Ricky Martin Tops Heritage Awards List

WASHINGTON (Hispanic Awards) - Pop singer Ricky Martin , best known for "Livin' la Vida Loca," heads the list of five winners of the 16th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards to be presented Sept. 20 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts .

Others honored:

-Derek Parra, the Mexican-American speed skater, won the gold medal in the 1,500-meter event at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

-The Rev. Virgilio Elizondo, a Mexican-American theologian, is known for his internationally televised, bilingual services.
Julia Alvarez , born in the Dominican Republic , is a novelist whose books include "In the Time of the Butterflies" and "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents."

-Liza Quiroz, of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent, is founder and publisher of the magazine People en Espanol.

"Ricky, Derek, Liza, Father Elizondo and Julia serve the needs of the disenfranchised in America, and in some cases all over the world, beyond the immense talents for which they are commonly known," said Pedro Jose Greer Jr., chairman of the board of the Hispanic Heritage Awards Foundation.

Youth awards, which began four years ago, will go to six Hispanic high school students. They will also appear at the Kennedy Center.
On Oct. 12, many NBC-TV stations will broadcast the hourlong Kennedy Center ceremony.