December 1, 2003

PRESS CONTACT:
Blanca Lasalle – Creativelink (212) 684-6001 ext 101 (917) 678-6704

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) will celebrate the 12th edition of its Latin Music Awards on Thursday, March 11, 2004 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 2004 marks the first time that the society will present El Premio awards ceremony on Puerto Rican soil, and it also marks the 90th anniversary of the world’s largest performing rights society. The invitation-only awards dinner honors the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP’s most performed songs in Latin music in 2003.

One of the evening's highlights will be the presentation of the ASCAP Latin Heritage Award to Ednita Nazario; one of the most prestigious awards given by the society. Past recipients who have received this honor include Celia Cruz, José Feliciano, Antonio Aguilar, Arturo Sandoval, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Olga Tañón. Special ASCAP Awards will also be presented to the “Songwriter of the Year” and to the “Publisher of the Year.”

Commenting on the upcoming awards event in San Juan, Alexandra Lioutikoff, Vice President of Latin Membership of ASCAP, said: “At ASCAP, we are delighted to recognize the work of Ednita Nazario and her contributions to our music and our culture. We recognize equally the importance of Puerto Rico as a primary market where so many hits are generated and we are proud of its great community of talented composers. With this step, we re-affirm once more our commitment on behalf of our community."

For her part, Ednita Nazario sent an emotional message: “I have just received the news of the ASCAP Latin Heritage Award! I am very excited by this and believe me when I say that it is an immense honor for which I am grateful. I am a longtime ASCAP member and I have enormous respect for the work that they do in favor of musical artists. God willing, I will be present at the event in March. Thank you!"

February 2004 marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of ASCAP. As the world’s largest performing rights organization, ASCAP has over 170,000 composer, lyricist and music publisher members representing all genres of music. ASCAP is committed to protecting the rights of its members by licensing and collecting royalties for the public performance of their copyrighted works, and then distributing these fees to the Society’s members based on performances. ASCAP’s Board of Directors is made up solely of writers and publishers, elected by the membership every two years.