY Awards to local Houston hotel lobby bars and establishments.

Through its partnership with The Latin Recording Academy, local Houston sponsor Reliant Energy is offering consumers the opportunity to attend the 9th Latin GRAMMY Awards as well as the chance to win many other prizes from local Houston companies by entering its sweepstakes at www.reliantpowerzone.com.

Along with the live telecast, Univision Radio will broadcast Latin GRAMMY programming, promotions, news and events throughout the United States including exclusive interviews from rehearsals backstage at the Latin GRAMMYs. Univision Online (Univision.com, Uniclave: Latin GRAMMY) is once again the official Spanish-language Web site for the 9th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards. Fans will have all-access coverage online before, during and after the show. Nominee interviews, photos and behind-the-scenes video will be exclusively featured on the site. In addition, Univision.com's social networking service will allow fans to directly interact with the nominees and performers through group pages, live video chats and dedicated forums.

For more information on all of The Latin Recording Academy's sponsors please log on to: www.heineken.com, www.verizon.com, www.mcdonalds.com, www.hennessy.com, www.wrigley.com, www.houstonchronicle.com, www.reliant.com, and www.univision.com.

About The Latin Recording Academy

The Latin Recording Academy is an international, membership-based organization comprised of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking recording artists, musicians, songwriters, producers and other creative and technical recording professionals. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for Latin music and its makers. In addition to producing the Latin GRAMMY Awards to honor excellence in the recorded arts and sciences, The Latin Recording Academy provides educational and outreach programs for the Latin music community. For more information about The Latin Recording Academy, please visit www.grammy.com.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080819/LATU001LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: The Latin Recording Academy

CONTACT: Lourdes Lopez, The Recording Academy, +1-310-392-3777,
LourdesL@grammy.com

Web site: http://www.grammy.com/
http://www.heineken.com/
http://www.verizon.com/
http://www.mcdonalds.com/
http://www.hennessy.com/
http://www.wrigley.com/
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/
http://www.reliant.com/
http://www.univision.com/
http://www.meencanta.com/
http://www.reliantpowerzone.com/

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