ASCAP LATIN MUSIC AWARDS CELEBRATES ITS 16th EDITION

VICTOR MANUELLE HONORED WITH ASCAP'S GOLDEN NOTE AWARD BLACK GUAYABA WILL BE PRESENTED ASCAP'S VANGUARD AWARD


The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) will honor Victor Manuelle and Black Guayaba at its 16th Annual Latin Music Awards on May 16, 2008 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Miami Beach. The black tie gala will also honor the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP's most performed songs in Latin Music of 2007.

Victor Manuelle will be honored with the ASCAP Golden Note Award, which is presented to songwriters, composers, and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones, and Black Guayaba will receive the ASCAP Vanguard Award in recognition of their impact, as new and developing musical artists, on shaping the future of their musical genre and the future of music.

Victor Manuelle has amassed significant achievements as a singer and songwriter and continues to be a familiar voice to Latin Music fans ever since his first album was released in 1993. Since then, he has produced chart-toping albums with substantial radio hits every single year. In March 2004, his album Travesía, produced by Emilio Esfefan, went to #1 on the Latin Billboard charts. In 2005, he released two live albums: Victor Manuelle En Vivo Desde El Carnegie Hall, recorded at Carnegie Hall, and Dos Soneros…Una Historia (Two Soneros…One Story), from his historical collaboration with Gilberto Santarosa, recorded live at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in Puerto Rico. In 2007, he released his DVD En Vivo Desde El Madison Square Garden, and under his own record label, Kiyavi, his first Christmas album "Una Navidad a Mi Estilo" (Christmas My Style), which became an instant classic of new compositions of traditional Puerto Rican music. Victor Manuelle has thirteen musical productions to his credit, has achieved several #1 radio hits of his own authorship and has sold over two million albums.

Victor Manuelle joins an elite list of ASCAP members who have been honored with the ASCAP Golden Note Award, including Garth Brooks, Jose Feliciano, Quincy Jones, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Tom Petty, Joan Sebastian and Stevie Wonder, among others.

The members of Grammy Award-winning rock band Black Guayaba are the first Latin music artists to be recognized with the ASCAP Vanguard Award. Other notable recipients include The All-American Rejects, The Beastie Boys, Beck and Bjork, among others.

ASCAP's Latin Music Awards is one of the most attended and celebrated events in the Latin entertainment community. Victor Manuelle and Black Guayaba join a select list of Latin music icons that have been singled out for special recognition at ASCAP's Latin Music Awards, including Antonio Aguilar, Ricardo Arjona, Rubén Blades, Celia Cruz, Franco De Vita, José Feliciano, Ednita Nazario, Tito Puente, Arturo Sandoval, Joan Sebastian, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Olga Tañón.
(PHOTO BY LUCY MORENO FOR MHPIXS.com)