Ritmo Latino Awards Lack Luster but Not Fans

Sitting backstage at the Universal Amphitheatre, a visibly tired Saul Hernandez, lead singer with rock en espan~ol group Jaguares, looked at a photograph of his wife and 11-month-old daughter as he waited for his turn to appear on the second annual Ritmo Latino Awards show. Hernandez and his band flew in from Chicago for the event, to lip-sync to one of their moody rockers. They made the effort because the Ritmo Latinos are the awards of the people, and Jaguares has always displayed a dedication to its fans.

A Latino twist on the Blockbuster Awards and the American Music awards, the ceremony, which was taped to be broadcast by Telemundo in early November, rewards artists picked by music fans in 14 categories. Ballots were available in Vons supermarkets and Ritmo Latino record stores across the country.

The show didn’t get a visit from such mega-selling nominees as Enrique Iglesias and Alejandro Fernandez, but the likes of Chayanne and Pedro Fernandez participated, even if it meant prancing on stage to the sounds of recorded tracks. Because performing live music would have made for complicated logistics, the event was limited to playback performances, a technique that gave a canned, cold feeling to the show.

Although the capacity audience was quickly bored by the many breaks and the show’s overall lack of substance, a tribute to Mexican singer-songwriter Joan Sebastian and a moving appearance by Marco Antonio Solis, who kissed the hands of some of his female fans, brought the crowd to its feet during a satisfying finale.

For the record, the winners were: Ana Gabriel, female pop artist; Mana, male pop artist; Pepe Aguilar, ranchera artist; Intocable, tejano artist; Los Tigres del Norte, regional Mexican artist; Carlos Vives, salsa artist; Elvis Crespo, merengue artist; Jaguares, rock en espan~ol artist; Son by Four, best new artist; Chayanne, best music video; Omar Alfanno, composer; Son by Four’s “A Puro Dolor,” best song; Mana’s “MTV Unplugged,” best album; and Chayanne, artist of the year.