Calle 13 sweeps Latin Grammys 2009; Luis Fonsi, Wisin y Yandel and Mercedes Sosa snap up awards

Calle 13 ruled the Latin Grammys on Thursday, sweeping awards in five categories — including record and album of the year and short video of the year — while the Puerto Ricans Luis Fonsi and Wisin & Yandel and the late Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa also garnered trophies.

Other top winners included the Cubans Chucho and Bebo Valdés, Nicaraguan salsa singer Luis Enrique and Saúl Hernández of Mexico's legendary rock band Jaguares.

“To all the people who make music this is the time to make independent music . . . to hell with the multinational record labels. This is the time for us to make real music,” René Pérez, better known as “Residente” of Calle 13 said after winning the best urban album and best short video categories during a pre-telecast event that was streamed live on the Latin Grammy Web site and in which 35 out of the 49 gramophones were presented.

“I want to give my greetings to all Puerto Ricans and to all the jobless and their sons and daughters on the island,” he added, referring to the thousands of local public workers who’ll be laid off in the following months by the government to balance the budget deficit.

The half brothers of Pérez and Eduardo Cabra, known as “Residente,” also dedicated their awards to “Mercedes Sosa because her music will live on forever and to Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. Let’s strive for a united Latin America.”

The Puerto Rican alt-urban duo took home trophies for both best urban album (“Los de atrás vienen conmigo”) and best alternative song ( “No Hay Nadie Como Tú,” featuring the Mexican rockers Café Tacvba), along with best short-form music video for their collaboration with salsa legend Rubén Blades on “La Perla” — a collaboration that pays homage to Latin America's poor barrios.

For his part, Puerto Rican pop singer Luis Fonsi bagged a trophy for best song of the year for “Aqui estoy yo,” where he's joined by Aleks Syntek, Noel Schajris and David Bisbal. This year marks Fonsi's most successful stage of his recording career on the strength of his best-selling album “Palabras del Silencio,” which boasts the hits “No me doy por vencido” and “Aqui estoy yo.”

Meanwhile, the powerhouse reggaetón duo Wisin & Yandel snapped up best urban song for “Abusadora” with Marcos Masis, “Tainy.”

The 10th annual awards show was held Thursday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and was aired live in Spanish on Univision. It was hosted by Mexican actress and singer Lucero and comedian Eugenio Derbez.

Calle 13, widely known for its edgy urban sounds fused with excursions into other Latin genres like reggaetón, cumbia and bossa nova, already has a Grammy award and five Latin Grammys under its belt.

Most recently, the provocative frontman of Calle 13, “Residente,” was thrust to the international spotlight after offending several Latin American political figures through politically-charged messages printed on the T-Shirts he wore while hosting last month's telecast of the Latin MTV awards. Most notably, was Pérez’s cutting and insulting comment to Puerto Rico's Governor Luis Fortuño, whom he called a “son of a %#$#.” Days later, the governor's Chief of Staff Marcos Rodríguez Emma reacted to Calle 13's remark by calling “Residente” a “discotheque socialist.”

For his part, Nicaraguan salsa singer Luis Enrique made a blazing comeback after nine years of being out of the spotlight by winning best salsa album for “Ciclos,” which features his chart-burning hit ‘Yo no sé mañana.” He beat out local tropical music singer Gilberto Santa Rosa in this category.

Meanwhile, the gramophone for best Latin jazz album went to Bebo and Chucho Valdés for “Juntos para siempre,” beating out the Puerto Ricans Néstor Torres (Nouveau Latino) and Charlie Sepúlveda for “Sepúlveda Boulevard.”

Kicking off the night’s performances was Laura Pausini, who belted out her hit “En cambio no.”
Standout performing acts included the collaboration of Calle 13, Blades and the percusisonists of Cirque du Soleil on “La Perla,” as well as singer Alicia Keys.

Other winners were the late Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa, who grabbed best folk album posthumously for “Cantora 1.” Sosa, a pioneering voice in Latin America's “Nueva Canción” protest music whose politically-charged songs forced her to live in exile for years, passed away on Oct. 4.

Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury, Spanish balladeer Alejandro Sanz, salsero Oscar D'Leon, norteño band Los Tucanes de Tijuana and Spanish folk rockers La Quinta Estacion also took the Laitn Grammy stage.

Juan Gabriel, the beloved Mexican singer-songwriter known as the “Divo of Juárez,” was honored as the Latin Recording Academy's Person of the Year with a gala featuring singers from across Latin America on Wednesday, a day before the awards ceremony. The Puerto Rican performers who paid tribute to Juan Gabriel were Luis Fonsi and La India.

Other Latin artists who received special awards were Tania Libertad, Marco Antonio Muñiz, Cándido Camero and Charly García.

For more articles by the Latin Music Examiner click here.