FOR MEDIA ONLY: If you would like to attend the May 25 performance at NJPAC, please contact Laura Novia at 609-777-5006 or lnovia@njn.org.

Trenton, NJ – Following months of screening videotapes and standing-room-only auditions, the finalists for the NJN Hispanic Youth Showcase 2007 have been selected. When the curtain rises at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater on Friday, May 25 at 7 pm, fifty youngsters from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut will take the stage for one of the most highly acclaimed talent search competitions in the tri-state area. A complete list of showcase finalists together with personal quotes and other information is available at NJN Hispanic Youth Showcase at njn.net. The talented hopefuls will compete in three divisions – ages 4-7, 8-12 and 13-17; and in three categories – dance, vocals, and instrumental. Two winners are selected from each of the categories in each division. Winners go home with a $500 scholarship, a free trip to Six Flags Great Adventure, and other prizes.

The longest running Latino children’s program on public television, the NJN Hispanic Youth Showcase is an Emmy Award-winning program selected by the National Arts Council Co-op as one of the top six children’s programs in the nation. Past and present participants have appeared in Hollywood films, on Broadway, on Star Search, Sabado Gigante, American Idol, at the Apollo Theater and in international commercials. This year marks the 21st annual NJN Hispanic Youth Showcase and the event will be dedicated to the memory of baseball’s number 21 – the great Roberto Clemente.

NJN Public Television will air a special program honoring the Showcase champions during the summer of 2007. Willie Sanchez is executive producer of the NJN Hispanic Youth Showcase 2007. Sponsorship for the NJN Hispanic Youth Showcase 2007 provided by PSE&G, PNC Bank, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The United Way of Essex and West Hudson, Goya Foods, Inc., New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Six Flags Great Adventure.

NJN Hispanic Youth Showcase 2007 Finalists:

Teen Duo/Trio (Ages 13 to 17)
• Combinacion Perfecta, Yonkers, NY
• Dynamic Trio, Edison, NJ
• Dance Crush, Vineland, NJ
• Rosa Parks High School, Paterson, NJ

Kids’ Dance (Ages 4 to 7)
• Nicolette Marissa Martinez, Age 4, Park Ridge, NJ
• Tino Martinez, Age 6, Bloomfield, NJ
• Kayla N. Ortiz, Age 7, Jersey City, NJ
• Melina Quispe, Age 5, Kearny, NJ
• Misha Seo, Age 6, Lyndurst, NJ

Teen Instrumentalists (Age 13 to 17)
• Kenny Benavides, Age 17, Newark, NJ
• Brenda Corral, Age 17, Newark, NJ
• Bryan Pasian, Age 16, New York City, NY
• Monique Pineros, Age 15, Elizabeth, NJ
• Timothy Rosales, Age 17, New York City, NY

Teen Groups (Ages 13 to 17)
• Amarily’s Academy of Dance Arts, West New York, NJ
• J & L Dance Center, North Bergen, NJ
• Rosa Parks High School, Paterson, NJ
• Yolanda’s Academy of Music & Dance, Union City, NJ

Junior Dance (Ages 8 to 12)
• Jasmine Asto, Age 12, Fairview, NJ
• Sarah Bombino, Age 12, West New York, NJ
• Sarah Botero, Age 9, North Bergen, NJ
• Gabriella Alexis Martinez, Age 12, Park Ridge, NJ
• Melody Marti, Age 11, Secaucus, NJ

Teen Dance (Ages 13 to 17)
• Maria Castillo, Age 17, Union City, NJ
• Vanessa Contreras, Age 15, Union City, NJ
• Gabriela Mendoza,Age 15, Lyndhurst, NJ
• Emily Mari, Age 16, Secaucus, NJ
• Marianella Quintanilla, Age 17, North Bergen, NJ
• Kassandra Santiago, Age 13, Piscataway, NJ

Junior Instrumentalists (Ages 8 to 12)
• Erik Aparicio, Age 12, North Bergen, NJ
• Victoria Mollinedo, Age 12, Ridgefield Park, NJ
• Oksana Pasian, Age 11, New York City, NY
• Rebecca Rabelo, Age 12, Glen Rock, NJ
• Caitlin Sanchez, Age 11, Fairview, NJ
• Bianca Toledo, Age 10, Bergenfield, NJ

Teen Vocal (Age 13 to 17)
• Kelly Meneses, Age 16, Hackensack, NJ
• Vanessa Baez, Age 17, Bloomfield, NJ
• Diana Osorio, Age 15, Newark, NJ
• Edward Perry III, Age 14, Cookstown, NJ
• Sarah Christian, Age 17, North Bergen, NJ

Felicia Villa
Age 8, Manalapan, NJ
Heritage: Mexico

Samantha Calderon
Age 9, Paterson, NJ A
Heritage: Peru

NJN is available on all New Jersey cable systems, satellite systems, and Time Warner Cable channel 750 in NYC.
NJN-produced programs are also available via video streaming at njn.net after the original broadcast.
Additionally, programs are repeated on NJN’s JerseyVision available on Comcast Digital Cable in New Jersey.
(Check http://www.njn.net/digital/schedule.html for detailed listings.)
NJN – Uniquely New Jersey
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