Pictured in the studio are BMI's Ray Yee, Oscar-nominated BMI composer Gustavo Santaolalla, BMI's Delia Orjuela and producer Anibal Kerpel.

The Grammy Award-winning Latin rock producer, songwriter, performer, film composer and Surco Records President was congratulated by BMI's Delia Orjuela and Ray Yee, who made a special visit to his studio to check out his Golden Globe trophy. He thanked Brokeback Mountain director, Ang Lee, for giving him the opportunity to create music for such a great film.

A native of Argentina, Santaolalla worked his way through the business as a performer before turning to producing with business partner Anibal Kerpel. Together, the two formed Surco Records and are responsible for some of today's most influential rock en español music, including Café Tacuba, Juanes, Molotov and Bajofondo Tango Club, among others.

John Williams	Gustavo Santaolalla

John Williams, whose timeless scores include E.T., all six Star Wars movies, the Indiana Jones trilogy and the Harry Potter series, picked up his fourth Best Original Score Golden Globe for Memoirs of a Geisha. His list of awards is unparalleled and also includes five Oscars, two Emmys, five BAFTA Awards and 18 Grammys, with an astonishing 122 nominations over his 40-plus year career.

Grammy Award-winning Latin rock producer, songwriter, performer, film composer and Surco Records president Gustavo Santaolalla took home the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "A Love That Will Never Grow Old" from the night's biggest winner, Brokeback Mountain. A pioneer in the Rock en Español genre, he has signed and produced acts as diverse as Molotov, Café Tacuba and Juanes, and introduced the sound to new audiences with his scores for the films 21 Grams and The Motorcycle Diaries.

Café Tacuba traces its roots to 1989 when singer/guitarist Elfego Buendía (who changes his name and alter ego with almost every album, while his birth certificate lists him as Ruben Albarran) met guitarist Joselo Rangel at art school. Shortly after that meeting, Joselo’s brother Quinque picked up a bass and brought his friend, keyboardist Emmanuel “Meme” Del Real, along to a rehearsal. Café Tacuba was born.

Café Tacuba (named for a restaurant in their native Mexico City) eschewed a drummer and relied on drum machines for their first six albums. That absence helped the band develop their manic punk-meets-folk sound, but with their current album, Cuatro Caminos, they’ve added a drummer and toned down their folk roots. And while no one will confuse Cuatro Caminos with Metallica, comparisons to The Beatles' White Album have abounded and are apt.

But this is no Anglo band. Says Meme proudly, “This is Café Tacuba’s most rock[-oriented]album because we play with a drummer, electric guitar and an electric bass. Our Mexican influences are still there, and you can hear it in the songs: we sound like a Mexican rock band, not from another country.”

They may be a Mexican band, but their reach is global. While they toured with Beck in 2000, 2003 is the year mainstream rock audiences discovered them. Having toured throughout the Americas this summer and fall, one of the band’s U.S. tour stops included the three-day Coachella Festival, where Café Tacuba shared the bill with The Red Hot Chili Peppers and The White Stripes. Continuing to grow in importance and fan-base, Café Tacuba more than hold their own and have proven that they are a band on the verge of conquering language barriers worldwide.]]> 2004-01-06T17:00:00-05:00