ABSOLUT(R) Miami Co-Presented by Coors Light to Honor GLAAD Media Award Recipients for Spanish-Language Media

ABSOLUT(R) Miami Co-Presented by Coors Light to Honor GLAAD Media Award Recipients for Spanish-Language Media

Univision's Jorge Ramos to Present the Premio Valentia to Cristina Saralegui, Telemundo's 'Laura' Wins Best Talk Show Episode Category, Maria Antonieta Collins (Telemundo), Raul de Molina and Lili Estefan (Univision) and Javier Ceriani (America TV) Among Attendees

MIAMI, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announced that it will honor Cristina Saralegui (Univision's "El Show de Cristina") and the best in Spanish-language media representations at its second annual ABSOLUT(R) Miami: An Evening to Honor Spanish-Language Media, co-presented by Coors Light this Thursday, Sept. 29, in Miami.

At the event, "Noticiero Univision" Spanish-language media's most well-known anchor and bestselling author Jorge Ramos will present Saralegui with the Premio Valentia for her courageous pursuit of equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Latino/Hispanic community.

Saralegui's assertive style has helped pave the way for fair and balanced LGBT representations on her talk show in what has previously been the overtly homophobic Spanish-language media. In 2000, at GLAAD's request, she canceled her appearance as hostess of Hispanic Media 100, which was honoring Eladio Jose Armesto, one of the country's most visible and anti-gay religious Latino leaders. Currently, she and her openly gay brother, Ignacio, are helping increase respect for and acceptance of gay men and lesbians by participating in a national media campaign designed by Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG).

ABSOLUT(R) Miami will also recognize Spanish-language media that performed an outstanding job fostering fair, accurate and inclusive representations of LGBT people in the categories of Outstanding Newspaper Article, Outstanding Talk-Show for a "Laura" episode and Outstanding Novela (Soap Opera).

In 2004, GLAAD held a groundbreaking meeting with Univision about the quality of its LGBT representations and led a first-ever network media training session with Univision's senior legal counsel and corporate trainers. GLAAD also met with Mexico-based Televisa, the world's largest content producer of Spanish-language media, in 2005.

For 16 years, GLAAD has honored fair, accurate and inclusive media representations at the GLAAD Media Awards. In recent years, GLAAD steadily expanded its coverage of Spanish-language media and this year, the GLAAD Media Awards included recognition of 35 nominees in 13 Spanish-language categories. The expansion is slated to continue in 2006, when the first-ever GLAAD's Spanish Media Awards in Miami will debut in May.

ABSOLUT(R) Miami will be held on Thursday, Sept. 29, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach, 1 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL 33139. National and local corporate sponsors are showing their support, including ABSOLUT(R) VODKA and Coors Light who are Co-Presenters of the event. GLAAD also thanks American Airlines, Jaguar North America & Land Rover North America, here!, Starbucks, People en Espanol and the Family Credit Counseling Corporation.

To purchase tickets visit: www.glaad.org/miami or contact Johnny Gonzales, Special events Manager at 646-871-8010 or gonzales@glaad.org

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Source: The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

CONTACT: Monica Taher, +1-213-713-5549, taher@glaad.org of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

Web site: http://www.glaad.org/miami

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