Erika María Ender Simoes (born 21 December 1974) is a Panamanian-American singer and songwriter. In addition to her singing career, Ender is considered one of the most important and prolific composers in the Latin music market today. Along with

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being "Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

and Daddy Yankee, she is the co-writer of the worldwide hit "

Despacito "Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album ''Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi, ...

Early life

Ender was born in

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

, the daughter of a Panamanian-American father and Brazilian mother. Due to her roots, she grew up in a multicultural and trilingual home, so she writes, sings and composes songs in Spanish, Portuguese and English. Ender currently resides in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Career

As a singer, Ender has released five CDs—three of them international—in a variety of genres such as pop, rock, tropical and regional Mexican. Her musical versatility has made it possible for stars such as Daddy Yankee, Chayanne, Gloria Trevi,

Ednita Nazario Edna María Nazario Figueroa (born April 11, 1955) is a Puerto Rican musician, singer, and composer who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age and has released twenty-three (23) studio ...

, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Ana Bárbara, Víctor Manuelle,

Los Horóscopos de Durango Los Horóscopos de Durango were a Regional Mexican band. In their first years, they were a grupero band, but they eventually changed to the duranguense style when the genre was becoming mainstream. They eventually switched to banda. In their last ...

, Milly Quezada, Elvis Crespo, Giselle,

Melina León Melina León (born 12 July 1973 as Yamillette Aponte Yunqué in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican merengue singer and actress. From an early age she performed with several groups including ''The Rubi'', ''Girls of Puerto Rico'' and '' ...

, Ha*Ash, Prince Royce, Akon,

José Luis Rodríguez José Luis Rodríguez may refer to: * José Luis Rodríguez Vélez (1915–1984), Panamanian musician *José Luis Rodríguez (singer) (born 1943), ''El Puma'', Venezuelan singer and actor *José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (born 1960), former Prime Mi ...

"El Puma", Luis Enrique,

Malú María Lucía Sánchez Benítez, known as Malú, is a Spanish singer. She is the niece of the composer and guitarist Paco de Lucía, and is known for songs such as "Aprendiz", "Como Una Flor", "Toda", "Diles", "Si Estoy Loca" and "No Voy a Cambia ...

, Jaci Velásquez, and Azúcar Moreno, to interpret their songs. Her successful career as a songwriter includes the albums ''Abreme La Puerta'', ''Cueste Lo Que Cueste'' and ''En Concierto''. Topping the Billboards with singles like "Cheque Al Portador" (2004), "Abreme La Puerta" (2004), "Luna Nueva" (2006), "Quien Sale... No Entra" (2006), "Masoquista" (2009), "Cadê?" and "Sigo Caminando", among others, have led to her performing in multiple countries. A great accomplishment as a composer was when in 2004 her theme "Cheque Al Portador" allowed Ender to qualify at the International Song Festival of Viña del Mar, where she represented her native Panama for the first time in the 45 years since the event began in 1960. In January 2017, "

", featuring Daddy Yankee and

and co-written by Ender, was promoted and released. The music video reached 6 billion views, with the song becoming number 1 in nearly every Latin Billboard chart.

Awards

* Latin Billboard *

SESAC SESAC is a for-profit performance-rights organization in the United States. Founded in 1930 as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, it is the second-oldest performance-rights organization in the United States.

-Song Of The Year (2010) *

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

* Latin Grammy Awards * Monitor Latino * La Musa Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards – 2017 * Premio Faro Cultural 2017 – Comunicad (Washington, DC) * Best Mexican Regional Song 2016 – Latin Grammy * Leading Ladies of Entertainment 2017 – Latin Recording Academy of Arts and Sciences * Song of the Year 2017 – Latin Grammy * Global Icon Award 2018 – SEASAC Latina Music Awards * Top Latin Song 2018 – Billboard Music * Horizon Award 2018 – The National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts * Humanitarian Award 2018 – TJ Martell Foundation (Los Angeles, California) * Top Hot 100 Canciones 2018 – Billboard Music * Top Latin Song 2018 – Billboard Music * Streaming Song of the Year 2018 – Latin Billboard * Canción Pop Latina del Año 2018 – Billboard Latino * Airplay Song of the Year 2018 – Billboard Latino * Digital Song of the Year 2018 – Billboard Latino * Top Selling Song 2018 – Billboard Latino * Song of the Year 2018 – SESAC Latina Music Awards * She Rocks Awards 2019 – Dreaming out Loud She Rocks Women in Music * Philanthropy Award 2019 – Cala Foundation

Filmography

Cinema: Grandpa (2011), directed by Joseph Medina and produced by Edgardo Franco, better known as 'The General'. It is the story of a grandfather and his grandson, who carry a close relationship of respect and affection. Unfortunately everything changes when the grandfather suffers an automobile accident and has to be admitted to a nursing home. International trade: Miami Herald, Florida Lottery, MCI (along with María Celeste Arrarás) and AmericaTel along with Don Francisco. Musical Theatre: ''The Narrator of José El Soñador, directed by the famous Bruce Quinn.''

Judge or celebrity

* ''Idol Kids Puerto Rico (2012)'' (next to Servando and Florentino, Edgardo Díaz and Carlos Ponce); Produced by FreeMantle Media for Wapa TV Puerto Rico. * ''IDOL PUERTO RICO (2011)'' (along with Ricardo Montaner, Jerry Rivera and Carlos "Topy" Mamery); Produced by FreeMantle Media for Wapa TV Puerto Rico. * ''Batalla de las Américas (2009)'' with María Conchita Alonso and Julio Iglesias Jr. (MEGA TV – USA, CHAIN 3 – Mexico and Venevisión International for Latin America). * ''Dímelo Bailando'' (2004) (Mega TV – USA). * ''Vive La Música'' on TVN Channel 2 – Panama.

Co-producer of programs

* ''La Cuerda'' * ''Vital'' (Fox World, Channel 8, Miami, USA).

Presenter

* ''Life @ Online'' (Life Online): Discovery Channel USA and Latin America (1998–1999). * ''El Mix del Fin de Semana'': Telemetro Panamá (1995–1996). * ''Salsarengue'': Telemetro Panama (1995). * ''Son de Sabor'' (segment Son del Patio): RPC TV Channel 4, Panama (1994). * ''Eventos Especiales'': TVN Channel 2, (1993–1994).

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ender, Erika 1974 births Living people Panamanian people of American descent Panamanian people of Brazilian descent Latin Grammy Award winners Latin pop singers Latin music songwriters 21st-century American women singers Women in Latin music English-language singers from Panama Portuguese-language singers of Panama 21st-century American singers