BMI Hosts Latin Music Roundtable In Support of Nashville’s Growing Hispanic Community

Broadcast Music, Inc. partnered with the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NAHCC) on October 9, 2013, to host a panel discussion on the future of Music City’s growing Latin music scene. The event, attended by many songwriters and artists as well as industry executives, reflected the diversity of Nashville’s creative community and explained that Nashville was coined “Music City” in order to convey the multitude of genres that were emerging even at the time of the naming in 1950. Delia Orjuela, BMI’s Vice President, Latin Writer/Publisher Relations, who participated via Skype before attending the Billboard Mexican Music Awards in L.A., kicked off the discussion with the history of Latin music, the many genres within it, and how it has exploded exponentially in the 17 years that she has been at BMI.

All of the other panel participants also contributed their personal experiences with Latin music and how it can be further supported in Nashville. Marketing initiatives in support of concerts and other showcases that innovatively expose more of the community to Latin artists were some of the ideas discussed. Panelists included BMI’s Director Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville, David Preston; award-winning BMI songwriter and composer Stacy Widelitz, who moderated the discussion; Jeff Walker, founder of AristoMedia Group; and several multi-genre Latin artists, musicians, songwriters, and industry notables including Rachel Rodriguez,  Bobby Marquez, Sipho Dumasane, Danny Salazar, Pino Squillace, Phoenix Mendoza, and Sammy Arriaga. The event ended with a lively performance by Danny Salazar and Pino Squillace that inspired the crowd to continue to find ways to support all of Nashville’s diverse Hispanic creative contributors.

BMI’s Vice President, Human Resources, Nada Latto, had this to say about the event which took place in the Company’s Nashville office during Hispanic Heritage Month: “BMI’s hosting of this discussion is part of the Company’s initiative to promote awareness that a diverse culture only enriches the creative component as well as the entire community of Nashville. Through its membership in NAHCC, the Company hopes to continue to connect with more Hispanic songwriters, business leaders and job seekers in order to benefit from the wealth of talent that is emerging from that pipeline.”

Yuri Cunza, President and CEO, Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, added, “This is an exciting time for Nashville’s Hispanic Community. We are proud to be partnering with BMI to promote the very talented Hispanic musicians and songwriters in this great city. BMI’s collaboration with Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will guarantee our success.”