Six-time 2007 Latin Grammy winner Juan Luis Guerra will headline the Feb. 26 Premios Cadena Dial 2007 ceremony in the Canary Island city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It will be the Dominican Republic-born merengue singer’s first Spanish concert since his Grammy triumph Nov. 8.
Spanish-language Cadena Dial belongs to Grupo Prisa’s Cadena SER radio group, and is the second most popular music network in Spain with more than 1.7 million listeners daily, according to the last Estudio General de Medios (EGM) survey in 2007. The Premios Dial gala has been held annually since 1996.
Other major Latin artists appearing at what has become Europe’s biggest Spanish-language-only award ceremony are Colombia’s Juanes, Mexico’s Alejandro Fernández, Miami-based Cuban Gloria Estefan, Mexico-based Shaila Dúrcal, y Mexico-based Spanish band La Quinta Estación.
Big selling Spanish artists performing at the 2,200-capacity Auditorium in Tenerife will be Luz Casal, Chambao, David Bustamante, Pastora Soler, Conchita, Andy&Lucas, Kiko&Shara, Merche, Conchita, and María.
The winners are chosen by a jury of Cadena SER’s Cadenas Musicales, including its director Jorge Flo and Dial director Juan Carlos Chaves.
The gala will be televised on Canary Islands TV, and hundreds of radio stations belonging to SER’s Union Radio group in Spain. Four Latin American countries – Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico – will be able to transmit parts live or recorded for later transmission.
Chaves spoke at a Madrid presentation on Friday alongside several of the Spanish winners who will perform. “Cadena Dial has become the perfect platform for musicians and singers that have Spanish as a vehicle of communication between the two banks of the Atlantic Ocean,” Chaves said.
Tenerife has been chosen to host the gala because of its position as a major stop-off for shipping between Spain and the Americas before the arrival of aircraft. “The island has always been a pioneer in recognising artists that later achieve success singing in Spanish on both sides of the Atlantic,” Chaves added.
“We selected the award winners based on a mix of sales, concert performances, and general career record through 2007,” he said. “Dial is the reference network in Spain for its broad offer of singers and styles that reflect the taste of a radio audience as shown by Dial’s growing audience, the higher market share for Spanish-language music sales, and attendances at concerts and festivals”.
