News (Noticias) Tagged ‘brooklyn’

ImpreMedia, the No. 1 Hispanic news and information company in the United States in online and print, is using IP technology from Avaya Inc. to improve contact center and customer service operations at its offices in Los Angeles, where it publishes La Opinión; in New York City, where it publishes El Diario La Prensa; and in Chicago, where it publishes La Raza. Avaya is a leading global provider of business communications applications, systems and services.

The company wanted an affordable, Internet Protocol (IP) communication system with call center capabilities whose operations they could easily monitor and manage. ImpreMedia chose Avaya IP Office, Avaya’s flagship voice and data communications system for small and medium businesses. According to Bob Mason, chief technology officer, ImpreMedia, IP Office gives his company a better handle on its call center productivity in offices located in three different markets across the country. With IP Office, ImpreMedia is also able to quickly, easily and economically provide its employees in additional, smaller and remote offices with the communications tools they need to do their jobs.

In Los Angeles, employees at La Opinion use a mix of Avaya digital and IP phones. Forty call center agents at the main call center office downtown, or in a small office in the suburbs, handle customers’ orders and solicit new business for classified advertisements.

“Our ad agents work together as if they’re in one place, and our managers can remotely monitor call traffic on agents’ PCs and allocate work to agents who aren’t so busy. We now have a better perspective on our operations, and our customer calls are answered faster and more efficiently,” Mason said. “Plus, our managers, who actually administer three call centers — classified ads, accounting and IT — can monitor all of the centers real-time and proactively reallocate resources to address calling patterns.” The Los Angeles contact center uses Avaya call recording software to keep a record of its calls. Third-party software from Computer Instruments, a member of Avaya’s DeveloperConnection program, automatically calls prospective customers for ads and then connects the calls to available agents, who then manage the calls.

ImpreMedia also wanted key employees in Los Angeles — such as those responsible for customer service or sales — to be productive while mobile. Now, employees with Avaya IP phones can have their incoming calls ring simultaneously on any other phone, including their mobile phones. Employees can now answer calls on the mobile phone, and once they return to their office can continue the conversation on their IP Office phone, accessing all of the system’s features, such as hold, conference, transfer, speed dial and other features. “These employees can also send their voice messages to their PCs or PDAs, where they read and respond to the message, even if they’re out of the office or on the road, which minimizes lost calls and improves our customer service,” Mason said.

ImpreMedia recently also chose IP Office for its El Diario office in the borough of Brooklyn, N.Y. “We were relocating to a new office, and it just made sense to choose IP, since it’s saving us money and helping us better serve our clients, and even greater sense to standardize on IP Office,” Mason said. “Soon, we plan to network our Los Angeles, Chicago and New York offices, and have four-digit dialing across these locations, so employees can contact each other faster. We also expect to save money on long-distance calls, especially on the huge volume of calls between our two largest newspapers in California and New York.”

ImpreMedia also plans to use IP Office’s contact center for its Brooklyn office, where one person currently takes calls from customers and routes the call to the appropriate person. “We know we’ll see a huge up tick in productivity and customer satisfaction,” Mason said. He also plans to save more money by routing calls from Los Angeles to its East coast tabloid, Hoy Nuevo York, through its El Diario office in Brooklyn. “Then, instead of a long distance call, the IP Office in Los Angeles will call our IP Office in Brooklyn, which will call our Hoy office — and we’ll pay for a local call, instead of a long distance call,” he said. “Clearly, IP Office is an important element in our plan to reduce our costs and increase our productivity and customer service.”

El Diario’s team of executives at the publication’s new, corporate headquarters in Manhattan has Avaya IP VPN phones that link them to the IP Office at El Diario in Brooklyn. “Some executives have offices in both Brooklyn and Manhattan,” Mason said. “With the Avaya IP phones, these managers can log into their phone at either location and get the same secure, reliable access anywhere.” A handful of employees who also need to work remotely have the Avaya IP VPN phone at home. The phones connect to IP Office lines and trunks and provide employees all the capabilities they have at their main office. A VPN gateway is not needed at the remote location (only at the main office), which saves the cost and headache of adding more hardware.

ImpreMedia used its Chicago office as the company’s test site for IP. In the La Raza office, which migrated to IP Office two years ago, five agents in the classified department use the built-in contact center application of IP Office to answer and make calls to clients. With IP Office, the agents can capture customer information in a group mailbox, and callers can leave messages via phone or a Web-browser interface. Callers can also ask to speak to a live agent or request a callback. These requests pop up on agents’ PC screen immediately, which improves customer service.

ImpreMedia’s IT staff, which is based in Los Angeles, will soon administer all three IP Office systems across the country, easily performing changes such as re-allocating extensions or changing greetings that customers hear when they call the newspapers.

ImpreMedia’s IP Office was configured by Converged Communication Systems, a certified member of Avaya’s BusinessPartner program and an Avaya “SMB Expert” reseller. Converged Communication Systems’ technical experts recently achieved Avaya Certified Expert (ACE) certification, which is the highest certification for Avaya resellers. Avaya certification validates the knowledge and skills associated with Avaya products and their underlying technologies, which enable professionals to effectively sell, design and implement powerful converged communication solutions.”*

Veronica Mendez, a Sister of Our Lady of Christian Doctrine, has been asked to be among a select panel of speakers speaking on the subject Latinos and the Future of Catholicism. Sister Mendez was chosen because of her work ministering with Hispanics for over forty years. The panel will address the changing dynamics of the Catholic faith in the Latino community.

Sister Mendez works as a Pastoral Service team member for RENEW International, presenting on topics of adult faith formation and outreach to Spanish and English-speaking groups in parishes around the United States. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in the Puerto Rican barrio of Spanish Harlem, NYC, Sister Mendez earned a Masters in Theological Studies in Hispanic Ministry from The Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley in California and has been ministering with Hispanics for over forty years.

Rafael Pi Roman, the host and senior editor of WNET/Thirteen’s Emmy award-winning program “New York Voices,” will lead the panel in a discussion of the history and future of Latinos in Catholic New York. In addition to Sister Mendez, Mr. Pi Roman will be joined by Reverend Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, former President of the Pontifical University of Puerto Rico; Anthony M. Stevens-Arroyo, Professor Emeritus, Brooklyn College; Barbara Gonzalez, Chair, Centro Altagracia de Fe y Justicia; and David Gonzalez, columnist, The New York Times.

This discussion is presented in conjunction with Catholics in New York, 1808-1946, a special exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York, exploring the history of the largest religious group in New York, from the founding of New York’s diocese in 1808 to the implementation of the G.I. Bill, which ultimately paved the way to the suburbs for many of New York’s Catholics.

Catholics in New York, 1808-1946, is presented on the occasion of the bicentennial of the formation of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, which features photographs, paintings, schoolbooks, family heirlooms, political memorabilia, and oral histories.
Museum of the City of New York is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street. Registration is required in advance: $9 general admission; $5 Museum members, seniors, & students. For reservations, call (212) 534-1672, ext. 3395, or visit www.mcny.org/public_programs/all/883.html.

About RENEW International
RENEW International is a not-for-profit Catholic ministry organization based in Plainfield, NJ. RENEW International fosters spiritual renewal in the Catholic tradition by empowering individuals and communities to encounter God in everyday life, deepen and share faith, and connect faith with action.

RENEW International has a 30-year record in revitalizing parish life in over 150 dioceses in the United States, touching the lives of 25 million people through its renewal processes. RENEW International also reaches many thousands outside the United States, having served people in 23 countries, across six continents and in 44 languages. Its website can be found at www.renewintl.org. “*

Author Jerry A. Rodriguez died of cancer Sunday at age 46, his publishing house revealed.

The Brooklyn-born playwright, filmmaker and novelist had just published “Revenge Tango,” the follow-up to his acclaimed thriller “The Devil’s Mambo,” featuring Detective Nicholas Esperanza.”*

Very often my conservatism is questioned by my liberal friends, and not for reasons of empirical or logical inaccuracies. They have an interest in my conservative philosophy as a Puerto-Rican and Dominican American born in a poor part of Brooklyn, New York. There’s no question that this eccentric collection of identities results in confusion with many of my peers.

I interpret this confusion as “Why doesn’t Chris just follow the Latino way of thinking?” In general, I agree with the notion of conformity, as it creates efficiency in life when working with other individuals. You don’t have to disagree on issues or get into needless debates that end nowhere. Thus, one can leave more time and energy for fun, fighting with people you actually don’t like, or contributing to some effort. This inherent cultural and social efficiency in collectivist identity essentially brings people together, building a more social and cooperative system.”*

Imran Ahmad (a pseudonym), a 29 year-old Pakistani computer scientist who can see the Statue of Liberty from his studio apartment in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, says he no longer believes in the symbol of freedom cast in copper. “Freedom is relative. It depends on things like where you’re from and what you look like” says Ahmad. He reached this conclusion, he says, because of what happened to him as a orange-uniformed detainee held for more than 3 years in numerous federal detention facilities: the denial of habeas corpus (his constitutional right to plead his case before a judge), facing growling dogs, watching friends languish and die while in custody, the “subtle torture” of living for months in a tiny, windowless white room while a nearby TV set blared American Idol or “24.”

After a fellow detainee died under mysterious circumstances, which were covered up by detention facility authorities, Ahmad says he was threatened with lines like “We don’t want you to tell or speak to anyone about this” and “We have cameras and people [detainees] who are watching you, monitoring you.” Though Ahmad was released, he is still in deportation proceedings.”*

Multi-platinum hip hop artist Johnny Prez has launched Prezident Music, a music production company and record label based in his home town of San Juan, Puerto Rico with a satellite office in New York City to open in July.

(Photo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080617/NYTU073 )

Prezident Music’s future release forecast will include Johnny Prez’s next CD titled “Imperdonable” which is currently being produced by Johnny Prez and with co-producers Scott Storch, Elvis Garcia, and Predicador. Other artists to be featured on the CD are Lil Wayne, Akon, and Jamie Foxx. “Imperdonable” is expected to be released later this year worldwide. As for other artists on the label, Prezident Music has been developing a promising rapper by the name of Princestar, a seventeen-year-old Puerto Rican rapper from Brooklyn. Production on Princetar’s project will begin shortly at the Prezident Music studios in San Juan with a projected winter ‘09 release.

“We are extremely excited about Princestar; he is extremely talented, unique, genuine, down to earth and full of energy. He reminds me a lot of Johnny — both have positive messages in their music and aim to please their audiences,” says Ruben Malaret, Manager for both Johnny Prez and Princestar. Princestar will be making several special appearances throughout the summer at various music festivals and venues in major cities throughout the United States. “We want to introduce Princestar to the masses of attendees at these festivals; they will love him,” continued Malaret.

Prezident Music is currently developing a reality series to air on VH1, a series that will help Prezident Music find their next artist. More information on the show and how upcoming artists can participate will be available on the label’s official web site: www.prezidentmusic.com . For updates and more information on Johnny Prez and Princestar, please visit their official web sites: www.johnny-prez.com and www.princestar.com
Website: www.prezidentmusic.com/
Website: www.johnny-prez.com/
Website:

Something about the man in the banana costume appealed to Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga. Maybe it was the sign he wore that read, “A banana from my country can travel easier than me.” Maybe it was the fruit-wearer’s free-spiritedness as he paraded in his peel through public places. Or maybe it was the Latino roots they shared.

So when Mr. Zúñiga, 37, a graphic artist from Brooklyn who also works with new media, was looking through the portfolios of immigrant artists who were seeking mentors, he picked Hatuey Ramos-Fermín, 30, a conceptual artist from the Bronx who has made videos of himself playing Benito Banana, a character he created to reflect on migration.

The two have met at least 10 times, attending lectures and museum openings and discussing their work and the common themes within, like immigration and globalization. They are part of a mentoring program run by the New York Foundation for the Arts that helps artists from abroad gain a toehold in the city’s diverse arts community”*

A Brooklyn-based job program is trying to get minorities into the film industry by training them to be Production Assistants on everything from commercials, to reality shows to big budget films. The work is supposed to help people with limited schooling and a lack of connections get their foot in the door. WNYC’s Cindy Rodriguez looks at how it’s working so far.

REPORTER: On a recent rainy Friday afternoon, inside the offices of Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, a small graduation ceremony was held for about eight men and women. Each one walked up a paper red carpet with cardboard gold stars to receive certificates for completing a Production Assistant training program.”*

After a two-decade slumber, the quintessentially Latin beat that became a worldwide phenomenon in the ’70s seems to have regained its hip cache among young Latinos and Latinas.

Dance studios in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens are all reporting an increase in the number of Hispanics in their late teens and 20s signing up to learn salsa.

“Every year, it is growing more and more,” said Carlos Vásquez, 54, of La Salsa de Hoy studio in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. “It’s nice to see them carrying on the Latino tradition. I inherited that good thing from my father, who used to dance at the Palladium.””*

Sickened by last year’s mass killing of dogs and cats in the Puerto Rican town of Barceloneta, an animal-loving mom and daughter team have launched a campaign in New York to help a spay-neuter program on the island.

On June 21, TV commentator Jane Vélez Mitchell and her writer-mom, Anita Vélez Mitchell, will be dedicating a free concert in Brooklyn to the many needy pets and strays in Puerto Rico that could benefit from spaying, neutering and medical attention.

Last fall, dozens of animals were thrown off a bridge by a company hired to enforce a ban on pet ownership by residents of Barceloneta’s public housing project.”*

hat he does: Oversees educational opportunity programs. Represents SUNY in a national project to develop programs to diversify premier public universities. Oversees and develops programs to increase the numbers of faculty and graduate students from underrepresented groups. How he got there: Born in Puerto Rico; at the age of 3 came to the U.S. with his father, who worked in an electrical switches factory in Brooklyn. Educated in Brooklyn public schools. B.A. in political science at City College, Ph.D. in the same field from Columbia University. Started as an assistant professor at Fordham University in 1978, where he also directed the Puerto Rican Studies program. Went on to Rutgers University and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he directed the Latino Studies program. In 2007, he came back east.”*

Maybe if the Mets were winning a few more ballgames, there wouldn’t be this much conversation about the demographics of the clubhouse, which you are now supposed to believe are more complicated - and fragmented - than the Democratic Party’s.

Maybe if the Mets were in first place in the National League East the way they have been for a couple of years, up there in the standings instead of closer to last place, you wouldn’t be hearing about this great wide cultural divide that is supposed to exist in the Mets clubhouse, and between the Mets players and their manager.

And maybe you would never even hear this much about race on a team that doesn’t have a Dominican-born general manager and an African-American manager out of Brownsville, Brooklyn. But you sure hear it around here lately. Suddenly, the clubhouse is the reason why the Mets have the record they do instead of the way they have played and especially the way they have pitched, even with Johan Santana on their side.”*

From the beginning, Annette Maldonado wasn’t supposed to make it.

She grew up poor in a Spanish-speaking household in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood.

“I got free lunch. I was an ELL (English Language Learner) student,” she said.

But with faith and perseverance, the Mary Esther Elementary School principal has made a mark for herself as the first Hispanic administrator in the Okaloosa County School District.”*

Thanks to an undocumented friend, filmmaker Christopher Zalla got to meet and hang out with a bunch of workers at a Brooklyn restaurant, most of whom were Mexican.

“I got to hear a similar storyline coming from them,” says the 33-year old Zalla, whose “Sangre de Mi Sangre (Blood of My Blood),” winner of the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, opens Friday.

“Their plan was to work six or seven days a week, save money for 15 or 20 years, and then return home and retire relatively well off.””*

Xenon Pictures has acquired North American rights to “Amexicano”, starring 2008 Grammy(TM) Nominee Jennifer Pena, in a mid-six figure deal.

“Amexicano”, helmed by Matthew Bonifacio, made its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and most recently won the Grand Jury Prize (THX Award) for Best Narrative Feature at the 2008 Sonoma Valley Film Festival. The award jury was comprised of Kirk Honeycutt (Chief Film Critic, Hollywood Reporter), Michael Jones (Managing Editor, Film Festivals, Variety) and Chris Gore (Founder, Film Threat).

The film also stars Manny Perez (”Bella”, “El Cantante”), newcomer Raul Castillo, and Carmine Famiglietti, who also wrote the film. Famiglietti and Bonifacio also served as producers through their production company, The Brooklyn-Queens Experiment, in association with Madison Park Pictures. “Amexicano” was executive produced by Cesar A. Baez and Stephen Ashkinos. Xenon Pictures is eyeing a spring/summer release.

“We wanted to put a face on the undocumented day laborers in America,” said Bonifacio. “With the coming presidential election, immigration is obviously going to be a major issue. We feel ‘Amexicano’ allows audiences to look at the face of an illegal alien and decide for themselves if our nation is making the right choices,” said Famiglietti.

“The political aspects of the film are certainly intriguing and mirror (in a very different way) those that made ‘A Day Without a Mexican’ such a success for us,” said Xenon’s Chief Operating Officer Steve Housden, “but just like with ‘A Day Without a Mexican’, ‘Amexicano’ is enjoyable entertainment, rather than bare political discourse.”

Bonifacio and Famiglietti’s first feature, “Lbs.”, made its world premiere at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. The Shutter Speed Group negotiated on behalf of the production company.”*

Ray Suarez, the senior correspondent for The NewsHour, who has spent more than a quarter century in journalism covering local, national, and international stories, will address UMass Dartmouth’s 2008 undergraduate commencement exercises.

Due to the rapid enrollment growth of the campus undergraduate and graduate students will be receiving their degrees at different ceremonies for the first time. Approximately 350 graduate students will receive their degrees on Saturday, May 24 and 1,200 undergraduates will receive degrees on Sunday, May 25.

During the undergraduate ceremony in the Vietnam Veterans Peace Memorial Amphitheater honorary degrees will be awarded to:

* New Bedford native and Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs and wife Joan Jacobs, who have been generous supporters of college scholarships for New Bedford students and supporters of numerous other educational and arts-related causes.

* Southcoast Hospitals Group CEO Ronald Goodspeed, who recently co-authored What If…? A Survival Guide for Physicians, a book intended to help medical students, residents and physicians successfully handle situations traditionally not covered by medical education and training.

* Retired UMass Dartmouth Dean of Students Donald Howard who spent more than 40 years at the university and was instrumental in building student government and leadership structures, student publications, the student judiciary system, student-run activity fee disbursement systems, the theater company, and the lecture series.

The graduate student ceremony will be built around three speakers: an innovator external to the campus, a graduate alumnus/a innovator, and a graduate student.

The address by the external innovator will be delivered by Dr.Onesky Aupont, a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Medical School who is a key leader of the Massachusetts arm of the National Children’s Study, the largest study to be conducted in the United States to assess the effects of environmental and genetic factors on child and human health.

Also speaking at the graduate commencement will be Yong Zhang, chief operating officer of Salary.com, a Massachusetts-based company that provides companies with the tools to “manage and inspire their most important asset - their people.” Mr. Zhang received graduate degrees in engineering and physics from UMass Dartmouth.

Speaking from a graduate student perspective will be Master of Fine Arts candidate Jennifer Ling Datchuk.

“Commencement 2008 at UMass Dartmouth is going to feature a diverse array of people who have had, and continue to have, an enormous impact on the lives of others,” Chancellor Jean F. MacCormack said. “This will be a celebration of the power of education and innovation to strengthen our Commonwealth, nation, and world; and a challenge to the Class of 2008 to set a new and even higher standard of global engagement.”

More on Ray Suarez

Mr. Suarez, also known for his work as host of NPR’s Talk of the Nation, wrote the book The Old Neighborhood: What We Lost in the Great Suburban Migration ( Free Press ), and has contributed to several others, including Brooklyn ( Workman, 2001 ), Saving America’s Treasures ( National Geographic, 2000 ), Las Christmas ( Knopf, 1998 ), and About Men ( Poseidon, 1986 ). His latest work is The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America, an examination of the tightening relationship between religion and politics. His essays and criticism have been published in The News York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, among other publications.

Mr. Suarez shared in NPR’s 1993-94 and 1994-95 duPont-Columbia Silver Baton Awards for on-site coverage of the first all-race elections in South Africa and the first 100 days of the 104th Congress, respectively. He has been honored with the 1996 Ruben Salazar Award from the National Council of La Raza, Current History Magazine’s 1995 Global Awareness Award, and a Chicago Emmy Award.

A life member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Mr. Suarez was a founding member of the Chicago Association of Hispanic Journalists. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he lives in Washington, DC with his wife and three children.

Mr. Suarez holds a B.A. in African History from New York University and an M.A. in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.
Contact Info:
Email: kbeals@umassd.edu Kathy Beals, UMass Dartmouth Office of Public Affairs”*

Free Central Park SummerStage Concert (Saturday, July 12th) Features Mexican Rock Songstress Julieta Venegas and Monterrey’s Electro-Rockers Plastilina Mosh Along With Chilean Buzz DJ Bitman

Free Celebrate Brooklyn @ Prospect Park Concert (Friday, July 11th) Features Brazilian Girls, Miranda! And Ticklah

Additional LAMC Artists Include Pacha Massive, Mexican Institute of Sound, CuCu Diamantes (Yerba Buena), Ticklah, Emmanuel Horvilleur, Sussie 4, Ximena Sariana, Zigmat And Forro In The Dark

(SEE FURTHER BELOW FOR FULL ARTIST LINEUP AND SCHEDULE)

With a warm welcome from the Big Apple, the biggest event in the world for cutting-edge Latin music will return to the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City from July 8th - 12th. Discounted registration for LAMC is available for only $249 at www.latinalternative.com (discounted rate expires on June 1st ). Featuring leading artists as well as many of the music industry’s most prominent decision-makers, the ninth annual LAMC is a “must play” event for developing and established acts alike.

“Major music events like the 9th Annual Latin Alternative Music Conference draw music fans from around the world to New York City,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Through the work of the Latin Media and Entertainment Commission, New York has been able to attract and retain major Latin events generating millions in economic activity for our City. As we continue to showcase the talent and rich cultural diversity of Nueva York, hosting events like the LAMC helps us as we stake our claim as the Latin media and entertainment capital of the world.”

With past conferences averaging more than 1,250 music industry attendees and 25,000 concert fans each year, LAMC 2008 promises to be an exciting year yet again. This multi-day conference provides networking opportunities with the genre’s leading artists, label executives, journalists, marketers, managers, retailers and programmers. It is the most extensive Latin music conference to date.

LAMC will be returning for its second year in Mexico City and Buenos Aires on September 5th and September 22th-24th, respectively.

Tuesday, July 8th:

- 8:00pm  -  11:00pm: LAMC Underground Film Night at 282 North Henry Gallery  (Brooklyn)
Featuring ¿Habrán Esperanzas?, a film by Felipe Monsalve With DJ set to be provided by special Guest DJ
Presented by Zune

Wednesday, July 9th:

- 3:00pm - 5:00pm: LAMC Registration @ The Roosevelt Hotel

- 5:00pm - 8:00pm: LAMC Music & Film Night at Central Park Summerstage featuring Bragging Rights: Stickball Stories, a film by Sonia N. Gonzalez, with musical performance by CuCu Diamantes (of Yerba Buena) and prelude by Andres Levin.

- 8:00pm - 1:00am: LAMC Indie Showcase at The Mercury Lounge
Co-Presented by GoTV, Gibson, Discmakers, and Myspace Latino
Performances by Zigmat (New York), Che Sudaka (Barcelona), Allá (Chicago), Forro in the Dark (New York), Guajiro (Puerto Rico/Miami) plus special guests!

Thursday, July 10th:

- 9:00am - 5:00pm: LAMC Registration, Panels & Exhibits @ The Roosevelt Hotel

- 11:00am - 5:00pm: Panel Day One at The Roosevelt Hotel featuring topics:

WIDENING LATIN MUSIC’S GLOBAL REACH: How new tour markets and new technologies are creating opportunities at home and abroad Presented by Cyloop

CAN I OUTSOURCE MY RECORD LABEL (OR NOT)?: New business models in a changing marketplace

HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: How the U.S. Latin listener hears new music
Presented by Batanga

- 6:00pm - 8:30pm: LAMC Acoustic Showcase at SOB’s Co-Presented by Cyloop and Gibson
Performances by: Che Sudaka, Udi E Geral, Chana, Emmanuel  Horvilleur, Zigmat, Very Be Careful, plus special guests!

- 9:00pm - 1:00am: LAMC Bowery Ballroom Showcase Presented by Terra
Performances by: Pacha Massive, Emmanuel Horvilleur, Sussie 4, Mexican Institute of Sound, Ximena Sariñana, plus special  guests!

Friday, July 11th:

- 9:00am - 5:00pm: LAMC Registration, Panels & Exhibits @ The Roosevelt Hotel, Mezzanine Level

- 11:30am - 5:00pm: Panel Day Two at The Roosevelt Hotel featuring topics:

BLOGUEANDO: How Latino-oriented and indie music blogs and bloggers are helping artists connect with new audiences and brands

FROM UGLY BETTY TO TIGER WOODS: Licensing opportunities for new Latin sounds

- 2:00pm - 3:00pm: Moses Avalon Q&A session

- 7:30pm - 11:00pm: LAMC/Celebrate Brooklyn Show at Prospect Park Bandshell Presented by ZUNE
Performances by: Brazilian Girls, Ticklah and Miranda!

Saturday, July 12th:

- 3:00pm -7:00pm: LAMC/Central Park Summerstage Show at Rumsey Playfield Presented by MTV Tr3s
Performances by: Julieta Venegas, Plastilina Mosh and DJ Bitman

- 8:00pm - 10:00pm: Pepsi Blue Carpet Bash//LAMC Closing Night Party Sponsored by ZUNE, Pepsi and others
Come out and celebrate with the spirits and sounds of some of Latin Alternative’s hottest artists!

For more information on the Latin Alternative Music Conference please visit: www.latinalternative.com

Sponsorship - Jennifer Sarkissian - Jennifer.sarkissian@cookman.com - 818.763.1397

Media Relations - Paul Dryden - paul.dryden@cookman.com - 818.763.1397

Appealing to the growing and established Hispanic markets in Houston and South Texas, the Houston Astros and television partner FSN Houston today announced that they have joined forces to produce and televise 15 Astros games in Spanish in 2008.

The Spanish-language broadcasts will be original productions separate from FSN Houston’s telecasts and will be carried on secondary FSN Plus channels on cable systems in Houston and South Texas markets. They also will be made available to DirecTV and Dish Network. Veteran announcer Rene Cardenas, who pioneered Astros Spanish-language radio broadcasts when the team debuted in 1962 and is considered the dean of Major League Baseball Spanish announcers, will team with Raul Saenz to call the games. Spanish graphics will supplement the broadcasts.

The first Astros Spanish-language telecasts are scheduled for May 7 and May 8 against the Washington Nationals. Spanish-language Astros games will be shown throughout the season with six in May, four in June, two in July, two in August and one in September.

In Houston, the games will be carried on Comcast Cable channel 76, which is available to digital cable customers (see schedule below for other markets).

“The Houston Astros are thrilled at the opportunity to provide Spanish-language broadcasts to markets all across Texas,” said Houston Astros Senior Vice President Communications Jay Lucas. “We will provide an excellent product to our Spanish-speaking fans by combining an outstanding broadcast team in Rene Cardenas and Raul Saenz with FSN Houston’s high-caliber production quality. We’re happy to be able to offer this product to fans that have been among the most passionate and devoted to our team throughout the history of our franchise.”

“The Houston Astros are one of the most aggressive teams in Major League Baseball to reach out and market to their Spanish-speaking fans and we’re excited to help them target their fan base,” said FSN Houston Senior Vice President/General Manager Steve Tello. “The Astros recognize the importance of the Hispanic community and have developed a plan that appeals to their growing Spanish audience.”

According to the most current U.S. Census figures, Houston is the fourth largest Hispanic market in the country with a population of 730,865. Hispanics make up 37.4 percent of the Houston market, while 1.1 million Hispanics live in surrounding Harris County. In the Astros’ extended fan base outside of Houston, Hispanics are the majority of the population in six markets, led by Laredo (94.1%), Brownsville (91.3%), McAllen (80.3%), El Paso (76.6%) San Antonio (58.7%) and Corpus Christi (54.3%). With a Hispanic population of 671,394, San Antonio ranks as the nation’s fifth largest Hispanic market.

Fans in those markets will be treated to one of the most prolific Spanish announcers in baseball as Cardenas returns to the Houston broadcast booth. The native of Nicaragua began his Major League Baseball career in 1958 when the Los Angeles Dodgers named him their first Spanish-radio announcer after the team moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. Recognizing the success Cardenas achieved connecting with Spanish-speaking fans in Los Angeles, the Astros hired him in 1962 to direct their Spanish broadcasts when Houston was awarded a major league franchise. He spent 15 years with the Astros and eventually moved to Arlington in 1981 to become the Texas Rangers’ first Spanish broadcaster before returning to Los Angeles in 1982 to call Dodgers game in Spanish until 1998. In 2000 Cardenas was inducted into the Nicaraguan Baseball Hall of Fame. He currently writes a popular sports column for La Prensa and the Astros Spanish-language website and Astros magazine.

Cardenas will work with Saenz, a well-known Texas broadcaster who also serves as analyst on University of Texas football Spanish-radio broadcasts and the Dallas Mavericks Spanish radio network. Since 2004 he’s anchored sportscasts for Dallas-Fort Worth Univision affiliate KUVN where he won a Lone Star Emmy award for Best Sports Story in 2005. Saenz started the first Spanish play-by-play radio broadcasts for the San Antonio Missions Double A minor league baseball team in 2002, and has been sports director at Telemundo affiliates in Houston and San Antonio.

2008 FSN Houston Astros Spanish Language Television Schedule (All times listed are Central)
Day		Date		Opponent		Time
Wed.		May 7		Washington Nationals		7:00 p.m.
Thu.		May 8		Washington Nationals		7:00 p.m.
Tue.		May 20		Chicago Cubs		7:00 p.m.
Wed.		May 21		Chicago Cubs		7:00 p.m.
Thu.		May 22		Philadelphia Phillies		7:00 p.m.
Fri.		May 23		Philadelphia Phillies		7:00 p.m.
Fri.		June 13		New York Yankees		7:00 p.m.
Sat.		June 14		New York Yankees		6:00 p.m.
Fri.		June 27		Boston Red Sox		7:00 p.m.
Sat.		June 28		Boston Red Sox		6:00 p.m.
Fri.		July 18		Chicago Cubs		7:00 p.m.
Sat.		July 19		Chicago Cubs		6:00 p.m.
Fri.		Aug. 1		New York Mets		7:00 p.m.
Sat.		Aug. 2		New York Mets		6:00 p.m.
Fri.		Sept. 12		Chicago Cubs		7:00 p.m.

FSN Plus Astros Spanish Language TV Affiliates:
Market		Cable System		Channel
Aransas Pass		Cable One		20
Austin		Time Warner		77
Beaumont-Port Arthur		Time Warner		15
Brownsville		Time Warner		78
Bryan-College Station		Suddenlink		22
Columbus		Time Warner		79
Corpus Christi		Grande Communications		38
Corpus Christi		Time Warner		6
El Paso		Time Warner		24
Georgetown		Suddenlink		95
Gonzales		Time Warner		75
Harlingen		Time Warner		78
Houston		Comcast Cable		76 (digital basic)
Hilltop Lakes		DMS Cable		39
Kerrville		Time Warner		63
Lampassas		Suddenlink		2
Laredo		Time Warner		16
Lufkin		Suddenlink		15
McAllen		Time Warner		78
Nacogdoches		Suddenlink		14
Port Lavaca		Cable One		20
San Antonio		Time Warner		50
San Marcos		Grande Communications		80

“*

Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey, a leading provider of digital cable, high speed data and phone for residential and business customers, today announced the launch of its commercial website for the Latino community, www.twcbc.com/nyc-espanol . Also available to residential consumers is a Spanish language mini-site accessible through www.timewarnercable.com/nynj .

“Nearly one-third of the residents within our service area in New York are of Hispanic descent and speak Spanish, in many cases as the native language. It makes sense for those residential and business customers that we communicate directly to them and speak their language,” said Howard Szarfarc, President, Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey. “Tailoring our resources and communication methods for the Latino community helps us meet the growing needs of diverse residential and business customers.”

The new Spanish language content will offer many of the user-friendly features of the English version. The new residential pages offer the ability to learn more about products and services such as our Triple Play packages, Road Runner en Espanol, DTV en Espanol, as well as International Movies On Demand. Details about our International Calling plan are also available.

“This is a terrific opportunity for the Latino community in the New York Metro area. As this important population of our city continues to grow, it is essential that services such as this are available to them. Time Warner Cable’s commitment to serving their customers and improving options to them is evidenced by this new service,” according to Nancy Ploeger, President, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.

Voice, data and video solutions and packaging tailored for small, medium and large businesses including the hospitality marketplace are available on the new commercial site.

“Time Warner Cable Business Class offers many innovative and cost-effective communication services to businesses. This new website is designed to help us reach out to the rapidly growing segment of Latino owned and operated New York City businesses,” Szarfarc added.

For more information on Time Warner Cable, visit www.timewarnercable.com/nynj . To obtain information about Time Warner Cable’s Business Class services, call (212) 598-1750, email sales@twcmetrobiz.com or visit us online at www.twcbc.com/nyc or www.twcbc.com/nyc-espanol to contact a Time Warner Cable sales representative.

About Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey
Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey serves over 1.4 million customers in four NYC boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and western Brooklyn), Mt. Vernon, Hudson Valley (Orange, Sullivan, Ulster Counties and parts of Dutchess, Greene and Delaware Counties) and Bergen and Hudson Counties, New Jersey.

Time Warner Cable is the second-largest cable operator in the U.S., with technologically advanced, well-clustered systems located mainly in five geographic areas — New York state (including New York City), the Carolinas, Ohio, southern California (including Los Angeles) and Texas. As of December 31, 2007, Time Warner Cable served approximately 14.6 million customers who subscribed to one or more of its video, high-speed data and voice services.

Time Warner Cable Business Class has served the New York market for over 25 years, and delivers one of the most technologically advanced and best-clustered cable systems in the country. We serve over 42,000 commercial customers from a diverse range of industries including banking & financial services, healthcare, technology, hospitality, Government, etc. Leveraging its leadership in innovation, the highest quality customer care, and significant strategic partnerships, Time Warner Cable provides advanced services such as: Business Class Phone, Private Network Metro Ethernet Solutions, High-Speed Internet, Video-on-Demand, Cable TV, Disaster Recovery/Data Center Resiliency, Cellular Backhaul, and BusinessLink.tv IPTV service.”*

*From: http://www.hispanicprwire.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

The soccer tacos have been saved, after a monthslong fight pitting city regulation against a delicious tradition.

The Parks Department announced Monday that vendors at Brooklyn’s Red Hook Park soccer field can continue to serve up tacos, empanadas, pupusas and other authentic Latin American food for at least six more years.

The department previously threatened to effectively end the seasonal, decades-old culinary draw, which provided Latino New Yorkers a taste of home while they watched weekend soccer tournaments and offered the city’s foodies a bite of authenticity.”*

*From: http://www.foxnews.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

LATIN ALTERNATIVE MUSIC CONFERENCE (LAMC)
EARLY REGISTRATION & HOTEL RESERVATIONS NOW OPEN
Visit www.LatinAlternative.com For Early Registration and Hotel Reservations

The LAMC Returns to New York City July 8th - 12th, And Will Once Again Feature Free Concerts At Central Park SummerStage And Celebrate Brooklyn Festival, As Well As Industry Panels, Artist Showcases, An Art Exhibit And Film Screenings Across the City

Last Year’s LAMC Drew A Record 1,250 Industry Attendees And 25,000+ Concert Fans To Music Industry Panels and Sold-Out Concerts

“The LAMC has emerged as the top showcase for up-and-coming Latin acts.”
- ASSOCIATED PRESS

“Despite changing tastes and sounds, the Latin Alternative Music Conference still provides a necessary outlet.”
- BILLBOARD

” LAMC is to Latin alternative the way the Sundance Film Festival is to indie movies.”
- ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

“Since it began in 2000, the LAMC has been rallying the musicians and business people seeking to promote innovative music - rock, pop, electronica and hip-hop merged with local traditions. It has placed its hopes on the quality of the music, in the mainstream acceptance of Latin hybrids by hitmakers like Shakira, and in the inevitability of demographic changes that are creating a young, bilingual audience.”
- NEW YORK TIMES

“As far as the cutting-edge curators of the Latin Alternative Music Conference are concerned, reggaeton was so five years ago. Way back during LAMC’s inaugural 2000 event, they introduced stateside music fans to the then-untapped Puerto Rican dance beat.”
- NY DAILY NEWS

With a warm welcome from the Big Apple, the biggest event in the world for cutting-edge Latin music will return to the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City from July 8 th - 12th. Discounted early bird registration for LAMC is available for only $199 at www.LatinAlternative.com (rate expires on April 30th). Featuring leading artists as well as many of the music industry’s most prominent decision-makers, the ninth annual LAMC is a “must play” event for developing and established acts alike.

“Major music events like the 9th Annual Latin Alternative Music Conference draw music fans from around the world to New York City,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Through the work of the Latin Media and Entertainment Commission, New York has been able to attract and retain major Latin events generating millions in economic activity for our City. As we continue to showcase the talent and rich cultural diversity of Nueva York, hosting events like the LAMC helps us as we stake our claim as the Latin media and entertainment capital of the world.”

Among the events planned for LAMC 2008 are free concerts at Central Park SummerStage and Celebrate Brooklyn Festival, as well as numerous showcases, industry panels, film screenings and art exhibits for LAMC registrants.   With past conferences averaging more than 1,250 music industry attendees and 25,000 concert fans each year, LAMC 2008 promises to be an exciting year.   This five-day conference providing networking opportunities with the genre’s leading artists, label executives, journalists, marketers, managers, retailers and programmers, is the most extensive to be offered by a music conference to date.

Panels and additional concert information will be announced shortly.

For more information on the Latin Alternative Music Conference please visit www.LatinAlternative.com

Sponsorship - Jennifer Sarkissian - jennifer.sarkissian@cookman.com - 818.763.1397

Media Relations - Paul Dryden - paul.dryden@cookman.com - 818.763.1397

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