Latin Times Magazine Vol 15 No 4 | Page 29

Premios Juventud 2016 – An Up Close and Personal Review
By Gabriela Guerrero
Retro night was the theme for the Premios Juventud PJ 2016 , and what a groovy night it was ! The red carpet ( it was actually gray ) was filled with celebrities looking glamorous and wearing their best retro outfits ; photographers trying to capture every moment ( and hopefully something “ out of the ordinary ” to sell ;) and funky music played by DJ Karlos , winner of the DJ @ PJ battle . During the “ gray ” carpet at the pre-show , the press had the opportunity to photograph and interview the talent who took a few minutes of their busy night to chat about their current and future projects ( and maybe a little about a subject that might be controversial at the moment .) PRs ( public relations agents ) took the opportunity to introduce new talent to the press . Some of them were lucky to land an interview , it all depended if a celebrity ( meaning popular ) walked by and took the spotlight away . I respect those reporters who interview new talent and treat them the same way as they treat the popular ones ; that is professionalism . After all , they could become the next A-lister ! And I also respect those “ famous ” artists who take the time to talk to the press during pre-shows , they really don ’ t need to , they have enough media coverage as it is . I guess you can tell who really is an artist at heart , because he just wants to share with the world how happy , thankful and appreciative he is , and does not need to pretend he doesn ’ t see or hear the reporters calling out his name . Side note : I remember once , a very famous female singer from Mexico , top talent , was very late to the show . She walked the red carpet ( which at that point was over ) and heard her name being called out , and she stopped ( yes , she stopped !) to give brief interviews to the few reporters packing their equipment ( usually top talent walks early in the night .) She was charming and did not want to miss any reporter who wanted to interview her . Needless to say I admire her even more now .
The pre-show ended with Jakob Forever and Farruko singing “ Hasta Que Se Seque El Malecon .” It was a wonderful and fun closing of the red carpet , and a perfect warm up for what ended up being one of the best awards shows in the past couple of years ( my opinion .) These were the big winners of the night , and remember , the nominees and winners are chosen by their fans : Group CNCO ( yes that is the name , pronounced cinco which means five because the group has 5 members , but the group name is missing the I ) is a fairly new group . The group will certainly gain more popularity now after winning in five categories out of six nominations : Best dressed , Voice of the Moment , Producers Choice Award , My Pop Rock Artist , and My favorite Tuitero ( yes , that is a word meaning twitter celebrity .)
For the second year in a row , Luis Coronel took home the Regional Mexican Artist of the year award . He was happy and had a smile from ear to ear . He was thankful that his hard work finally paid off . Marc Anthony won the Best Tropical Artist award . He seemed surprised and shared the award with the other artists in the same category who did not win . I have seen Marc Anthony in several events & conferences , and had a chance to talk to him for a bit , and I can truly say that he is exactly what we all see on stage : a humble man , unselfish , with good feelings and with an incredible talent . Colombian singer JBalvin was recognized with the award Mi Fan Army ( his army of fans .) JBalvin thanked his social media followers , fan clubs and fans for such an honor . A sweet moment was when young musician Luis Figueroa won the De Cover a Cover award . Luis got teary eyes and emotional before going on stage to accept the award , and Marc Anthony gave Luis a hug . Luis won the award for doing the cover of Marc Anthony ’ s song “ Flor Pálida .” A nice surprise was the award El Molusco received , the Qué Actorazo ( What an Actor ) Award , considering actors like Antonio Banderas and Fernando Colunga were also nominated .
Well , about the show , it was full of surprises , entertainment , and overall well organized and executed . I am not an expert of putting together live TV shows ; however , I have attended a few and I can only say that this one was perfectly carried out . I am sure there were “ issues ,” but as long as the public didn ’ t notice , it was perfect . It was nice to see that during commercials , the public was allowed to leave and return to their seats without having to wait until the next commercial ( yes , it happens in some award shows .)
The seating was done differently than in other award shows . The floor area had fans standing all over it , not just below the stage , it seemed like a big party . The talent
This Issue of Latin Times Magazine is sponsored by
was accommodated on one side of the floor . Most times the floor area is set up with chairs for the talent and fans who are called “ fillers .” Fillers are asked to take the seats of the artist when they go on stage , or back stage , or when they leave ; this is done to give the illusion of full attendance . In that type of set up , fillers have a chance to sit next to an celebrity and get that fabulous selfie . I guess that is the prize they get after standing in line for hours under the sun and being moved from one chair to another . Going back to this show , the fans in the floor area carried a fanny pack provided by the organizers with different lights inside to wear during different performances . During commercials , they were given instructions on which light to use for which performance . It actually looked amazing when the colorful neon lights were on . I have to congratulate to whomever came up with that idea , and to those involved in making it all work seamlessly .
The retro show began with Gente de Zona and Los Del Río performing La Macarena with everyone singing and dancing to the “ heyyy Macarena .” I can honestly say that from that moment on , nobody in the section where I sat stopped dancing . It was a fun crowd .
Side note : soon you will hear on the radio a remix of the song performed by Gente de Zona and Los Del Río , it is called “ Más Macarena .” Better start practicing those moves again !
A grand piano was in the center of the floor and I heard the first lyrics of Marc Anthony ’ s song “ Flor Pálida ” and I though “ That sounds just like Marc Anthony ,” but nah , that couldn ’ t be him , I didn ’ t hear he was performing . I looked up to be sure , and I saw Luis Figueroa singing . I was impressed by his beautiful voice . I looked down for a second and next I see Marc Anthony walking on stage to sing along , the crowd went crazy . It was a beautiful surprise , and a perfect rendition of “ Flor Pálida ” by Luis Figueroa !
Enrique Iglesias performed a mix of his greatest hits finalizing with his latest single “ Duele el Corazon .” Just watching Enrique perform is a show by itself . He brought energy and sexiness to the stage while his fans danced and sang along . What makes this singer a success , besides his talent , is the fact that he is as nice on stage as he is in everyday life , a true artist .
PJ 2016 concluded the night with colorful confetti falling from the ceiling while the public cheered and danced to a perfect awards show night .
More at : www . LatinTimesMedia . com

bochinche blvd

SCAN BELOW to Check out more Great Articles and pictures !
29