Estefano Holds On To Songwriter Crown At BMI Latin Awards.

BMI presented its 11th Annual Latin Awards last night with top honors going to songwriter/producer Estefano, his publishing company World Deep Music Publishing Corporation and the Conjunto Primavera hit “Perdoname Mi Amor” written by Ramon Gonzalez Mora. The black-tie ceremony, hosted by BMI President and CEO Frances W. Preston 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 Estefano, 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, “Marchate” by Gisselle and “No Me Ensenaste” by Thalia. He also shared the Songwriter of the Year crown with Marco Antonio Perez, Mario Quintero, Kike Santander and Shakira at the 2000 awards ceremony.

Also in the spotlight was Estefano’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.

“Perdoname Mi Amor” (“Forgive Me My Love”), written by Ramon Gonzalez 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 norteno group Conjunto Primavera, the Latin Grammy-nominated song is one of Gonzalez Mora’s many compositions that brought the veteran band stardom some 20 years into their career. This is Gonzalez 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 Pena featuring renowned artists Andy Montanez, 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 Tipica Orocovena and Rikaplena.

In addition to Estefano, 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; Mas 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.