BMI held its 15th annual Latin Music Awards Thursday, June 12 at the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles. Esteemed composer and producer Gustavo Santaolalla was named a BMI Icon; Juan Luis Morera Luna and Llandel Veguilla Malavé, better known as reggaetón duo Wisin & Yandel, and singer/songwriter Espinoza Paz comprised the three-way tie for Latin Songwriter of the Year; “De Rodillas Te Pido” garnered Song of the Year honors for writer José A. Sosa; and Editora Arpa Musical received the Latin Publisher of the Year crown. Hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Assistant Vice President, Latin Music, Delia Orjuela, the black-tie dinner also touted the writers and publishers of the past year’s 50 most-performed Latin songs on U.S. radio and television.

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The BMI Icon award is bestowed on creators who have had a “unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers.” An all-star musical tribute paid homage to the achievements of Gustavo Santaolalla, who joins an elite list of past honorees that includes Latin music titans Los Tigres Del Norte, Juan Luis Guerra and Carlos Santana, along with legends Willie Nelson, Brian Wilson, Isaac Hayes, Paul Simon, Dolly Parton and the late James Brown.

Artist, talent scout, producer, documentarian and composer, Gustavo Santaolalla’s genius spills over into numerous disciplines. The Argentina native helped define the nascent Latin rock movement of the 1970’s with his innovative Latino folk/rock band, Arco Iris, and later as a solo artist. Santaolalla has mastered Andean string instrument the ronroco and filmed Pan-American, indigenous folk musicians. His transformation to producer was inevitable; the subsequent cultural unification was historic. Along with partner Anibal Kerpel, he united the traditionally separate Mexican and Argentine rock spheres, gaining recognition for production work on numerous platinum and gold-selling projects. The duo achieved a new level of visibility with band Café Tacuba, whose collaborations with Santaolalla/Kerpel garnered multiple Grammy nominations and a Latin Grammy win. Santaolalla triumphantly entered the world of cinema, where he has composed numerous BMI, Golden Globe and Oscar award-winning original scores for films including Brokeback Mountain and Babel. His work on Babel and the critically-acclaimed Motorcycle Diaries also earned BAFTA honors. Through the creation of his label Surco, Santaolalla has also launched and sustained marquee artists, including international star Juanes.

Chart-dominating reggaetón duo Wisin & Yandel and charismatic troubadour Espinoza Paz shared the prestigious Latin Songwriter of the Year title. The win marks the second consecutive Songwriter of the Year crown for Wisin & Yandel’s Juan Luis Morera Luna and Llandel Veguilla Malavé. Three of the co-writing pair’s infectious hits rested comfortably on BMI’s most-performed list: “Noche De Entierro (Nuestro Amor)” (Los Benjamins featuring Wisin & Yandel, Daddy Yankee, Héctor "El Father,” Tonny Tún Tún and Zion), “Pam Pam” (Wisin & Yandel) and “Pegao” (Wisin & Yandel featuring Los Vaqueros). Mexican singer/songwriter Espinoza Paz earned his first Songwriter of the Year trophy by also contributing three songs to the top 50: “Mil Heridas” (Banda Cuisillos), “Prohibido” (El Coyote y su Banda Tierra Santa) and “Te Compro” (Duelo).

“De Rodillas Te Pido” earned BMI Latin Song of the Year honors for award-winning songwriter José a.k.a. “Pepe” A. Sosa. Published by Siempre Music and recorded by renowned group Alegres de la Sierra, “De Rodillas Te Pido” shot to the top slot of Billboard’s Latin Regional Mexican Airplay Chart and reached the Hot Latin Tracks’ top ten ranks. The combination of José A. Sosa and Alegres de la Sierra proved potent, as Sosa also took home an award for composing the band’s hit “Y Si Volviera A Nacer.”

With the highest percentage of copyright ownership of the year’s most-performed songs, Editora Arpa Musical garnered the Latin Publisher of the Year crown. Hits including Mariano Barba’s “Aliado Del Tiempo”; La Banda Pequeños Musical’s “Reencuentro” and “Me Encantaría”; El Chapo de Sinaloa’s “Detrás De La Puerta”; and Songwriter of the Year Espinoza Paz’s compositions catapulted Editora Arpa Musical to the top.

The ceremony also featured the presentation of the BMI Foundation's fifth annual peermusic Latin Scholarship to Boston’s Simmons College student Daniela Blau. The 21 year-old Costa Rica native will receive a $5,000 scholarship for her song “Y Si No Lo Sabes.” Established by the BMI Foundation and funded by the generosity of Ralph Peer II and the peermusic companies, the scholarship is awarded annually through a competition for original Latin songs and instrumental compositions. The 2008 competition was open to college students between the ages of 16 and 24 currently attending school throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

BMI also honored beloved Mexican troupe La Banda El Récodo with a commemorative plaque celebrating the prolific group’s 70th anniversary. Recognized as the first recorded banda, La Banda El Récodo also ranks among the most eclectic, combining Latin dance, jazz and classical music to produce an inimitable sound.

Premier Latin songwriters Manuel Eduardo Castro (SACM), Agustín Cejudo, Edgar Cortázar, Héctor Delgado "El Father,” Cuauhtémoc González García, Don Omar, Luis "Louie" Padilla and Julieta Venegas (SGAE) took home two awards each. Additional big winners included Mariano Barba for “Aliado Del Tiempo”’s second award; Ramón González Mora for “Voy A Llorar Por Ti”; Adrián Pieragostino for “Me Duele Escuchar Tu Nombre”; Kike Santander for “¿Quién Me Iba A Decir?”; Sergio Vallin for “Bendita Tu Luz”; and Luigi Giraldo and A.B. Quintanilla III for “Chiquilla.”

Publishers claiming two or more songs among the top 50 were Universal Music Publishing Group (Universal Music-Careers/Universal-Música Unica Publishing/Universal Music Publishing SA [SGAE]); EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc.; SER-CA Publishing, Inc.; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.; Máximo Aguirre Music Publishing, Inc.; Blue Kraft Music Publishing; Crown P. Music Publishing; Peer Music Group (Peer International Corp./peermusic III, Ltd.); and Rompediscoteca Music Publisher.

His own story is much more complex. Born Isidro Chávez Espinoza in La Angostura, a town just north of Sinaloa, Mexico, by the time Paz entered his teens he had already penned over 20 songs. But it wasn’t until his father, who was working in the U.S., sent funds to purchase a guitar that Paz began his self-taught musical odyssey in earnest. Eventually, he retraced his father’s footsteps across the border to Sacramento, California. While continuing to work on his music, his days were spent in hard labor in the fields. Upon the death of his mother, Maria de la Paz Espinoza, he returned to Mexico. It was a traumatic time for Espinoza Paz, but he traveled north again, this time to Oregon, to work as a gardener until the music, and Mexico, called him back. Once again, he returned home, this time to devote himself solely to his craft.

Over eight long years, Paz performed tirelessly with regional bands, developing his songs. The regional connection paid off when Paz pitched his songs to “El Coyote,” lead singer of the popular Banda Sinaloense. It was the band’s recording of Paz’s “Besitos en el Cuello” and “Prohibido” that cemented his reputation as a hit songwriter of regional Mexican music.

In 2006, Paz met producer Martin Fabian at a wedding and Paz made his debut as an artist with Paz en tu Corazón (Peace in Your Heart), released in 2007. Also in 2007, regional Mexican giants Cuisillos launched their comeback with their 21st album, Mil Heridas, with a title track, and four additional songs, penned by Paz.

The title of Paz’s second CD, El Canta Autor del Pueblo, translates as “The songwriter of the people.” Whether performed by top-selling regional Mexican artists or by their creator, Paz’s songs, rich with everyday details and humor, are deceptively simple. Like the singer/songwriter himself, they strike a resonant chord that connects singer to song, audience to artist, and hearts to the soul of regional Mexican music.

In addition to sharing the stories behind their hit songs, the songwriters performed excerpts from those tunes. “How I Wrote That Song” is a panel series initially created by BMI in Los Angeles and is held annually during Grammy Awards week.

Songwriters Pablo Castro, Ramon Gonzalez Mora, Gustavo Laureano, Espinoza Paz, Bruno Danzza and Luigi Giraldo

BMI Director, Latin Writer/Publisher Relations & Media Licensing, Puerto Rico, Joey Mercado; songwriters Pablo Castro, Ramon Gonzalez Mora, and Gustavo Laureano; BMI AVP, Latin Music, Delia Orjuela; and songwriters Espinoza Paz, Bruno Danzza and Luigi Giraldo

BMI Associate Director, Latin Writer/Publisher Relations, Miami, Jake Cavazos; songwriters Pablo Castro, Gustavo Laureano and Luigi Giraldo; BMI AVP, Writer/Publisher Relations, Latin Music, Delia Orjuela; BMI Director, Latin Writer/Publisher Relations, New York, Porfirio Pina; songwriters Ramon Gonzalez Mora and Espinoza Paz; BMI Director, Latin Writer/Publisher Relations & Media Licensing, Puerto Rico, Joey Mercado; and (front) songwriter Bruno Danzza.