Esteban Arce and Mauricio Zeilic Co-hosts of Cotorreando with El Paso fans

LIVE from El Paso

In early May, KTDO hosted Telemundo Network as they aired LIVE from El Paso. Vanessa Huac from Al Rojo Vivo, Cotorreando hosts Mauricio Zeilic and Esteban Arce, Jose Diaz-Balart from Cada Día con María Antonieta, and Pedro Sevcec, news anchor of Noticiero Telemundo, were all in the “Sun City” for the event. Local El Paso fans were on hand to view the action. "It's really very exciting," Huac said, "…it's a different experience when you are there and talking to the community and asking what do they want to see." KTDO and Mayor of El Paso, John Cook welcomed the celebrities from Telemundo with a reception in their honor. The visit was a huge success, and the community was excited to be a part of it. Congratulations KTDO!

1st Place winner Shalón Rodriguez

American Idol Make Way
for Proyecto Fama

WNEU Boston kept viewers on the edge of their seats with its first Proyecto Fama, a competitive talent search. 200 contestants participated over the course of the 8-week competition, with 15 making it to the semifinals which were hosted by Bolivar Soto, of Santo Domingo Invita. The Proyecto Fama finale was very exciting, and unlike anything Boston had ever seen. The winner, Shalón Rodriguez, could not believe that he had won, a mere month after arriving to Boston from Puerto Rico. Rodriquez said, “I feel like I am in a dream. The dream I’ve had in my heart for so long has been fulfilled.” Rodriguez won various prizes including a trip to Miami where he appeared on Cada Día con María Antonieta, a trip to the Dominican Republic where he held a press conference, made a special appearance on Santo Domingo Invita, and was given the opportunity to record a demo. “We knew that there was plenty of talent in our Hispanic communities,” says Patricia Domeniconi, General Manager of WNEU Telemundo Boston, “and we are confident that Proyecto Fama will be a success in the years to come.”

WRDM/WDMR Hartford/Springfield Launches First Local Show in Spanish: Salu2 Nueva Inglaterra

WRDM/WDMR Hartford/Springfield launched Salu2 Nueva Inglaterra, a fresh, new local program for the New England Hispanic community. Salu2 is packed with local information from the latest news and entertainment, to celebrity interviews, and coverage of community events. The program is developed around specific themes such as financial planning, childcare, education, and families, to name a few. Salu2 offers the New England Hispanic community relevant content and the opportunity to attend live tapings. The hosts, Catheryne Ernote and Omar Morales, combine their distinctive personalities and charisma to deliver the Hartford/Springfield viewers an entertaining weekly program. Salu2 is the only local Spanish-language program produced in the Hartford/Springfield markets.

ZGS Goes to the World Cup
“Telenoticias Desde Alemania”

WZDC Washington, DC and WTMO Orlando partnered to bring local viewers Telenoticias Desde Alemania. Eduardo Zavala, Vice President of ZGS, and Gustavo Cherquis, WZDC’s sports anchor, traveled to Germany where they provided exclusive local news coverage of the 2006 World Cup. While Gustavo reported from Germany, Adriana Monsalve, sports anchor for WTMO, provided team coverage from the United States. The coverage offered viewers unique access to the World Cup, as well as the opportunity to experience Germany. Eduardo and Gustavo worked around the clock, but were able to enjoy a few games and take advantage of the German hospitality. Faithful Telenoticias viewers in Orlando and DC had a great time getting to know each other’s sports anchors, and hope that the partnership that started with Telenoticias Desde Alemania will continue.

Ana Maria Polo meets a local Tampa Family

Ana Maria Polo WOWS La Feria Crowd in Tampa

Ana Maria Polo, need we say more? Okay, how about Geraldine Bazan and Arap Bethke? Fans started lining up early, eager to meet Ana Maria Polo, Geraldine Bazan, and Arap Bethke at WRMD Tampa’s 2nd annual La Feria de la Familia. Over 4,000 fans enjoyed a wealth of entertainment, family activities, autograph signings, and useful educational information during the much-anticipated event. Lorena Rivas, Hispanic Neighborhood Liaison for the City of Tampa and Arlene Segovia, General Manager of WRMD, welcomed the anxious crowd, “We are proud to bring our community a first-class event filled with entertainment and education,” said Ms. Segovia. The visitors rushed in waving to the cameras and were greeted by a live band, Los Cheveres del Son. “Very well organized,” said Ana Maria Polo from Caso Cerrado, who was so energized by the crowd that she sang a song and even performed an impromptu rap for the younger visitors in the audience. Positive comments and smiling faces were heard and seen amongst the vendors, talent, and participants at La Feria de La Familia, another successful event for the Hispanic community in Tampa.

The Vas o No Vas Team

Vas o No Vas? KTDO Si Va!

On June 24th, KTDO El Paso hosted an open casting call for Telemundo’s very much-anticipated Vas o No Vas game show where contestants play for their chance to win $250,000. Over 250 attended and 23 El Pasoans were called back. “El Paso has never hosted an open casting call for a Spanish language game show, this was a great experience,” said Mr. Hernandez, one of the many who came to try out for the show. Mike Glazar, the Casting Producer for Vas o No Vas, had nothing but praise for the team at KTDO, “Overall, I think it was outstanding. You guys outdrew Las Vegas by about 80 people. Your top to bottom promotion was outstanding.” Selected contestants will travel to Mexico to participate in the Vas o No Vas tapings. El Paso will be watching and hoping that one of their own take home $250,000.

Sergio Urriola and Neo Lobo, with their new look, and the check for St. Jude.

VIVA 900 AM and St. Jude Children’s Hospital Raise Over $260,000

WILC VIVA 900 AM partnered with St. Jude Children’s Hospital for their 2nd annual Promesa y Esperanza Radiothon to support children suffering from catastrophic diseases. The two-day radiothon aired live from the VIVA studio. Local volunteers, including the VIVA staff and the WZDC Telenoticias news team, helped answer phones and take pledges from listeners. With only two hours left in the radiothon last year’s goal had not been met; so Programming Director Sergio Urriola and DJ Neo Lobo challenged the VIVA 900 audience, promising to shave their heads if donations equaled or surpassed last year’s efforts. The Hispanic community in Washington, DC responded to the challenge, and helped raise over $260,000 exceeding last year’s fundraising total. VIVA is the only Spanish-language radio station in the DC metro area that participated in the event.

Tony Tavarez helps distribute the toys

Toy Drive Hits Home with WNEU Boston and Red Sox’s David Ortiz

WNEU Boston and Red Sox’s, David Ortiz, organized a toy drive for children hospitalized at the Robert Reid Cabral Hospital in Santo Domingo. On June 2, David Ortiz and Patricia Domeniconi, the GM of Telemundo Boston, collected over 500 toys for the children. Tony Tavarez, the sales manager at WNEU, traveled to the Dominican Republic to represent Telemundo Boston and to participate in the distribution of gifts to the children. “We are lucky to work with people, like David Ortiz, who seek positive development in this great country,” said Tavarez. The success of this event has sparked interest in a charity baseball tournament for youths in Boston to be hosted by WNEU Boston, in partnership with Ortiz.

Up and coming Reggaetón star Residente, Calle 13 on the red carpet with Giorgina Pinedo

Local Winners Rock at 2006 Billboard Latin Music Awards

This year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards were held on April 27th at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. During the red carpet arrivals, WTMO Orlando's Giorgina Pinedo partnered with WRDM/WDMR Hartford/Springfield’s Omar Morales for Salu2 Entre Nos, a first time collaboration for these two programs. They were able to connect with the best in Latin music - Victor Manuelle, Gilberto Santa Rosa, N'Klabe, Andy Andy as well as Telemundo Network stars. The ZGS station’s organized local promotions for the event and provided winners with airfare, hotel accommodations and tickets to the Awards. Everyone had a phenomenal time!

Viewers of WZDC Washington D.C. are Livin’ la “Buena Vida”

Viewers of WZDC are getting off to a good and healthy start! Over 200 people participated in the official “weigh-in” of Buena Vida at three different locations (DC, VA, and MD). Four viewers were selected to participate in the 12-week health campaign. The lucky participants received a 3-month gym membership, health screenings, a personal training session each week of the campaign, and more. Telenoticias 64 will highlight the contestants’ progress during a weekly news segment. At the end of the 12-weeks all registrants will “weigh out” and one participant will be selected as the overall winner of Buena Vida.

The Telemundo “T” at the festival

WRDM/WDMR Hartford/Springfield Dominates El Festival del Coqui

On June 4th, over 50,000 attended the Festival de Coqui, held at the beautiful Busnell Park in downtown Hartford in conjunction with the official Connecticut Puerto Rican State Parade. WRDM/WDMR’s Omar Morales and Catheryne Ernote (hosts of Salu2: Nueva Inglaterra) were the MCs of the Festival. Participants were able to register to vote with the help of Democracy Works and the Puerto Rican Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) volunteers. It was a day full of fun and excitement.

"En La Casa" with Boxer Mayorga

WTMO Orlando is Star Struck

WTMO has been visiting with some celebrities lately. WTMO was definitely "en la casa" for One Night Only with Ricky Martin for a special promotion, partnering with Clear Channel Station and WRUM Rumba 100.3. WTMO also visited the Kissimmee Civic Center for a night of great fights with Ricardo Mayorga, who celebrated his birthday with the WTMO staff.

WZGS Raleigh Launches Outdoor Campaign

WZGS continues to make noise in the south. In March WZGS spread Telemundo all over Raleigh with a billboard campaign promoting Tierra de Pasiones and Laura. WZGS has already received a lot of positive feedback from the community as they are excited about receiving Telemundo programming.

WZDC Wines and Dines with Pasión

To kick off the launch of Tierra de Pasiones a select group of advertisers and members of the media were invited to a special preview of the new telenovela at Café Milano in DC. Guests wined and dined as the plots and stars of Tierra de Pasiones kept them on the edge of their seats.

WRDM/WDMR Hartford/Springfield at the Connecticut Business Expo

For the second consecutive year WRDM/WDMR was the only Spanish language broadcaster participating in the Connecticut Business Expo. The business expo hosted over 500 companies for a day of networking. This was truly a great way to maximize the Telemundo brand while pitching to new potential clients and sponsors.

WZDC Participates in McDonald’s® McSoccerfest

WZDC Washington, DC participated for the first time in McDonald's® 13th annual McSoccerfest. WZDC 's broadcast of tournament information helped increase the number of Hispanic participants and number of participating teams! WZDC's own team, Telemundo F.C., came in 3rd place (only because they changed the schedule without notice)! WZDC’s team is already practicing for next year's competition. The tournament is played on mini-fields with reduced-sized goals and no goalies to ensure non-stop, high-scoring action. This year, McDonald’s® McSoccerfest had 386 youth and adult teams, and attracted more than 15,000 attendees.

Papi Sanchez working the crowd

“Vamos de Party” with Papi Sanchez

Over 12,000 visitors flocked to the VIVA Ft. Myers event on March 25, organized by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for the Southeast of Florida. WWDT arranged for Papi Sanchez to perform live at the event, which was a great way to promote WWDT.

WWDT Ft. Myers/Naples Breaking Records!

On January 26 and 27 the Ft. Myers Hispanic community collected more than $210,000 in monetary promises during it’s 5th annual Promesa y Esperanza Radio Marathon on KE Buena 1440 AM. The money raised will go towards the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, to research cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. The event broke the record of money raised in Ft. Myers this year thanks to the support of the community and the promotion done by WWDT Ft. Myers Telemundo.

KTDO El Paso/Las Cruces Walks 12 Hours

KTDO El Paso walked 12 hours in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. The relay helped raise funds to fight Cancer and to support the American Cancer Society.

WZDC Washington, DC and ZGS Race for a Cure

On June 3rd WZDC and ZGS teamed-up with their families to participate in the annual Komen Race for the Cure. The Telemundo team had a great time supporting an important cause.

WWDT Ft. Myers/Naples le da la Bienvenida a Candela Ferro

On March 18, Candela Ferro signed autographs and read books to children at the Reads County Reading Festival in downtown Ft. Myers. Candela Ferro is one of the most recognized figures of Hispanic television in the United States, and the children had a lot of fun with her.

Comments, suggestions or ideas for the newsletter? E-mail Tara Ballesteros tballesteros@zgsgroup.com

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