ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

POP/ROCK

Bowing to Protesters’ Pressure: The hit Cuban musical group Buena Vista Social Club has canceled a scheduled Feb. 11 concert in Miami Beach, citing fears for the musicians’ safety following an Oct. 9 furor in which thousands of protesters hurled bottles and insults at concert-goers during a show by another well-known Cuban group, Los Van Van. The protesters, mostly Cuban exiles, argued that Cuban artists who perform in the United States bolster Fidel Castro’s government. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County’s mayor and some city officials have said they oppose having Los Van Van perform in Miami again, claiming the band’s return would provoke Cuban exiles and threaten public safety.

Ritmo Latino Winners: The Ritmo Latino Music Awards, a new show billed as the first Latin music awards voted by the public, was taped at the Universal Amphitheatre Wednesday, for airing on Telemundo Nov. 7. Though the nominees included many top performers, only one, A.B. Quintanilla, was present to receive his award as best tejano artist. Ricky Martin, who was busy kicking off his concert tour in Miami (see below), was the night’s biggest winner with three awards: male pop artist, best album and best video. Double winners were Colombian pop-rock singer Shakira (best female artist and artist of the year) and Juan Gabriel (best Mexican regional artist and Life Achievement Award winner). Other winners included Marc Anthony, Elvis Crespo, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias and Mana. Not surprisingly, the awards were weighted toward music popular in the American Southwest; while ballots were available in California, Nevada, Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey and Florida, the majority of the 74,500 votes were cast in 300 Vons stores in California and Nevada. There was no mention of the Buena Vista Social Club album, despite its status as one of the top-selling Latin albums of the year.

Ricky Mania: Meanwhile, there’s little evidence of the above-mentioned Martin’s star dimming, at least in Miami, where the singer launched his much-anticipated 24-city U.S. tour Wednesday night. Martin, who entered the Miami Arena stage on the hood of a vintage Ford Mustang convertible to the sounds of “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” went through at least six costume changes for his sold-out crowd of 12,000 and sang for 100 minutes in both English and Spanish in front of an 11-piece band. USA Today reported the crowd was mixed in age and gender, but other observers said it was mostly screeching girls and young women. Choreography was said to be as tight and theatrical as at Martin’s attention-grabbing Grammy show performance in February. The Martin carnival comes to Staples Center Nov. 13 and Anaheim’s Arrowhead Pond Nov. 20. Both shows were sold out in minutes.

TV & MOVIES

PBS’ Millennium Plans: In what it is calling “the most massive and ambitious live television event in history,” WGBH-TV in Boston will partner with the BBC and broadcasters in 56 other countries to produce “PBS Millennium 2000,” a 25-hour broadcast set to begin at 1:45 a.m. (PST) on Dec. 31. Scheduled segments include shots of Maori warriors dancing in New Zealand, Nelson Mandela celebrating in Cape Town, an acrobatic ballet performed on the sails of Sydney’s Opera House and a New Orleans jazz parade. Scheduled performers include Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Nana Mouskouri, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Gypsy Kings and Elton John and Tina Turner (the latter two from their concert at Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace).

Latino Projects: Talent management-production company Silverlight Entertainment quietly signed a deal earlier this month with Warner Bros. Television to develop programs with Latino themes and to advise the studio on ways to bolster the Latino presence on television. The first step, Silverlight said this week, will be developing scripts for its Latino clients looking to crossover into English-language programming. Silverlight will be creating both comedy and drama series designed for network prime time.

THE ARTS

Broadway/LA Season: Broadway/LA’s 2000 season will include “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story” (Feb. 1-13), the Native American music and dance revue “Spirit” (April 4-16) and “Annie Get Your Gun” (May 9-21, stars yet to be announced), plus a fourth show that depends on whether you’re already a subscriber. Current subscribers will get “The Lion King” (previews begin Sept. 30), while new subscribers will get Richard Chamberlain in “The Sound of Music” (March 1-5) plus the opportunity to buy “Lion King” seats before single ticket sales begin. All shows will be at the Pantages Theatre except “Spirit,” slated for the Wilshire Theatre.

Hammer Changes: Architect Frank O. Gehry has joined the board of directors of the UCLA Hammer Museum. Meanwhile, one of Gehry’s former proteges, architect Michael Maltzan, has been hired to renovate and complete a 300-seat theater at the museum and to redesign the Hammer’s lobby and entrances to increase the venue’s street visibility.