Santo Domingo. – The country’s undivided attention will be on tonight’s Casandra Awards 2012, a sort of local mix of Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, and even the Tony, with international show business figures and personalities invited

It its 28th year, the red carpet will showcase the best of haute couture, makeup and coiffed men and women, and a musical production its promoters promise as unprecedented.

Tonight 50 statuettes will be awarded to as many winners in the National Theater, including several International Casandras, one of them to the legendary Mexican rock group Mana.

Among the performers figure salsa heartthrob Victor Manuelle and hip hopper Daddy Yankee, with funnymen Cuquín Victoria and Felipe Polanco (Boruga) drawing the laughs.

The awards honor the legendary signer Casandra Damiron “La Soberana” (the sovereign), whose voice and grace are considered unrivaled in the country’s history.