DIAL Awards 2012 Prize-Winners Announced, the awards honor the best music in Spanish

Miguel Bosé, Pablo Alboran, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Sergio Dalma, Alex Ubago, Manuel Carrasco, Franco De Vita, Malu, Salvador Beltran, Thalia, Jesse & Joy, El Arrebato, Merche and Melendi are among this year’s big winners.

Cadena Dial has today announced at a press conference the winners of the Dial Awards 2012, the most important prizes in the Spanish music world. Miguel Bosé, Pablo Alboran, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Sergio Dalma, Alex Ubago, Manuel Carrasco, Franco De Vita, Malu, Salvador Beltran, Thalia, Jesse & Joy, El Arrebato, Merche and Melendi are among this year’s big winners.

The awards ceremony gala -- to be hosted by Frank Blanco, director of the Cadena Dial show ‘Atrévete’ and Carmen Ramirez -- will be held at the “Adán Martín" Auditorium of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on March 13. The gala is set to feature performances by Felipe Santos, Efecto Pasillo, Lagarto Amarillo, Rosana, Tiziano Ferro, India Martínez, Vanesa Martín and Antonio Carmona.

Joining the media at the awards press conference were Alejandro Nieto, managing director of radio network SER; Anton Reixa, president of the performing rights body SGAE; Ricardo Melchior Navarro, President of the Tenerife regional authority; Ricardo Fernandez de la Puente, Deputy Minister of Tourism for the Canary Islands; Sandra Rotondo, managing director of PRISA Radio’s music division; Carlos Alonso Rodriguez, deputy vice president of the Tenerife regional authority; and Juan Carlos Chaves, director of PRISA Radio’s music channels in Spain.

Alejandro Nieto, managing director of SER, stressed the importance of music in the Spanish language as a link between Spain and Latin America "We must remain committed to music, art, culture and entertainment."

The president of the SGAE, Anton Reixa, shared the need to promote music in Spanish. "We share the objectives of Cadena Dial: to champion music in Spanish and Latin music. Our artists are our heritage."

Meanwhile, Ricardo Melchior, President of the Tenerife regional authority, said he was pleased that his city would be hosting the awards, a unique event, for the seventh consecutive year. "Tenerife is the meeting point for Spanish-language music, the crossroads for European, American and African culture,."

"The people of the Canary Islands will give a warm welcome to these great performers and artists," said Ricardo Fernandez de la Puente, Deputy Minister of Tourism for the Canary Islands. He also highlighted the tourist value of the Canary Islands, which attract 12 million visitors a year.

Sandra Rotondo, managing director of PRISA Radio’s music division, explained how she was committed, once again this year, to giving the awards the maximum possible exposure  by using the whole network of PRISA Radio stations in Spain and Latin America. "Tenerife is on the map for great Latin artists. Once again we plan on exploiting the full potential of PRISA Radio to give music in Spanish the greatest possible exposure. "

Carlos Alonso Rodriguez, deputy vice president of the Tenerife regional authority, underlined the charitable nature of the event. "It will be a music and fun-filled gala bringing hope to those in need"

Finally, Juan Carlos Chaves, director of PRISA Radio’s music channels in Spain, reaffirmed the radio network’s support for the industry and the values enshrined by the awards. "It’s going to be a magical gala that will reward the effort, talent and the teams behind each and every artist."

Also attending the press conference were Melendi, Salvador Beltrán, Franco de Vita, Merche, El Arrebato, Manuel Carrasco, Vanesa Martín, Efecto Pasillo, Lagarto Amarillo, India Martínez and Leire from the band La Oreja Van Gogh.

All proceeds from the Dial Awards Gala 2012 will go to the Asociación Padre Laraña and La Milagrosa.