March 5, 2008 -- Burger King Corporation (BKC) returns to present the hottest and latest Latino musicians through the Tu Ciudad, Tu Música (SM) talent showcase. The national promotion includes a competition that sets aspiring artists against one another onstage for the opportunity to be crowned the best local band in each of 10 U.S. cities. Patricia de Leon, host for Azteca TV’s nationally broadcast music countdown show “Billboard Latino” and a former Miss Panama, will serve as the host for the BKC music contest.

Tu Ciudad, Tu Música will feature pre-selected local bands. Finalists are qualified based on their level of talent, originality of songwriting, audience appeal, frequency of performances and general popularity. Last year’s competition drew interest from more than 200 bands throughout the 10 cities.

Music fans are invited to support their local favorite while enjoying special headline performances by some of Latin music’s biggest names. They include: Banda Machos, N’Klabe, Black Guayaba, Angel y Khriz, Circo and Toby Love.

“BKC has created the Tu Ciudad, Tu Música(SM) program to provide Latino music’s rising stars with a national platform to showcase their talent,” said Alexandra Galindez, director for multi-cultural marketing. “As we discovered in 2007, there is a wealth of talent in the Latino community which will make this year’s promotion more competitive than the first. BKC has created this program to embrace Hispanic culture and music styles while building upon the success of last year’s events.”

The multi-genre showcase launches in McAllen on March 2 and will include stops in: Miami (April 19); Los Angeles (April 27); Atlanta (April 27); Denver (May 3); Fresno (May 4); San Francisco (May 24); New York (June 7); Chicago (June 14); and Houston (in late June). Judges will select the winning bands in each market based on their live performance, musical talent and crowd appeal. The winners will receive a prize package which includes $2,500 in cash and a customized BURGER KING(R) branded guitar.

One local success story is sung by Los Primeros, the 2007 winner of the Tu Ciudad, Tu Música(SM) Miami competition. The popular local band has made appearances on MTV “My Super Sweet Sixteen” show, Telemundo's “Nítido” and “Buenos Días” and has experienced an increasing degree of success from having won the competition. “The battle of the bands contest provided us with the opportunity to reach a larger audience and showcase our talent among our family, friends and fans,” stated Andres Pita of Los Primeros. The band, who has had several successful singles, including Eslow Motion, has just released their first CD by the same name.

For complete rules on how to audition for the local competition in your city Tu Ciudad, Tu Música(SM), visit http://www.burgerkingmusica.com.