Café Tacvba to Receive Icon Award at This Year’s La Musa Awards

There’s no doubt Café Tacvba is one of the Latin music world’s most iconic bands. And, now they have the award to prove it.

The trailblazing Mexican alt-rockers will be honored with the Icon Award at the La Musa Awards, which will take place on October 15 at The Fillmore Miami Beach Jackie Gleason Theatre in Miami Beach.

Café Tacvba

The icon designation is fitting for a band that, over the last 25 years, helped elevate rock by fusing it with hip-hop, electronic music, and folkloric sounds.

Recently, the act – consisting of Rubén Albarrán, Emmanuel “Meme” del Real, José Alfredo “Joselo” Rangel, and Enrique “Quique” Rangel – celebrated the 20th anniversary of its seminal album Re, which revolutionized rock en español.

Their most recent album, El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco, was deemed the Best Latin Album of 2012 by iTunes.

Café Tacvba will also perform during the awards show, produced by the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame (LSHOF). The non-profit was founded by renowned songwriters/composers Desmond Child and Rudy Perez in 2012 to honor their peers who have impacted music on a global scale.

Cuban music mogul Emilio Estefan, Chilean singer/songwriter Myriam Hernandez, Argentine composer/performer Gustavo Santaolalla, Argentine singer/songwriter Diego Torres, Colombian songwriter Hector Ochoa Cardenas and Salvadoran singer/songwriter Alvaro Torres are the six music luminaries being inducted into the LSHOF during this year’s ceremony. Quincy Jones will receive the Desi Arnaz Pioneer Award while Chilean rock icon Beto Cuevas will be recognized with a special La Musa Conquistador Award.

Tickets for this year’s gala, hosted by actor/singer Carlos Ponce, are on sale via latinsonghall.com.

Sanchez Earns World Soundtrack Awards Nomination for “Birdman”

He’s already the Critics’ Choice… But Antonio Sanchez may soon be the expert’s choice

The 43-year-old Mexican jazz drummer has been recognized by the World Soundtrack Academy with a nomination for this year’s World Soundtrack Awards.

Antonio Sanchez

Sanchez, who won his first-ever CriticsChoice Movie Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association in January, is nominated in the Best Original Film Score of the Year category for his acclaimed work on Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s Birdman.

Sanchez, a multiple Grammy winner, will face off against Patrick Doyle’s Cinderella, Alexandre Desplat’s The Imitation Game, Hans Zimmer’s Intersellar and Johann Johannsson’s The Theory of Everything.

But Sanchez isn’t the only Latino nominee this year…

Gustavo Santaolalla received a nomination in the Best Original Song Written for a Film category.

The 63-year-old Argentine musician, film composer and producer, a two-time Academy Award winner, is nominated for writing the Diego Luna-performed “The Apology Song” from the Guillermo del Toro-produced The Book of Life.

Santaolalla, a two-time World Soundtrack Award receipient, previously won the Discovery of the Year award for 21 Grams in 2004 and the Public Choice Award for Brokeback Mountain in 2005.

The 15th annual World Soundtrack Awards will be the closing event of Film Fest Gent on October 24, 2015 in Ghent, Belgium.

The World Soundtrack Academy aims to support film music, sound design, composers and their worldwide promotion. In fifteen years time, the membership of the WSAcademy grew into a group of 370 international film (music) professionals deciding on the nominees for the annual World Soundtrack Awards through several rounds of voting.

Here’s a look at this year’s World Soundtrack Awards nominees:

Film Composer of the Year
Bruno Coulais ‘Song of the Sea’, ‘Gemma Bovary’, ‘3 hearts’ (‘3 Coeurs’), ‘Mune le guardien de la lune’, ‘Diary of a Chambermaid’ (‘Journal d’une femme de chambre’), ‘Fly Away Solo’
Alexandre Desplat ‘Unbroken’, ‘The Imitation Game’, ‘Everything Will Be Fine’, ‘Tale of Tales’
Michael Giacchino ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’, ‘Inside Out’, ‘Jupiter Ascending’, ‘Jurassic World’, ‘Tomorrowland’
Johann Johannsson ‘The Theory of Everything’, ‘The 11th Hour’, ‘Sicario’
Hans Zimmer ‘Interstellar’, ‘Chappie’

Best Original Film Score of The Year
‘Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)’ by Antonio Sanchez
‘Cinderella’ by Patrick Doyle
‘The Imitation Game’ by Alexandre Desplat
‘Interstellar’ by Hans Zimmer
‘The Theory of Everything’ by Johann Johannsson

Best Original Song Written For A Film
The Apology Song from ‘The Book of Life’: Music by Gustavo Santaolalla, lyrics by Paul Williams, performed by Diego Luna
Carry Me Home from ‘Insurgent’: Music & lyrics by Joseph Trapanese & Christopher Taylor, performed by SOHN
Glory from ‘Selma’: Music & lyrics by John Legend, Common and Rhymefest performed by Common & Legend
Grateful from ‘Beyond the Lights’: Music & lyrics by Diane Warren, performed by Rita Ora
Tell Me from ‘Lost River’: Music & lyrics by Johnny Jewel, performed by Saoirse Ronan

Nazario Among This Year’s Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame Finalists

Ednita Nazario may soon earn a special spot in Latin music history…

The 59-year-old Puerto Rican singer-songwriter has been named a finalist for the third annual La Musa Awards 2015. The eventual winners will be inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame in a ceremony on October 15 at the Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami Beach.

Ednita Nazario

Nazario, a Latin Grammy nominee, received the Latin Heritage Award from ASCAP in 2004, as well as the Recording Academy Honors from NARAS in 2005.

A total of 12 nominees were announced in both the performers (or singer/songwriters) and non-performers categories. Other names included Joan Sebastian, Diego Torres, Juan Gabriel Myriam Hernandez, Roberto Carlos and Ruben Blades in the performers category and Lalo Schifrin, Gustavo Santaolalla, Leo Brouwer and Ramon Arcusa in the composers category.

Voting, which is open to LSHOF members at latinsonghall.com, began January 28, immediately following the finalist announcement during a press conference at the YoungArts Jewel Box in Miami, and will close March 15 at midnight. The artists and composers chosen for induction in the Hall of Fame will be announced during the 2015 Billboard Latin Music Conference in April.

Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization founded by renowned songwriter/producers Desmond Child and Rudy Pérez in 2012 to honor and celebrate Latin music creators. Created under the auspices of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, its nominating committee is comprised by songwriters, performers, musicians, producers, engineers, music critics, and industry executives.

Many of these were present during the press conference announcing the nominees. Those in attendance included Latin Grammy winner for best new artist Mariana Vega, Colombian singer/songwriter Cabas, singer/songwriter Yunel Cruz, composer/producer Julio Reyes and both Child and Perez.

LSHOF 2015 Full List of Nominees

PERFORMERS  

Diego Torres               (Argentina)
Roberto Carlos             (Brazil)
Caetano Veloso            (Brazil)
Myriam Hernandez      (Chile)
Pablo Milanes               (Cuba)
Álvaro Torres                (El Salvador)
Juan Gabriel                  (México)
Joan Sebastian              (México)
Rubén Blades                (Panamá)
Ednita Nazario              (Puerto Rico)
Camilo Sesto                 (Spain)
Franco de Vita              (Venezuela)

NON-PERFORMERS

Chico Navarro                                   (Argentina)
Gustavo Santaolalla                            (Argentina)
Lalo Schifrin                                       (Argentina)
Erasmo Carlos                                     (Brazil)
Alberto Plaza                                       (Chile)
Héctor Ochoa Cárdenas                        (Colombia)
Leo Brouwer                                       (Cuba)
Rubén Fuentes                                    (México)
Ramón Arcusa                                     (Spain)
Luis Gomez Escolar                             (Spain)
Jose Maria “Chema” Puron                   (Spain)
Jose Enrique “Chelique” Sarabia            (Venezuela)

del Toro Developing “Pan’s Labyrinth” for Broadway…

He’s already conquered Hollywood with films like Hellboy and the highly anticipated Pacific Rim… And now Guillermo del Toro is setting his sights on the Great White Way…

The 48-year-old Mexican filmmaker is developing his award-winning film Pan’s Labyrinth as a Broadway musical.

Guillermo del Toro

del Toro has already reportedly written a book for the stage version of the 2006 Mexican dark fantasy film, which centers on the young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer who finds refuge and terror in a fantasy world in 1944 Fascist Spain.

Paul Williams has just signed on to write the lyrics, while Academy Award-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla is writing the music.

del Toro has been working quietly on the stage version of the film for four years, interviewing directors, librettists and composers.

del Toro, Williams and Santaolalla are also currently working on the music for the del Toro-produced animated film Day of The Dead, currently in the advanced stages of production.

“I admire and love Gustavo and Paul wrote the perfect album in Phantom Of The Paradise, which I have loved for decades,” said del Toro, who just wrapped Pacific Rim for Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. and who’ll next direct the haunted house tale Crimson Peak.

“I’m so excited about translating Guillermo’s magical vision into music and songs,” said Santaolalla. “I’m such a longtime fan of both Guillermo and Paul that to work on this with them is truly a dream come true.”

Aguilera to Speak at Film & TV Music Conference

Christina Aguilera is preparing to hit a big (key)note…

The 31-year-old half-Ecuadorian American singer and The Voice coach will serve as a keynote speaker at the 2012 Billboard and Hollywood Reporter Film & TV Music Conference.

Christina Aguilera

The five-time Grammy Award winner, one of the top-selling artists of all-time, is in a unique position to discuss the connection between film, TV, and music. Her career started on television with The Mickey Mouse Club, and today she’s watched by millions each week as a coach on NBC‘s The Voice.

Taking place at the W Hotel in Hollywood October 24 and 25, the Q&A session will feature Aguilera discussing her musical journey, her upcoming album, and the role television has played and continues to play in her life and career.

Besides Aguilera, Epic Records chairman and The X Factor judge Antonio “L.A.” Reid and composer Gustavo Santaolalla will deliver the two other keynote Q&As at the two-day conference.

“Music has always played an integral part in film and television and now with the ever-growing popularity of music competition shows, new doors are being opened for some of the biggest players in the industry” said Bill Werde, Billboard’s editorial director. “Both Christina Aguilera and L.A. Reid’s music careers have given them entrée into television, and we are thrilled to have them share their stories and perspectives on the impact of music.”

Now in its 11th year, the conference offers attendees a unique opportunity to learn from, network and expose their music directly to the industry’s most influential executive and creative talents including award-winning composers and directors, key studio, network, record label and publishing professionals, VIPs from the advertising, gaming and commercial fields as well as the best music supervisors in the business.