Santillana USA Publishing and Hispanic Communications Network Announce New Strategic Content Alliance That Gives Hispanics Free Access to Entertaining-Yet-Vital Information to Better Their Lives

MIAMI and WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Santillana Publishing USA, Inc., the number one Spanish-language publishing house in the country, and Hispanic Communications Network (HCN), the largest informational media content network reaching Latinos in the US, are teaming up to give Hispanics free access to exclusive, entertaining book content and information to better their lives.

The new partnership provides for HCN to distribute exclusive excerpts from Santillana's bestselling titles through their print network column, "La Columna Vertebral," reaching millions of readers across nearly a hundred newspapers and publications, most of them free to the public.

Silvia Matute, Director of Santillana's General Books Division, said that, "the critical piece of this strategic alliance is our content; the best of bestselling authors like Maria Marin, Xavier Serbia, and Dr. Ana Maria Polo, now made accessible to all through HCN's wide-reaching media networks."

HCN President & CEO, Carlos Alcazar concurred. "This agreement is key to fulfilling our commitment to making sure all Hispanics have access to the best content out there. As media continues to change, HCN understands that first, it has to be entertaining, and then we reach more people with information to make their lives better in this country."

Readers of "La Columna Vertebral" will have access to the new content beginning in February 1st, 2010.

SANTILLANA USA, based in Miami, Florida, is one of 22 subsidiaries of Grupo Santillana, the largest educational publisher in the Spanish-speaking world.

Our mission is to publish the work of the most prestigious Spanish-language authors and of the creative new voices emerging from the U.S. and Latin America. This mission is fulfilled through our world-renowned imprints Alfaguara, Punto de Lectura, Aguilar, Suma, and Taurus, and their authors Mario Vargas Llosa, Jose Saramago, Julio Cortazar, Jaime Bayly, Stephenie Meyer, Edmundo Paz Soldan, Xavier Serbia, and Maria Antonieta Collins, among others.

Grupo Santillana, is part of PRISA, the leading Spanish- and Portuguese- language group in education, communication, and entertainment, with presence in 22 countries in Europe and America. PRISA owns or has controlling interest in prominent brands of television, radio, and print media.

For additional information, please visit: www.santillanausa.com/TRADE_BOOKS/

HISPANIC COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK (HCN) is the largest provider of Spanish-language informational and educational media in the United States. HCN uses Spanish based media platforms like the radio, print publications, television, web and mobile phones to conduct social marketing integrated campaigns to inform and inspire the Hispanic population in the United States. HCN radio programs reach a weekly aggregate audience of almost 5 million listeners through over 240 radio stations, thus reaching 90% of the Hispanic population. Its weekly newspaper column "La Columna Vertebral" (The Backbone), which offers readers advice on various topics, is distributed to nearly 100 Hispanic newspapers with a total weekly publication of over 3,500,000 copies throughout the country. HCN is headquartered in Washington DC.

For additional information, please visit: www.hcnmedia.com  

SOURCE Santillana USA Publishing