EstrellaTV announced the nominees for the 20th annual Premios de la Radio, the only award show dedicated to regional Mexican music and its subgenres, on Oct. 7. The stars of the show Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento like singers Chiquis Rivera, Luis Coronel and La Que Buena de Los Angeles radio personalities Pepe Garza and Don Cheto announced the news.
“I feel like Premios de la Radio are the ones that really recognize what the regional Mexican industry is,” said Coronel. “It’s really important because they give recognition to banda, to norteño, to mariachi, to all these different genres.”
Adriel Favela, Banda MS, Carin Leon, El Fantasma, Fuerza Regida, and Virlan Garcia tie as the most nominated acts with four nominations each. Along with awarding the traditional subgenres under regional Mexican music, this year Premios de La Radio is creating an urban corridos category to keep up with the new direction that artists are going.
“[The urban corridos movement] is very authentic, very ingenious, and we are recognizing it,” said KBUE-FM programming director Garza, who also had a hand in selecting the nominees. “If we don’t recognize it, we are missing the tradition of the awards betting on what the people want without minding the critics or the controversy of that music.”
Premios de la Radio will broadcast live on EstrellaTV on Nov. 7 from The Theatre at Grand Prairie in Dallas, Texas. Banda MS will lead a tribute to late Mexican singer-songwriter José José. With the awards taking place in the Lone Star State, a native from there, legendary Tejano artist Selena Quintanilla, will also receive a live tribute.
“For me it’s un orgullo,” said two-time nominee Rivera, who will join other female artists in performing from Selena’s famous repertoire. “I’m a huge fan of Selena. I’m going to be able to be a part of this tribute and the song that I’m going to sing is one of my favorites, so it’s going to be cool.”
As much as música urbana is king of Latin music at the moment, Garza mentions the staying power of regional Mexican music and the importance of an awards show like Premios de la Radio.
“In some way we fight for this to happen,” he said. “It’s a genre that has concerts every week in all parts of the country. Mexico has been a songbook for many years and our songs are heard around the world.”
Fans can vote for all the categories online here.