Jenni Rivera and Alejandro Fernandez leave their fans, and press, waiting

The 11th annual Los Premios de la Radio concert Tuesday at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles drew thousands of people hoping to see their favorite Mexican regional singers.

But two much awaited stars, Jenni Rivera and Alejandro Fernandez, left hundreds of fans and the media disappointed when they stayed off the red carpet at the LA Live venue.

It’s amazing how celebrities’ attitudes appear to change for different events, even at the same location. A few weeks ago, Michael Jackson fans, dressed like him packed the venue for the premier of "This Is It." On Tuesday night, fans had donned hats and cowboy boots.

Some stars who walked the red carpet then, included Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith, Paris Hilton, Jennifer Love Hewitt and many more who did not shy from shaking hands with fans and posing for photos.

Meanwhile, at Los Premios de la Radio, which for the last 10 years was held at the Gibson Amphitheater, both "El Potrillo" and "La Diva de la Banda" refused to speak with the media or  fans.

But others who did oblige by walking the red carpet Tuesday night were Vicky and Marisol, members of Los Horoscopos de Durango, Lupillo and Juan Rivera and Los Tucanes de Tijuana. Also on hand were some telenovela actors, and the host of the show, Adal Ramones.

The difference in star attitudes for "This is It" and "Los Premios de la Radio" appear to show the big distinction between how they treat English and Spanish media. Despite the presence of hundreds of television, print and cable outlets at the latter, some celebrities did not find it important to give them, or their fans, a few minutes of their time.

— Tommy Calle/HOY

 
To read the full story in Spanish this Friday, visit vivelohoy.com/losangeles

 

Mexicans take on 'Thriller' dance record and beat it

You remember the rehearsal?

Well, Saturday afternoon saw the real performance this weekend when a crowd reported to total more than 12,000 people came together in downtown Mexico City to shake it to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" on the day that he would have celebrated his 51st birthday.

The idea was to break the Guinness world record for the biggest simultaneous "Thriller" dance in one place, and according to organizers, Mexico's Jackson fans did just that, turning up in droves to be led through the moves by Hector Jackson, Mexico's premier impersonator.

Ticket sales uneven as Dudamel readies for his debut

Culture Monster reports that despite the rush for tickets to the first Los Angeles Philharmonic concert led by its new musical director, 28-year-old conductor Gustavo Dudamel, on Oct. 3 box office figures from Walt Disney Concert Hall show that even the young Venezuelan isn’t entirely recession-proof.

Subscription tickets, which went on sale in February and account for a majority of total sales, have fallen 7% from last year, the final year of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s tenure with the orchestra.

That was at least partly offset by an uptick in the sale of single tickets. The orchestra says purchases of individual tickets that went on sale Sunday were approximately 50% above the sales from the same day last year, resulting in several sold-out performances well in advance of Oct. 8, the official start of the 2009-10 season.

“It’s not unlike what we’re seeing at the Hollywood Bowl this summer,” said Arvind Manocha, the company’s chief operating officer. “There’s a certain population of people who migrate away from large subscription packages, and we’re seeing more of that than usual.”

Read the rest of the report here.

The Los Angeles Times magazine profiled the Venezuelan conductor this month.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Illustration: Gabriel Moreno / For the Los Angeles Times

Mexico City fans practice Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' moves

Mexico City's Michael Jackson fans got together Tuesday morning to practice the recently deceased singer's famous "Thriller" dance in front of the Palacio de Bellas Artes downtown.

Led by Mexican Jackson impersonator "Héctor Jackson" (pictured) and choreographer Adolfo Chávez, the group was preparing for an Aug. 29 event in which an estimated 11,000 people in Mexico City will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the biggest mass "Thriller" dance. Jackson would have turned 51 on that date.

Jackson holds numerous Guinness World Records including the most Grammy Awards won in a year, most hit singles on the British charts in a year, bestselling album of all time ("Thriller"), longest span of No. 1 hits by an R&B artist, bestselling music video, highest annual earnings for a pop star, and most successful pop music family, according to the organization's website.

Fans in other cities around the world, including Moscow and Barcelona, are expected to take part in the attempt to break the record, held by a group from Toronto.

Click here for more pictures on Flickr.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo credit: Mexico City government.

Dudamel ticket hopefuls exhilarated, disappointed at Bowl

Culture Monster reports on the rush for free tickets to the first Los Angeles Philharmonic concert led by its new musical director, the 28-year-old Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel.

"Dezi Koster ... is the proud recipient of four free tickets to see 28-year-old Venezuelan wunderkind Gustavo Dudamel, the new music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, at the Hollywood Bowl on Oct. 3, conducting his first concert as leader of the celebrated orchestra.

"Koster was one of 1,000 people who spent a hot morning in line Saturday at the Bowl, some arriving as early as 5 a.m., with the hope of getting free tickets. Starting at noon, the first 246 or 247 received up to four seats. The rest went home empty-handed as demand outstripped supply. Countless more tried and failed to get tickets by phone and online, but no matter the method, tickets were gone in 1 hour and 20 minutes.

"The Bowl has long been known for bringing classical music to ordinary people in a casual arena far from the sometimes intimidating confines of the traditional concert hall. But Dudamel and the Philharmonic have taken the populist appeal of the Bowl to a new level by presenting '¡Bienvenido Gustavo!,' the first concert of his inaugural season, for free on a first-come, first-served basis."

Read more here on Culture Monster.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Sneak preview of Shakira's new video

Colombian pop star Shakira is expected to debut her latest music video on MTV tonight, and sneak previews are, of course, already circulating on YouTube.

"She Wolf" is the first single from the album of the same name, due for release later this year. Previews of the video show the singer hanging from the bars of a golden cage.

She told Rolling Stone magazine: “I am in a cage, but I am showing the desperation of being in it. I got a little carried away, hanging upside down.”

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Brazilian singer Ceu continues to experiment with diverse genres

On her sophomore project, "Vagarosa," Brazilian singer-songwriter Céu continues to embrace music from far and wide, reports Reed Johnson:

If you've set foot in a Starbucks lately, chances are you've caught a few bars of Céu's music. The Brazilian singer-songwriter's self-titled debut album was picked by the coffee chain to be the first release from an international artist featured in its Hear Music Debut CD series.

Critics showered praise, the disc rose to the top of Billboard's world music chart and Céu (pronounced say-u) scored a Latin Grammy nomination for best new artist of 2006 and a Grammy nomination for best contemporary world music album of 2007.

Céu's creamy vocals and camera-friendly looks helped make her the rare foreign chanteuse who can break through the English-language barrier that often blocks world music artists from the U.S. market (she sings almost exclusively in Portuguese). With her much-anticipated follow-up, "Vagarosa," to promote, she's back on tour and has a return engagement Friday at the Roxy.

Read the rest of this report here on the LATimes Pop & Hiss music blog.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Mexican band pays tribute to Michael Jackson

Mexico City blogger Chilangabacha writes this morning about a Sonoran Norteño group, Los Picadientes del Caborca, coming up with a purely Mexican version of Michael Jackson's classic, “Billy Jean.”

The cover was, of course, crafted as a homage to Jackson, whose memorial service took place in Los Angeles yesterday.

"Since I couldn’t be in Los Angeles to pay my respects, this is how I will thank the man who inspired my first awkward gabacha dance moves," writes the former Los Angeles resident in a blog post entitled "Guillermo Jean."

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Reggaeton shakes up Cuba

Cuba's underground reggaeton artists are causing a stir on the Caribbean island, according to this report from Reuters.

Rising star Michael "El Micha" Sierra, 27, records his songs into his neighbour's old computer, and then burns them onto CDs or USB Flash drives and spreads them around town. "With little official support or air time on state-controlled radio, the songs Cuban reggaeton artists record in makeshift studios lined with egg cartons for sound insulation are mostly transmitted though homemade CDs and on computer flash memory sticks.

"That is how the tropical fever of reggaeton is sweeping communist-ruled Cuba, captivating its youth and enraging a cultural establishment alarmed by the vulgarity of some of its lyrics, which include phrases like 'Coge mi tubo' ('Grab my pipe') and 'Metela' ('Stick it in')."

You can watch El Micha letting loose with another reggaeton artist, Pipey, in a video here on YouTube.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo gallery: Gustavo Dudamel's learning curve

A photo gallery on the Los Angeles Times website follows Gustavo Dudamel, the 28-year-old Venezuelan incoming music director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, ending his second season as the Gothenburg Symphony's music director last month.

Dudamel will take up his new role in Los Angeles in October.

The Venezuelan conductor is the most illustrious graduate of El Sistema, or the System, Venezuela's 34-year-old music tuition program that many regard as a model not only for music instruction but for helping children develop into productive, responsible citizens.

You can watch below a video shot by Reed Johnson last year of El Sistema in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.