BMI affiliates pay only $249 for the registration fee ($50 off the regular price).

For more information and/or to register, click here or call 1-800-224-0342.

By Invite Only

Line-up to be announced soon!

BMI affiliates pay only $249 for the registration fee ($50 off the regular price).

For more information and/or to register, click here or call 1-800-224-0342.

As progenitors of Rock en Español, Café Tacvba (initially spelled “Café Tacuba”) was among the first Mexican rock bands to fuse influences of punk and electronic music with indigenous folk sounds. Since their 1994 release Re, a masterpiece of metal, punk, disco-pop and boleros that is often compared to The Beatles' White Album, the band has become increasingly inclusive, referencing everything from hip-hop to Banda Sinaloense; tango to speed metal. On Sino, they launch into a classic rock motif that sounds more like Rush than Radiohead, a band Café Tacvba is often compared to, given their encyclopedic span of influences.

The members of Café Tacvba are Rubén Isaac Albarrán Ortega on vocals and guitar, Emmanuel "Meme" del Real Díaz on keyboards, guitar, vocals and programming, José Alfredo "Joselo" Rangel Arroyo on guitar and vocals, and vocalist/bassist Enrique “Quique” Rangel Arroyo. (Alejandro Flores and Luis Ledezma, violin and drums, respectively, are considered honorary members.) Their legacy began when, in a tribute to the Martin Scorcese film Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the band adopted the moniker of "Alicia Ya No Vive Aquí.” As students in Mexico City, they appropriated the name of an historic Mexico City restaurant.

Reflecting dizzying genre shifts, lead vocalist Albarrán changes his image and his name for each release, as he is known among other names as "Juan," "Pinche Juan," "Cosme," "Masiosare," "Anónimo," "Nrü," "Amparo Tonto Medardo In Lak'ech" (shortened to "At Medardo ILK"), "G3," "Gallo Gasss," "Élfego Buendía," "Rita Cantalagua," "Sizu Yantra," "Ixxi Xoo" and "Cone Cahuitl." MySpace currently credits him as "Ixaya Mazatzin Tleyótl." Even as he continues imagining his new character, this name expired upon the launch of the band’s latest CD. He now calls himself Cone Cahuitl.

Producer/composer/musician Gustavo Santaolalla is a key architect in the band’s ever-changing incarnations. “He's an incredible producer; he can see the big picture and then translate this to the heart of the band,” the band’s Emmanuel "Meme" del Real Díaz told the Detroit Free Press.

With an Aztec ancestry, colonial past and modern-day chaos, Mexico City is a complex and paradoxical metropolis. Like their adopted hometown, Café Tacvba — named “Best Alternative Artist” at the 2008 MTV Latin America Awards and nominated for a phenomenal six Latin Grammy Awards for Sino — continues to epitomize a vivid musical alchemy of absolute transformation.

Juanes walked away with a win in every category within which he was nominated: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Short Form Music Video for “Me Enamora,” along with an Album of the Year trophy for La Vida…Es Un Ratico and Best Male Pop Vocalist.

Legendary cross-over queen Gloria Estefan also enjoyed a big night, as she earned Best Tropical Album and Best Tropical Song honors in addition to becoming the first woman named 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year.

Café Tacvba, Gustavo Santaolalla, Julieta Venegas (SGAE), and Anibal Kerpel each took home two Latin Grammy Awards. Café Tacvba claimed Best Rock Song for “Esta Vez” and Best Alternative Song for “Volver A Comenzar.” 2008 BMI Latin Icon Gustavo Santaolalla earned statues for Record and Album of the Year thanks to his production role on both Juanes projects, while Mexican singer/songwriter Julieta Venegas garnered honors for Best Alternative Music Album and Best Long Form Music Video. Esteemed producer Anibal Kerpel’s two trophies honored his co-production of the Record and Album of the Year alongside frequent collaborator Gustavo Santaolalla.

Other BMI artists celebrating big wins at the 2008 Latin Grammys included genre-bender Flex for Best Urban Song, Rap-metal synergists Molotov for Best Rock Album by a Duo or Group, 2008 BMI Latin Songwriters of the Year Wisin & Yandel for Best Urban Music Album, and salsa legend Sergio George for Producer of the Year.

All 2008 BMI Latin Grammy Award Winners

JUANES
Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Song of the Year
Best Male Pop Vocalist
Best Short Form Music Video

GLORIA ESTEFAN
Person of the Year
Best Traditional Tropical Album
Best Tropical Song

CAFÉ TACVBA
Best Rock Song
Best Alternative Song

GUSTAVO SANTAOLALLA
Record of the Year
Album of the Year

JULIETA VENEGAS (SGAE)
Best Alternative Music Album
Best Long Form Music Video

ANIBAL KERPEL
Record of the Year
Album of the Year

EMILIO ESTEFAN, JR.
Best Tropical Song

FLEX
Best Urban Song

MOLOTOV
Best Rock Album by Duo or Group

BELANOVA
Best Pop Album By a Duo or Group

ALBERTO GAITAN
Best Tropical Song

RICARDO GAITAN
Best Tropical Song

SERGIO GEORGE
Producer of the Year

LOS HORÓSCOPOS DE DURANGO
Best Banda Album

Vince Norman (Caribbean Jazz Project)
Best Latin Jazz Album

SIGGNO
Best Norteño Album

WISIN Y YANDEL
Best Urban Music Album

The 9th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards will air live on the Univision Television Network at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. Additionally, the telecast will be seen globally in more than 100 countries.

For more information about The Latin Academy, click here.

“It’s all about the real Latin groove and the dancer,” explains the Latin Grammy winner. Paying homage to the stars of salsa, from Celia Cruz and Willie Colon to Ruben Blades and The Fania All Stars, Torres integrates a wealth of musical influences into a heady mélange of effortless melody and fiery rhythms that echo Cuban dance music, Puerto Rican bomba and plena, the Brazilian samba, merengue from the Dominican Republic, Colombia cumbia and the rhythms of Panama, all ingredients in the rich stew that heated up in New York to become modern-day salsa.

Joined by a group of talented young musicians, Torres tracked half of the project in Puerto Rico. “To record live, and to do so in Puerto Rico, is a real homecoming for me,” he enthuses. “It was like it used to be, when everybody recorded at the same time, before ProTools. But, we also kept the production state of the art, using the latest technology to create music that moves forward, pointing the way to a future where that which is universal transcends today’s tendency to taste the ‘flavor of the minute’.”

Salsa is the soul of Nouveau Latino, says Torres. “The blessing of having been part of the New York salsa scene at its best cannot be expressed in words. Finally, the time is right for me to celebrate and share with my fans — and the world — a part of the legacy I owe so much to.”

Dan Kimpel

Shown at the Acoustic Lounge (l-r): Keyboardist Todd Christopher Soto; Paula Lobos; La Santa Cecilia’s Gloria Estrada and La Marisoul; BMI’s Marissa Lopez; Vanaz’s Nati and Darwin; and BMI’s Delia Orjuela.

The Acoustic Lounge is one of many opportunities BMI offers to artists to showcase their talent in front of their peers and a supportive audience. The atmosphere is relaxed and fun, offering a great opportunity to network with other aspiring and working singer/songwriters. For established writers, it provides a chance to monitor new musical trends and be involved in the grass-roots/DIY musical movement.

Paula Lobos, La Santa Cecelia and Vanaz on stage. (Photo by Marlene Meraz)

The guest panel of judges include:

The head of SSE and Carlin America's Creative/Film & TV Divisions. He always look for great writing no matter what the genre, but generally works in the pop, rock, alternative, singer-songwriter, and R&B world.

A&R Manager for Missing Link Music who is looking for "fully-realized" pop, R&B and hip hop tracks which have a verse, chorus, and bridge structure; not a single loop that goes on for 3 minutes. Also no samples.

VP Business Development for Ricall Music Licensing who is looking for "radio-ready," quality songs in all genres for placement in world-wide film, TV, advertising, and digital projects.

For more details and to rsvp go to: SPONY