Estefano & Shakira Top Honors @ BMI Latin Awards.

Performing rights organization BMI presented its 10th Annual Latin Awards tonight with top honors going to Songwriter/producer Estefano, Shakira and Tim Mitchell’s hit song “Suerte,” and publisher peermusic.

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 a 400-plus person gala dinner at the Eden Roc Resort in Miami Beach, Florida. The gala event coincided with the Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards 2003, which runs until May 8, also at the Eden Roc Resort.

Writer/producer Estefano was named BMI Latin Songwriter of the Year for the third time with three songs on the most performed list, including “Necesidad” and “Usted Se Me Llevo La Vida,” both recorded by Alexandre Pires, and “Tu Y Yo” recorded by Thalia. Estefano, who earned the prestigious title at last year’s BMI Latin Awards, also shared the Songwriter of the Year crown with Marco Antonio Perez, Mario Quintero, Kike Santander and Shakira at the 2000 awards ceremony.

A hit in both Spanish and English, Shakira’s “Suerte” (“Whenever, Wherever”), co-written with Tim Mitchell and published by Aniwi Music, LLC and Foreign Imported Productions and Publishing, Inc., earned Song of the Year accolades as the most performed song in the BMI Latin catalog. The #1 hit is from the Latin diva’s multi-platinum Spanish and English-language album, Laundry Service.

Peermusic was named Publisher of the Year with a record 12 songs on the most performed list, including Luis Miguel’s “Amor, Amor, Amor,” “Derecho A La Vida” by Conjunto Primavera, and “Nada” by Juanes. This is the fourth time the powerhouse music publisher has earned the top honor at the BMI Latin Awards.

Other multiple award-winning songwriters included Mario Quintero and Shakira, with two songs each on the most performed list. Publishers earning two or more Citations of Achievement were Aniwi Music, LLC, Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc., EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc., Fernando Osorio Songs, Foreign Imported Productions and Publishing, Inc., Mas Flamingo Music, Mexican Music Copyright, Inc., SER-CA Publishing, Inc., Sony/ATV Latin Music Publishing LLC, Tigres del Norte Ediciones Musicales, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. and World Deep Music Publishing Corporation.