Tag Archives: Enrique García

Leslie Grace to Perform Miami Sound Machine’s “Conga” at the 2025 Grammy Hall of Fame Gala

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Leslie Grace can’t control herself any longer…

The 30-year-old Dominican American singer & actress will perform at the 2025 Grammy Hall of Fame gala, which is presented jointly by the Recording Academy and Grammy Museum.

Leslie GraceTaking place on Friday, May 16 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, the site of the first Grammy Awards ceremony in 1959, the event will feature performances that pay tribute to the 2025 Grammy Hall of Fame inducted recordings, which were revealed on February 13.

Grace, a former Latin Grammy nominee will deliver Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine’s 1985 breakthrough hit, “Conga.”

Released in September 1985, the festive recording was Miami Sound Machine’s first Billboard Hot 100 hit.

“Conga,” which was written by Miami Sound Machine drummer Enrique Garcia,was the first single from the group’s second English-language album, Primitive Love.

Gloria Estefan assumed star billing in 1987 with the similarly infectious “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You.” She and husband Emilio received the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2019. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame four years later. She won her fourth Grammy on February 2 for best global music performance as a featured artist on Sheila E.’s “Bemba Colorá.”

Returning as host is CBS News journalist Anthony Mason.

The show will be produced by Ken Ehrlich, alongside Ron Basile, Lindsay Saunders Carl and Lynne Sheridan.

This year’s additions to the Grammy Hall of Fame meet the main requirements – they exhibit “qualitative or historical significance” and are at least 25 years old. Eligible artist(s), producer(s), engineer(s), and mixer(s) of these 13 recordings will receive a certificate from the Recording Academy.

The Grammy Hall of Fame was established by the Recording Academy’s national trustees in 1973. Inducted recordings are selected annually by a member committee drawn from all branches of the recording arts with final ratification by the academy’s national board of trustees. Counting the 13 new titles in 2025, the Grammy Hall of Fame totals 1,165 inducted recordings.

The full list of past inducted recordings can be found here.

The Grammy Hall of Fame Gala serves as a fundraiser to support the Grammy Museum’s national education programs. It includes a cocktail reception, dinner, and concert program. Tickets are on sale now. Individual tickets are $1,250. For more information, visit this site.

An online auction is currently underway, featuring a collection of guitars signed by such artists as Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, Chris Martin, Sabrina Carpenter, and Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars. They are also auctioning off platinum tickets to the 68th Grammy Awards and more.

Reservoir Media Acquires Rights to Enrique “Kiki” García’s Full Catalog

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Enrique “Kiki” García’s catalog has a new home…

Indie music company Reservoir Media has acquired the rights to the full catalog of the Latino drummer and songwriter.

García, who was part of Miami Sound Machine, penned many of the group’s biggest hits in its heyday with Gloria Estefan as its lead singer, including the much synchronized “Conga.”

García also wrote Miami Sound Machine’s 1984 breakout “Dr. Beat” and co-wrote several tracks alongside Estefan, including “1-2-3,” “Give It Up,” and “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” for the group’s final album, Let it Loose.

But García is best known for “Conga,” which he famously penned on a flight from Utrecht, in the Netherlands, after playing a successful club show the night before.

“The performance stayed on my mind all night,” García recounted in the book Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin Music. “The next day, as we got on the plane and I sat down, this song comes flying out of my mind. I start tapping on the seat table in front of me and I’m singing, “Come on, shake your body, baby, do the song. The rest was sketchy, but by the time we landed I had it all put together. I got up and sang my idea to Emilio and he loved it from the start.”

“Conga” would go on to became an international hit, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 8, 1986.

After leaving Miami Sound Machine, García continued working with top Latin musicians like Chayanne and Julio Iglesias, while “Conga” and his other hits remain widely and constantly licensed.

“Kiki has contributed so much to the face of modern music as we know it. His collaborations with the Miami Sound Machine brought Latin music to mainstream audiences,” said Golnar Khosrowshahi, Reservoir’s founder & CEO, in a statement. “Embarking on this deal with Kiki marks a notable expansion of our rights in Latin American music and is an exciting opportunity to further diversify our catalog while maintaining our focus on acquiring the rights to evergreen hits.”