Juanes, the Colombian Rocker, Sweeps the Major Awards at the Latin Grammys
Hosts urged, “Listen to the lyrics” at the ninth annual Latin Grammy Awards, which were broadcast Thursday night from Houston on the Spanish-language network Univision. This awards show was determined to present music not as an escape from troubles, but as a way to face them, whether those troubles stemmed from the state of the world or from a broken heart.
The show began with the Colombian rocker Juanes, whose album “La Vida Es un Ratico” won awards for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Album. He swept the major awards; his “Me Enamora” was named Song of the Year and Record of the Year. He has won multiple Latin Grammy awards for each of his previous three albums.
Collecting his final award, Juanes congratulated American Latinos for getting a president who is “right for the world.”
Juanes sang “Me Enamora” and “Odio por Amor,” songs about putting more love in the world, and was then joined by John Legend for a Spanish translation of the change-the-world song he introduced at the Democratic Convention, “If You’re Out There.” Later, the Mexican-American group Los Tigres del Norte sang bouncy polkas about national identity, including “Somos Más Americanos,” which insists that as descendants of native Americans, “I didn’t cross the border, the border crossed me.”
But there’s no way to make the Latin Grammy Awards earnest — not with high-octane emoting from the singers, ebullient rhythms from the bands, flirting ingenue presenters, shimmying dance steps, low-cut designer dresses and rhinestones galore. The original Grammy Awards show would benefit from the sheer flamboyance of its Latin spin-off.
The smoky-voiced Mexican rocker Alejandra Guzmán, 40, started her anthemic “Hasta el Final,” written after an operation for breast cancer, while lying atop a red piano amid a simulated snowstorm. Then she tossed off a cloak to reveal a midriff-baring outfit, apparently mostly feathers, as she strutted and belted “Soy Solo un Secreto.” Flex, from Panama, strolled through a 1950s production number worthy of “Grease” with his bilingual reggaetón hit “Te Quiero,” the Best Urban Song.
The Latin Grammys are given by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, an international group of musicians and music business professionals. They always have a diplomatic challenge juggling music from the many Spanish and Portuguese-speaking constituencies. This year, the show assembled an accordion medley — from Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Texas — as a prelude to the Mexican-American singer Julieta Venegas performing her song “El Presente.” Her album “MTV Unplugged” was named Best Alternative Music Album.
The Best New Artist was Kany García, a pensive Puerto Rican rock songwriter who also won the Best Female Pop Vocal Album award for her debut album, “Cualquier Día.”
In Houston, where the majority of the city’s 1.2 million Latinos have Mexican roots, it was inevitable that Mexican and Mexican-American music would have pride of place. Regional Mexican music is also the best-selling Latin music in the United States. The Best Tejano Album, Emilio Navaira’s “De Nuevo,” and Best Norteño Album, Siggno’s “Six Pack,” were both among the minority of the year’s 49 awards that were given onstage.
Buika, a Spanish singer with roots in Equatorial Guinea, applied flamenco ornaments to the Mexican standard “Volver, Volver,” unaccompanied, before presenting the Norteño award. Mexican groups also won in international categories like Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Song, both won by Mexico’s alternative-rock stalwarts Café Tacvba.
Fusions filled the show. Gloria Estefan, the Cuban-American singer who was named the academy’s Person of the Year and whose album “90 Millas” won awards for Best Traditional Tropical Album and Best Tropical Song (for “ Píntame de Colores”), performed with two fellow million-selling crossover pioneers, the Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana and the Puerto Rican guitarist and singer José Feliciano. Mr. Feliciano’s collection of Dominican-style bachatas, “Señor Bachata,” won Best Contemporary Tropical Album.
A Colombian voice-and-accordion vallenato duo, Jorge Celedón and Jimmy Zambrano, performed with Mariachi Vargas, putting Mexican rhythms and dancers behind their song “Esta Vida.” And the Puerto Rican singer Olga Tañon shared “Cosas del Amor” with the Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera and the Texan singer Vikki Carr for what turned into a jubilantly melodramatic sob-off.
The finale was an all-star performance of Rosario’s “No Dudaría,” a plea for an end to violence. It had the singers jumping up and down and the audience on its feet, waving and dancing.
Hosts urged, “Listen to the lyrics” at the ninth annual Latin Grammy Awards, which were broadcast Thursday night from Houston on the Spanish-language network Univision. This awards show was determined to present music not as an escape from troubles, but as a way to face them, whether those troubles stemmed from the state of the world or from a broken heart.
The show began with the Colombian rocker Juanes, whose album “La Vida Es un Ratico” won awards for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Album. He swept the major awards; his “Me Enamora” was named Song of the Year and Record of the Year. He has won multiple Latin Grammy awards for each of his previous three albums.
Collecting his final award, Juanes congratulated American Latinos for getting a president who is “right for the world.”
Juanes sang “Me Enamora” and “Odio por Amor,” songs about putting more love in the world, and was then joined by John Legend for a Spanish translation of the change-the-world song he introduced at the Democratic Convention, “If You’re Out There.” Later, the Mexican-American group Los Tigres del Norte sang bouncy polkas about national identity, including “Somos Más Americanos,” which insists that as descendants of native Americans, “I didn’t cross the border, the border crossed me.”
But there’s no way to make the Latin Grammy Awards earnest — not with high-octane emoting from the singers, ebullient rhythms from the bands, flirting ingenue presenters, shimmying dance steps, low-cut designer dresses and rhinestones galore. The original Grammy Awards show would benefit from the sheer flamboyance of its Latin spin-off.
The smoky-voiced Mexican rocker Alejandra Guzmán, 40, started her anthemic “Hasta el Final,” written after an operation for breast cancer, while lying atop a red piano amid a simulated snowstorm. Then she tossed off a cloak to reveal a midriff-baring outfit, apparently mostly feathers, as she strutted and belted “Soy Solo un Secreto.” Flex, from Panama, strolled through a 1950s production number worthy of “Grease” with his bilingual reggaetón hit “Te Quiero,” the Best Urban Song.
The Latin Grammys are given by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, an international group of musicians and music business professionals. They always have a diplomatic challenge juggling music from the many Spanish and Portuguese-speaking constituencies. This year, the show assembled an accordion medley — from Colombia, Argentina, Mexico and Texas — as a prelude to the Mexican-American singer Julieta Venegas performing her song “El Presente.” Her album “MTV Unplugged” was named Best Alternative Music Album.
The Best New Artist was Kany García, a pensive Puerto Rican rock songwriter who also won the Best Female Pop Vocal Album award for her debut album, “Cualquier Día.”
In Houston, where the majority of the city’s 1.2 million Latinos have Mexican roots, it was inevitable that Mexican and Mexican-American music would have pride of place. Regional Mexican music is also the best-selling Latin music in the United States. The Best Tejano Album, Emilio Navaira’s “De Nuevo,” and Best Norteño Album, Siggno’s “Six Pack,” were both among the minority of the year’s 49 awards that were given onstage.
Buika, a Spanish singer with roots in Equatorial Guinea, applied flamenco ornaments to the Mexican standard “Volver, Volver,” unaccompanied, before presenting the Norteño award. Mexican groups also won in international categories like Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Song, both won by Mexico’s alternative-rock stalwarts Café Tacvba.
Fusions filled the show. Gloria Estefan, the Cuban-American singer who was named the academy’s Person of the Year and whose album “90 Millas” won awards for Best Traditional Tropical Album and Best Tropical Song (for “ Píntame de Colores”), performed with two fellow million-selling crossover pioneers, the Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana and the Puerto Rican guitarist and singer José Feliciano. Mr. Feliciano’s collection of Dominican-style bachatas, “Señor Bachata,” won Best Contemporary Tropical Album.
A Colombian voice-and-accordion vallenato duo, Jorge Celedón and Jimmy Zambrano, performed with Mariachi Vargas, putting Mexican rhythms and dancers behind their song “Esta Vida.” And the Puerto Rican singer Olga Tañon shared “Cosas del Amor” with the Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera and the Texan singer Vikki Carr for what turned into a jubilantly melodramatic sob-off.
The finale was an all-star performance of Rosario’s “No Dudaría,” a plea for an end to violence. It had the singers jumping up and down and the audience on its feet, waving and dancing.
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