March 17, 2004

Estefano Holds On To Songwriter Crown At 11th Annual BMI Latin Awards In Puerto Rico

Press Release

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO, March 16, 2004 – BMI presented its 11th Annual Latin Awards tonight with top honors going to songwriter/producer Estéfano, his publishing company World Deep Music Publishing Corporation and the Conjunto Primavera hit “Perdóname Mi Amor” written by Ramón González Mora. The black-tie ceremony, hosted by BMI President and CEO Frances W. Preston, Executive Vice President Del Bryant, and Assistant Vice President of Latin Music Diane J. Almodovar, honored the top writers and publishers of the most performed Latin songs on U.S. radio and television at the Ritz Carlton San Juan Hotel, Spa and Casino. This is the first time the performing rights organization has held its Latin Awards in Puerto Rico.

Songwriter/producer Estéfano, who has earned the prestigious title for the last three years in a row, was named BMI Latin Songwriter of the Year once again by placing the most songs on the list of 50, including “Es Por Amor” by Alexandre Pires, “Herida Mortal” and “Vuela Muy Alto” both by Jerry Rivera, “Márchate” by Gisselle and “No Me Enseñaste” by Thalía. He also shared the Songwriter of the Year crown with Marco Antonio Pérez, Mario Quintero, Kike Santander and Shakira at the 2000 awards ceremony.

Also in the spotlight was Estéfano’s World Deep Music Publishing Corporation, named Publisher of the Year with all five of his award-winning songs. This distinguished honor is given to the publisher with the highest percentage of ownership of songs on the most performed list.

“Perdóname Mi Amor” (“Forgive Me My Love”), written by Ramón González Mora and published by Seg-Son Music, Inc., earned the Song of the Year trophy as the most performed song on the Latin list. A hit for norteño group Conjunto Primavera, the Latin Grammy-nominated song is one of González Mora’s many compositions that brought the veteran band stardom some 20 years into their career. This is González Mora’s second Song of the Year win; he also wrote another Conjunto Primavera hit, “Morir De Amor,” which earned him the title at BMI’s 2001 Latin Awards.

A special musical tribute to the late Rafael Hernandez was presented by Cucco Peña featuring renowned artists Andy Montañez, Rafy Escudero, and Chucho Avellanet who performed a medley of Hernandez’s most treasured songs. Considered one of the most important composers of Puerto Rican popular music in the 20th century, Hernandez, who died in 1965, left a legacy of more than 3,000 musical compositions, including such classics as “Lamento Borincano,” “Silencio,” and “Ausencia.” Guests were also treated to a taste of traditional Puerto Rican music with performances by Rondalla Típica Orocoveña and Rikaplena.

In addition to Estéfano, other multiple award-winning songwriters included Juanes and Kike Santander with three songs each, as well as Teodoro Bello Jaimes (SACM), Emilio Estefan, Jr., Lester Mendez, Mario Quintero and Jorge Villamizar with two songs each on the most performed list. Publishers earning two or more Citations of Achievement were Apollinaire Music; Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc.; Disa Latin Publishing LLC; EMI Music Publishing; Foreign Imported Productions and Publishing, Inc.; Kike Santander Music LLC/Santander Songs; Más Flamingo Music; Mexican Music Copyright, Inc.; peermusic; SER-CA Publishing, Inc.; Songs of Camaleon; Tigres del Norte Ediciones Musicales; Universal Music Publishing Group; and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.

Another of the evening’s highlights included the announcement of the winner of the BMI Foundation/peermusic Latin Scholarship. Hailing from Caracas, Venezuela, 21-year-old Berklee College of Music freshman Marco A. Godoy was named the scholarship’s first winner for his instrumental piece entitled “My Latin Feel.” Established by the BMI Foundation and funded by the generosity of the peermusic companies, the new $5,000 scholarship will be awarded annually through a competition for original Latin songs and instrumental compositions.

BMI is an American performing rights organization that represents more than 300,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music. Founded in 1939 as a non-profit-making corporation, BMI opened the door to performing rights representation for songwriters and composers of all types of music including Spanish-language music. Through its musical performance and reciprocal agreements with sister organizations around the world, BMI grants businesses and media access to its repertoire of more than 4.5 million songs and compositions.

High-resolution photos of the 2004 BMI Latin Awards are available for downloading on the BMI Media Relations press web site at press.bmi.com. Please see contacts below for a Spanish version of this release. For a complete list of award winning songs, please visit bmi.com.

# # #

Contacts:
Brenda Rodriguez/BMR Communications
Puerto Rico
787-473-1300
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Caroline Davis/BMI
Nashville
615-401-2728
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Dana Rodriguez/BMI
New York
212-830-3881
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

 

Estafano and Ramon Gonzales Mora

download

---

Pictured on stage are BMI Executive Vice President Del Bryant, Ramón Gonzáles Mora, BMI President & CEO Frances Preston, Estafano, BMI Assistant Vice President Diane Almodovar, and BMI Senior Vice President Phil Graham.

download

---

Perfomers at the tribute to Rafael Hernandez: Andy Montanez, Chucho Avellanet, and Rafy Escudero

download

---

BMI Award winners Kike Santander and Jorge Villamizar of Bacilos

download

---

Elvis Crespo

download

---

BMI's Diane Almodovar, BMI Award-winning songwriter India, and BMI's Del Bryant

download

---

BMI Foundation President Ralph Jackson, BMI's Frances Preston, BMI Foundation/peermusic Latin Scholarship winner Marco Godoy, and peermusic's Ralph Peer II

download

---

BMI's Diane Almodovar, BMI Award-winning songwriter India, and BMI's Del Bryant

download

---

BMI's Jerry Vila, BMI Award-winning songwriters Elsten Torres and Jorge Villamizar of Bacilos, and BMI's Del Bryant

download

---