by Antonio Mejías-Rentas
Gloria Estefan
TRIBUTE SET: Five musical acts have been chosen to perform at the Person of the Year gala for Gloria Estefan to be hosted by the Latin Recording Academy on Nov, 12.
Performers are Grammy and Latin Grammy winners and nominees. Three acts are from Puerto Rico: singer/songwriter José Feliciano, singer Ednita Nazario and reggaeton duo Wisin & Yandel. Also performing at the tribute will be Peruvian singer/songwriter Gian Marco and Mexican guitarist Carlos Santana.
Estefan is the first woman to receive the Academy’s tribute. The gala and dinner a fundraiser for various charities will be held in Houston the night before this year’s Latin Grammy Awards.
In a related item, Gloria’s husband Emilio Estefan, a previous Person of the Year winner, was once again the producer of this year’s White House Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.
Colombian singer/songwriter Cabas was the performer at an Oct. 9 concert enjoyed by President Bush. After performing Mi bombón and Bonita, Cabas presented Bush with a sculpture by Colombian artist Nadin Ospina, who Estefanuses Lego pieces to create his artwork.
José Feliciano plays at AT&T Park during the unveiling of the statue of his friend Orlando Cepeda. (photo by Marvin J. Ramirez)
CASTING COUP: One of television’s most celebrated actors has joined the cast of the Showtime hit Dexter.
Jimmy Smits plays Assistant D.A. Miguel Prado in the third season of the drama about a likeable Miami forensics expert turned serial killer, whose victims are themselves serial killers. In the new season, begun this month, Smits’ character starts to unravel some of the mysteries behind Dexter Morgan (played by Michael C. Hall).
Prado’s brother has been murdered and he believes a serial killer named Freebo is responsible. The killer indeed was Dexter, whose intended target was Freebo.
Ednita Nazario
As the season begins, Prado enlists Dexter to help catch the killer.
“They go through this journey where they’re interfacing professionally and that leads to a deep friendship that’s brotherly in a lot of ways,” Smits recently told Associated Press. That relationship “lets Dexter open up in ways the audience hasn’t seen.”
Smits is billed as “special guest star” and is the show’s second Latino star, joining Lauren Velez, who has been on Dexter since season one. This is not the fi rst time Smits is brought in to boost an established show’s rating, but it is his fi rst starring role on a cable show. In the fi nal season of the NRC drama The West Wing he played a Latino politician who is elected president and he joined the ABC police drama NYPD Blue in the second season after its star David Caruso left the show. Smits won an Emmy for his first TV drama, L.A. Law.
ONE LINER: Pulse Park, an installation by Mexican artist Rafael Lozano Hemmer consisting of two sculptures with sensors that convert visitor’s vital signs into light’ will be seen st New York’s Madison Square Park Oct. 24 to Nov. 17. Hispanic Link.
