In The News

Coral Gables, FL (Feb. 02, 2006)
La Academia USA Competition Heats Up On Terra Networks And Azteca America

The future of nine of Hispanic America’s top aspiring artists is up to the public as each week, hundreds of thousands of people from Dubuque to Salt Lake City to Miami are voting to keep their favorite amateur performer’s hopes alive. Perhaps it is their favorite song that pulls the vote?
Could it be the genre, the costume or the choreography? Or maybe it is to support a hometown hero?

Whatever the reason, audience participation and preferences are recorded daily as Terra Networks and Azteca America tabulate who will be the first winner of La Academia USA. Many of the public’s comments, along with images and interviews with the participants, and even official voting for the contestants are available 24/7 at http://www.terra.com/laacademia/.

“Reality T.V. has changed prime time television in the new millennium. America’s craze with reality
continues to grow in this age as more and more viewers have a hand in an unknown’s destiny,” stated Fernando Rodriguez, CEO for Terra Networks. “We have experienced up to 20,000 online voters per week. Terra.com has already generated 550 program forums, with more than 8,000 posts from fans of La Academia USA. It is interesting to see the fans’ responses and know that they are playing an integral role in the way interactive television and the Internet have changed entertainment,” he added.

Contestants of the entertainment show are eliminated based on viewer response. Audience members have the unique opportunity to serve as the judge and jury for the participants as they cast their votes to determine the grand prize winner. According to a recent online poll “Who is the Most Talented?,” Miami-resident, Nohelia Guerrero came in third and Diana Martinez from southern California was selected as the second most talented. Leading the way with 17.49 percent of the votes was Ivan Quiñones from Arizona who was also selected among the sexiest, most sensitive and the person to spend Christmas with by Terra.com fans.

To vote for the participants, audience members must log onto http://www.terra.com/laacademia/vota.html, fill out a quick registration form and vote for their favorite. Those who vote online are entered into a sweepstakes to attend concerts in Mexico City. They also have a chance to win the grand prize which will include dinner with the winner when they attend the final concert in Mexico.

Blogs and forums offer audience members a unique interactive way to express themselves and provide feedback to others’ postings. Online users can either choose to create their own blog or log onto the 18 individual blogs available for each show contestant.

In addition to the weekly concerts that showcase the participants’ talent, a one-hour program, Camino a La Fama, airs every weekday on Azteca America. The show highlights the intensive vocal, choreography and dramatic presentation classes as well as the real-life dynamics and behind-the-scenes activities of the participants— from the chisme or gossip and drama, to the tears and sweat, providing fans with the inside scoop.

Every week those eliminated from competition are invited to participate in a Video Chat with their fans. The weekly Video Chats take place on Thursday evenings from 7:00 – 7:45 p.m. (EST). The Video Chats can be accessed at: http://www.terra.com/laacademia/videochat/.

Weekly eliminations will continue until a grand prize winner is selected. The grand prize winner will receive a gift package to include, among other items, a recording contract and a new vehicle.
The remaining contestants are:

 

Name	Resides	Birthplace
Mariana Vargas Grajeda	El Paso, Texas	Cuidad Juarez, Mexico
Nohelia Maria Sosa Guerrero	Miami, Florida	Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Yoshigei Cazares	Los Angeles, California	South Gate, California
Adan Castillo	Chicago, Illinois	Joliet, Illinois
Afid Ferrer Avalos	Houston, Texas	Veracruz, Mexico
Francisco Alvarado Rivera	Dubuque, Iowa	Ponce, Puerto Rico
Gustavo Alfonso Amezcua Fuentes	Los Angeles, California	Michoacan, Mexico
Jazmin Olivo Ceballos	West Valley City, Utah	Dominican Republic

Ivan Quiñones, a Terra.com audience favorite from Arizona, was the 11th contestant to be eliminated during
the Feb. 5th live broadcast.

About Terra Networks S.A.

Terra Networks is a global Internet group with a presence in the U.S. and Latin America. The group operates some of the most
popular Web sites in the United States, Spain and Latin America, and is the largest access provider in Spain and Latin America.

Terra.com is the U.S. Hispanic arm of the Terra Networks group providing portal and value-added services to Spanish speaking
users in the U.S. Terra is a leader in the U.S. Hispanic online market according to Nielsen/NetRatings data with more U.S.
Hispanic unique users than other US Hispanic portal.

About Azteca America

Azteca America is the fastest-growing Hispanic network in the United States. The network is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TV
Azteca S.A. de C.V., one of the two largest producers of Spanish language television content in the world. Azteca America
currently has presence in 39 Hispanic markets, including: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, San
Antonio, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Phoenix, Brownsville-McAllen, Albuquerque, San Diego, Fresno-Visalia, Sacramento-
Stockton-Modesto, Denver, Orlando, Austin, Tampa, Corpus Christi, Tucson, Las Vegas, Colorado Springs, Monterey-Salinas,
Hartford, Salt Lake City, Bakersfield, West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, Omaha, Yakima, Naples-Ft.
Myers, Wichita, Reno, Boise, Victoria, Oklahoma City, Charleston and Chattanooga.
For more information, visit: www.aztecamerica.com