Univision’s ‘Selena ¡Vive!’ Breaks Audience Records

4/11/2005

Nationwide audience dazzled by all-star celebration of Tejano Queen’s life

Sister network TeleFutura also achieves record audience with presentation of the motion picture “Selena”

Houston, TX--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--April 11, 2005--(NYSE:UVN) Hispanic America joined a sold-out Reliant Stadium of over 50,000 devoted fans as the Univision Television Network broadcast “Selena¡Vive!,” its star-studded tribute to the Queen of Tejano music, LIVE last Thursday night. The telecast also went on to achieve a record breaking 35.9 household rating to become the highest rated and most viewed Spanish-language TV special ever and was the #1 program regardless of language among Adults 18-34 in Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco while tying for first place in New York.

Emotions clearly ran high as the 3-hour spectacular began with a heartfelt introduction by Selena’s motion picture portrayer, Jennifer López, followed by Selena’s original greeting to the fans of her last concert at the Houston Astrodome 10 years ago. The musical tribute then kicked into high gear with superstar Thalía’s opening interpretation of the Selena hit, “Amor Prohibido.” Thalía was followed by a cavalcade of many of Latin music’s biggest stars, all performing an amazing collection of Selena’s biggest hits.

The immensely popular group Banda el Recodo gave a rhythmic rendition of “Techno Cumbia.” Then Puerto Rican salsa star India performed “No Debes Jugar.” After a short video recounting Selena’s discovery, a cacophony of car horns was heard at the start of the next number as Mexican recording artist Ana Barbara performed “La Carcacha” along with a full complement of dancers. The poignant duet “Buenos Amigos” was then performed by newcomer Mariana Seoane and popular heartthrob Pablo Montero, and Grupero music star Alicia Villarreal wrapped up the segment with “Si Una Vez.”

Following another video recalling Selena’s international success, popular Mexican singer Ana Gabriel dedicated her performance of one of Selena’s favorite classics “Tú, Sólo Tú” to her memory. She then introduced Pepe Aguilar, who likewise dedicated his rendition of “No Me Queda Más.” Then, after a video depicting Selena’s origins in Texas, the audience was treated to an electrifying production of “Fotos Y Recuerdos” by the always-exciting pop sensation Paulina Rubio.

The next video segment retold the story of Selena’s “second family” and back-up band, Los Dinos, and was narrated by one of its former members, Pete Astudillo. Astudillo then performed the song he wrote after her passing, “Cómo Te Extraño.”

After a video covering Selena’s life as a role model for women, Puerto Rico’s Olga Tañón treated viewers to her dance-filled interpretation of the hit “La Llamada.” The next video segment was dedicated to “Love” and was followed by a dramatic entrance of international superstar Gloria Estefan in a special, heartfelt performance of Selena’s English-language hit “I Could Fall In Love.”

In one of the most touching performances of the evening, Selena’s brother A. B. Quintanilla and his group, Kumbia Kings, performed a duet with his sister in a specially remixed version of her hit “Baila Esta Cumbia.” Later, Mexico’s eclectic pop-rocker Alejandra Guzmán brought the audience to their feet with her performance of perhaps Selena’s most infectious hit, “Bidi Bidi, Bom Bom”. This was followed by a Tex-Mex medley by two of the popular genre’s biggest stars, Bobby Pulido and Jay Pérez.

Colombian singer/songwriter Soraya began singing the crossover hit “Dreaming of You” and was joined onstage by the vocal group Barrio Boyzz, reunited for the first time since disbanding to pay homage to Selena, whom they had the privilege of recording with while she was alive. Mexican singer Graciela Beltrán then treated the crowd to a lively production number of “El Chico del Apto. 512.”

A video of Selena’s legacy was then followed by Aleks Syntek and Fey performing “Dondequiera Que Estés.” Then, today’s hottest “Duranguense” band, Montéz de Durango, broke into a spirited and fireworks-highlighted arrangement of “Ven Conmigo.”

But without a doubt, the evening’s most emotional moment came when the entire stadium audience got a chance to participate in the grand finale. A video of the star of the evening, Selena, performing “Como La Flor” played on the giant video screens accompanied by Los Dinos, playing together again for the first time since her passing. Then, as thousands of fans waved white roses, all the performers returned to the stage to sing the chorus along with a 55-member children’s choir, closing the show with one of the most moving tributes of all time. Commenting on the evening dedicated to his beloved daughter, family patriarch Abraham Quintanilla was quoted as saying, “The evening exceeded our wildest expectations. Selena’s memory is very much alive as witnessed by the outpouring of emotions during tonight’s event. My wife and I would like to thank Univision, the marvelous crew, and most of all, her ever devoted fans.”

On Thursday, March 31, the anniversary of Selena’s passing, TeleFutura's special primetime tribute to Selena made ratings history for the Network. Ranking as the nation's #2 broadcast network among all Hispanic demographics that night, only behind sister network Univision, it also resulted in the largest audience in TeleFutura’s history. TeleFutura delivered 1.2 million more Hispanic Viewers on this night than competitor Telemundo.

Photographs of “Selena ¡Vive!” (courtesy of Univision) are available for downloading at the following Internet address: ftp://ftp.univision.net USER NAME: media PASSWORD: selena

Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. Its operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 98% of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 81% of U.S. Hispanic Households; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 27 Univision Network television stations and 1 non-Univision television station; TeleFutura Television Group, which owns and operates 33 TeleFutura Network television stations; Galavisión, the country’s leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 66 radio stations in 17 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and 4 stations in Puerto Rico; Univision Music Group, which includes Univision Records, Fonovisa Records, and a 50% interest in Mexico-based Disa Records labels as well as Fonomusic and America Musical Publishing companies; and Univision Online, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S. located at http://www.univision.com. Univision Communications also has a 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa’s pay television channels in the U.S., and a non-voting 27% interest in Entravision Communications Corporation, a public Spanish-language media company. Univision Communications is headquartered in Los Angeles with television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States.

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