Tania León Among This Year’s Kennedy Center Honors Recipients

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Tania León has earned a prestigious honor…

The 79-year-old Cuban composer, conductor and educator will be among this year’s Kennedy Center Honors recipients.

Leon is part of a roster of honorees that includes U2, Gladys Knight, Amy Grant and George Clooney.

The Honors recipients are recognized for their contributions to American culture through the performing arts—whether in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television—and are confirmed by the executive committee of the Center’s board of trustees.

Deborah F. Rutter, Kennedy Center president, noted: “For nearly a half-century, the Kennedy Center Honors has represented the very best of America’s creative culture. The Honors is often referred to by past recipients as the pinnacle of awards because it recognizes not just one performance, album, or film, but esteems an artist’s cumulative body of work and influence over many decades…”

León received a 2012 Grammy nomination for best contemporary classical composition for Inura for Voices, Strings and Percussion. She is also renowned as a conductor, educator and advisor to arts organizations

León was a founding member and the first musical director of Arthur Mitchell‘s Dance Theater of Harlem, establishing its music department, music school, and orchestra.

She won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Stride.

The 45th Kennedy Center Honors Gala concludes with a dinner in the Grand Foyer.

“Little did I imagine when studying in La Habana that life was going to grace me with such a distinction! My first thoughts went to my ancestors: they believed in my dreams, and what we lacked in material wealth, they made up for in spirit, encouragement, and support,” says Leon of the honor. “My heartfelt thanks go to the many people who have blessed my path by helping my talent to blossom and by giving me the chance to be heard. I am incredibly humbled to join such a prestigious family of artists, and deeply grateful to the Kennedy Center for bestowing me with this incredible honor.”

The 45th annual Kennedy Center Honors will air on Wednesday, December 28 (8:00 – 10:00 pm ET/PT) on CBS. Paramount+ Premium subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service as well as on demand. Essential-tier subscribers will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.

The special show will be taped on Sunday, December 4 in Washington, D.C. Presented for lifetime artistic achievements, the program will be held on Sunday, December 4, on the Opera House stage at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Bobby Cannavale Joins Voice Cast of Illumination/Universal Pictures’ Animated Film “Sing 2”

Posted on December 23, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Bobby Cannavale is getting musical…

The 50-year-old half-Cuban American Emmy-winning actor has joined the voice cast of Sing 2, the Illumination/Universal Pictures sequel to the 2016 animated hit.

Cannavale is among a roster of cast newcomers that includes U2 lead singer Bono, Pharrell Williams, Halsey, Letitia Wright, Eric Andre and Chelsea Peretti.

Reprising stars include Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johannsson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly and Nick Kroll.

The film will be ready for theatrical holiday release a year from now.

“Sing 2 transcends the animation genre, immersing audiences in a fully realized world populated by complex characters, each with bold aspirations and relatable challenges,” said Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri. “We are thrilled that the Sing franchise attracts such exceptional talent, and we are delighted to announce this extraordinary cast. The film is a musical celebration of the unrelenting pursuit of one’s dreams, no matter how large the challenges that stand in your way. At its core this movie speaks to the power of optimism and belief.”

In Sing 2, Buster Moon (McConaughey) and his cast of underdogs push their talents beyond their local theater, hoping for a shot to perform at the most prestigious venue in the entertainment capital of the world: The Crystal Tower Theater. To do that, though, they’ll first have to impress the powerful and egotistical entertainment mogul—and likely gangster—wolf Jimmy Crystal (Cannavale) and prove that they are worthy of his stage. Crystal will let them perform, on condition Buster convince the world’s most reclusive rock legend, lion Clay Calloway (Bono) out of self-imposed seclusion after the death of his wife and persuade him to perform in the show.

Williams plays Alfonso, an elephant ice-cream-truck owner who becomes the first crush of shy elephant Meena (Kelly). Halsey voices Jimmy Crystal’s teenage daughter, Porsche; Wright plays a streetwise feline dancer who helps earnest gorilla Johnny (Egerton) regain his confidence while learning his choreography; Andre plays a self-important yak; and Peretti voices Jimmy Crystal’s haughty canine assistant and talent scout. Witherspoon returns as harried mother pig, Rosita; Johansson reprises as rocker porcupine Ash and Kroll returns as the pig artiste, Gunter.

The film is written and directed by Garth Jennings.

Penelope Cruz Receives Donostia Award at San Sebastian Film Festival

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Penelope Cruzis being heralded in her home country…

The 45-year-old Oscar-winning Spanish actress has received San Sebastian Film Festival‘s biggest honor, the Donostia Award.

Cruz was given the prize — which had been announced in May — over the weekend during a gala ceremony in a surprise presentation by her close friend, U2lead singerBono, who praised Cruz for her film roles and her off-screen concern for humanity.

“Penélope’s life on the screen fascinates me because it is a family drama,” he said. “Artists like us, like me, get lost in our own selves. Penelope gets lost in others. That’s why we get lost in her.”

Upon accepting the award, Cruz spoke out against domestic violence against women in Spain and around the world.

“So far this year, 44 women have been murdered by gender-based violence in our country, and since 2003 more than a thousand. How many women are being murdered around the world?”, she asked. “I hope that when a woman finds the superhuman strength she needs to tell what she is going through in such a situation, she will be heard at first and not when it is too late.”

Cruz dedicated the award to her parents, her children and husband, fellow actor Javier Bardem, and three directors she has worked with: Pedro Almodóvar, Bigas Lunaand Fernando Trueba.

Cruz is the youngest actress to receive the Donostia prize, three of which are awarded each year.

Greek director Costa-Gavrasand Canadian actor Donald Sutherlandwere named winners of the honor earlier in the week at the festival in the northern Spanish seaside resort town. Cruz won the best actress Oscar in 2008 for her role in Woody Allen‘s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, becoming the first Spanish actress to win an Academy Award.

Fifth Harmony Signs with Maverick Management

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Ally Brooke Hernandez, Camila Cabello and Lauren Jauregui are mavericks…

The Latina singers and their fellow Fifth Harmony members have signed with Maverick Management, according to Billboard.

Maverick hinted at the arrangement with a tweet, which featured a photo of the girl-group along with the caption, “Welcome to the Maverick family, @FifthHarmony!”

The all-girl group, which was named Group of the Year at Billboard’s Women in Music 2015 ceremony, is now onboard with a management enclave that counts Pharrell Williams, Madonna, Alicia Keys, U2, Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus among its clients.

Fifth Harmony had previously been repped by Jared Paul at Faculty.

The pop-quintet’s debut full-length album, Reflection, opened at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The 2015 set has yielded two top 40 hits, “Worth It” (No. 12) and “Sledgehammer” (No. 40).

Juanes Releases New Single “La Luz”

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

After a long absence, Juanes is finally bringing to light his latest recording…

The 41-year-old Colombian rockero has released the first single off his upcoming sixth solo studio album, which is due in 2014.

“La Luz,” an uptempo track with Colombian rhythms, was written by the Latin Grammy-winning singer and produced by Steve Lillywhite (The Killers, U2).

Juanes recorded the track in Los Angeles with Emmanuel “Meme” del Real, of Mexican rock band Café Tacuba. A video, filmed in the historic resort city of Cartagena, will be released soon.

The as-yet untitled new album will be his first studio effort since 2010’s P.A.R.C.E. and first major release since the “La Camisa Negra” singer’s MTV Unplugged session last year, which topped Billboard’s Hot Latin Albums chart.

Saldaña Commemorates World AIDS Day with Special Video

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

This World AIDS Day, Zoë Saldaña is asking her fans to take part in the war against AIDS…

The 34-year-old half-Puerto Rican & half-Dominican American actress was among the artists/celebrities around the world who recorded videos with a plea for fans to do their part to combat AIDS.

The videos were released earlier this week by ONE, a global-anti-poverty organization co-founded by U2‘s frontman Bono, to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1.

In her homemade video, Saldaña says, “It is very important that we unite and try to make a difference… whether through education or action.”

She goes on to add, “It is imperative that us as a human race come together to aid those in need and those family and children and women and men who are being affected today by this disease.”

Among other artists, who recorded similar videos, were Kellan Lutz, Anne Vyalitsyna and DJ Tiesto.

The campaign is open to all people around the world. They are free to share their personal opinions of what inspire them to join the fight through videos. Viewers are also given chances to sign a petition to support the life-saving programs to fight against AIDS.

Archuleta Releases “I’ll Never Go” Music Video

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

He may be preparing for a two-year Mormom mission… But that hasn’t stopped David Archuleta from makin’ sweet music.

The 21-year-old Honduran/Spanish American singer recently released the music video for his latest single “I’ll Never Go,” which was shot in Manila.

It’s the latest release from Archuleta’s fourth studio album Forevermore, a collection of original Filipino classic love songs recorded in English.

“I wouldn’t say that I sound better than the original singers because the singers here are so amazing. But I would hope that I could pay tribute to them with this album,” said Archuleta previously.

Forevermore has been in stores since the spring.

In addition, the former American Idol runner-up is preparing a new album called, BEGIN, for which he’s planning to re-record singles by artists like Christina Aguilera, Sarah McLachlan, Cyndi Lauper and U2.

Along with the cover songs, there is one new song called “Broken” which Archuleta wrote himself.

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