Power to the People (En Español): A guide to navigate the biggest Latino anything ever in SA

In 1995, People magazine released its weekly issue with two different covers. One featured the cast of Friends. The other, the recently slain Selena. Guess which cover sold out.

That cover's impact was taken as a sign that the stage was ready for People en Español. Time has proven People right. Now in its 16th year, People en Español is the leading Spanish-language magazine in the U.S., with 11 annual editions and a circulation of more than 540,000 copies. The September 1-2 People en Español Festival in San Antonio, an all-out musical bombardment of top-level stars, is as much about the power of the magazine as it is about the recognition of our city as a Latino cultural Mecca. Even if only Luis Miguel and Daddy Yankee had showed up, that would've been impressive. But there's more. A lot more.

"This is the first time for us to do a festival of this magnitude," Isis Sauceda, a young veteran Spanish-language entertainment writer and People en Español correspondent hosting some of Saturday's and Sunday's free events, told the Current. For the last five years, the festival originally known as Orgullo + Pasión (Pride + Passion) was held in New York's Central Park as a one-day Latino music celebration. This time, we'll see two days of free shows, interviews and panels during the day at the Convention Center, and two nights of paid concerts at the Alamodome. "There is no show in the U.S. as big as this one, with so many top-notch acts on one same stage. SA was the obvious choice and we're thrilled to be here."

Besides the highlighted night shows, check Monterrey's 3BallMTY (three young DJs who mix dance music with infectious Latin beats and clever arrangements) and Puerto Rican Olga Tañón, a merengue/Latin pop star who has a stirring live act. Revolutionary game-changers? No. But when it comes to mainstream Latin pop, it doesn't get much better than this.