The two Latin Grammy nominations (Best Rock Album, Best New Artist) and a big feature in Los Angeles' New Times the same week of “El Grito de BMI” spread the word about Circo like wildfire.

However, minutes before the show, some close to the band showed concern about the fact that there had been no sound-check. Singer José Luis “Fofé” Abreu looked at them with his trademark devilish smirk and said: “Don't worry about it. We're used to it. Just watch us.”

From the second he stepped on the stage, Abreu and his four cohorts left no doubt as to the reasons behind the two Latin Grammy nominations: tight musicianship, great songs and a lead singer that even on a bad night can out-sing the best of them.

“Little by little, things have been working just fine for the band,” said Abreu. “And it seems we're beginning to develop a legion of fans out here.” Some of those fans already knew Fofe, keyboardist Edgardo Santiago and drummer Jose David Perez from El Manjar de los Dioses, an important Puerto Rican fusion band that recorded two albums before Abreu decided to go beyond ethnicity.

“I wanted to do more than just being the novelty Latin-fusion band,” said Abreu, who completed his new concept with the addition of bassist Nico Cordero and ace guitarist Orlando Méndez. The debut was at an event-stopping showcase at the 2001 Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York. It was the beginning of a fan base that took them well-beyond San Juan and the Big Apple.

Indeed, the LA Circoheads -- most of them women who know all the songs by heart -- are the latest of triumphs for a band who enjoys virtually no airplay and whose strength lies solely in the power of its music -- and a little visual element.

“Okay, we like to use colorful ties and slacks,” says Abreu. “But that's just a little game. We're about the music, and that's the only reason we're going to be around for a long time.”

FIVE SHARE SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR TITLE

WARNER MUSIC PUBLISHING EARNS SECOND PUBLISHER OF THE YEAR AWARD

AWARDS PRESENTED IN 2000 TO THE MOST PERFORMED LATIN SONGS OF 1999

LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2000 - Performing rights organization BMI presented its 7th Annual Latin Awards tonight with top honors going to "Livin' La Vida Loca," songwriters Estefano, Marco Antonio Pérez, Mario Quintero, Kike Santander and Shakira, and Warner Music Publishing. The black-tie ceremony, hosted by BMI President/CEO Frances W. Preston and Assistant Vice President of Latin Music Diane Almodovar, honored top writers and publishers of the most performed Latin songs on American radio and television at a 300-person gala dinner at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles.

Click here to see photos from the event...

Robi "Draco" Rosa Feature (1/00) Robi "Draco" Rosa: Man of Many Talents

Kike Santander Feature (4/00) The Doors Keep Opening for Kike Santander

"Livin' La Vida Loca," the Ricky Martin smash co-written by Robi "Draco" Rosa and published by A Phantom Vox Corp. and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., earned Song of the Year accolades as the most performed song in the BMI Latin catalogue. The catchy dance hit spent an amazing 26 weeks on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart and 20 weeks on the Hot 100 Singles chart, and helped ignite the Latin music explosion that continues to take the pop world by storm.

Estefano

Marco Antonio Pérez

An unprecedented five songwriters tied for the Songwriter of the Year crown with three songs each on the most performed list. They include last year's Songwriter of the Year and Writer of the Song of the Year Kike Santander ("Decir Adi�s," "Te Vas," "Tu Amor"), Estefano ("Ciega, Sordomuda," "Dejar�a Todo," "T?"), Marco Antonio Pérez ("A M� Qué Me Qued�," "Hurac�n," "Perdedor"), Los Tucanes de Tijuana's Mario Quintero ("Amor Plant�nico," "Desde Que Te Amo," "Hotel Coraz�n") and Latin Rock sensation Shakira ("Ciega, Sordomuda," "Inevitable," "T?").

Shakira

Mario Quintero

Warner Music Publishing (Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. and Rightsong Music, Inc.) received its second Publisher of the Year award with eight songs on the most performed list that also included Song of the Year "Livin' La Vida Loca."

Other multiple award songwriters included Robi "Draco" Rosa, co-writer of the Song of the Year, Miguel Mendoza and Alejandro Sanz (SGAE) with two songs each. Publishers who took home two or more Citations of Achievement were F I P P International / Foreign Imported Productions and Publishing, Inc. and Sony/ATV Latin Music Publishing LLC / Sony/ATV Songs LLC (6 each); peermusic and SER-CA Publishing, Inc. (5 each); EMI Music Publishing (EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc. and Ego Musical SA [SGAE]) (4); M�s Flamingo Music and Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc. (3 each); and A Phantom Vox Corp. and World Deep Music Publishing Corporation (2 each).

BMI is an American performing rights organization that represents more than 250,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music. It was founded in 1940 as a non-profit-making corporation to open the door to performing rights representation for songwriters and composers of all types of music, including Spanish-language music. Through its music performance and reciprocal agreements with sister organizations around the world, it grants businesses and media access to its repertoire of more than 4.5 million songs and compositions.

Award Winning Songs