Reggaetón met regional Mexican at the SESAC Latina Music Awards June 15, with regional Mexican songwriter Luciano Luna taking home composer of the year for the third consecutive time and Nicky Jam’s “El perdón” (recorded with Enirque Iglesias) winning song of the year.
Nicky Jam’s producer, Saga Whiteblack, won the first ever producer of the year award, while Sony/ATV picked up publisher of the year, effectively winning a “triple crown” in 2016, as it has already won publisher of the year at the BMI and ASCAP Latin Music Awards.
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SESAC also honored norteño band Intocable with its SESAC Latina Icon Award, celebrating the Texas act’s 20 years in business. Intocable, who will release their new album Highway, June 17, already have notched-up seven No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Top Latin albums chart. The six-man group, led by singer and accordionist Ricky Muñoz, also performed a live set that included new single “Tu Ausencia.”
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This year’s awards again returned to the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles and were notable for the plethora of young talent present.
Luna, a prolific composer who’s written for Banda El Recodo, Luis Coronel and Noel Torres, among many others, acknowledged as much in his acceptance speech.
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“There are people at every table who have helped me,” he said. “My friend Noel [Torres], Régulo Caro, Eden Muñoz,” he said, rattling off the names of a new generation of regional Mexican singers.
On hand to present the awards were Celeste Zendejas, director of SESAC Latina; Eli Ponce, associate director of SESAC Latina; Trevor Gale, senior VP of writer/publisher relations SESAC; and Sam Kling, senior VP of creative operations SESAC.