Nov 12, 2010 - Whether the final results match your personal picks or not, the 2010 Latin Grammy were awarded successfully Thursday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, in Las Vegas.
Early in the afternoon 34 out of the 48 categories were presented in a quaint ceremony that was not televised. The ceremony included performances by Brazilian Maria Gadu, who was nominated in the Mejor Nuevo Artista (Best New Artist) category, and Juan Fernando Velasco, nominated for Mejor Album Folclorico (Best Folk Album).
It was during this pre-telecast that Cuban trumpet and piano player Arturo Sandoval received the Mejor Album Instrumental (Best Instrumental Album) award for his “A Time For Love.” Sandoval dedicated his award to the memory of his mother, who passed away recently.
Argentinian rocker Gustavo Cerati, who has been hospitalized since he collapsed following a concert in Venezuela, was awarded the Mejor Album de Rock (Best Rock Album) award for his “Fuerza Natural.” Likewise he received the Mejor Cancion de Rock (Best Rock Song) award for “Déjà vu” a track from “Fuerza Natural.” His awards were received on stage by a personal friend. Art director Roy Garcia also received the Mejor Diseno de Empaque (Best recording package) award for his work for Gustavo Cerati’s “Fuerza Natural.”
Mexican singer-songwriter Ely Guerra received the Mejor Album de Musica Alternativa (Best Alternative Music Album) for her “Hombre Invisible.”
The Productor del Año (Producer of the Year) award was shared by Sergio George, for his work producing artists India and Prince Royce, and Jorge Calandrelli and Gregg Field for their production of Arturo Sandoval’s “A Time For Love.”
Colombia’s hip-hop group ChocQuibTown received the Mejor Cancion Alternativa (Best Alternative Song) award. Dressed in bright colors, songwriter Gloria “Goyo” Martinez expressed her pride in being from Colombia, having “the Pacific coast represented,” through her dress, her brown skin color, and especially her group’s music.
Other highlights included Gilberto Santa Rosa’s Mejor Album de Salsa (Best Salsa Album) award for his “Irrepetible,” and Ruben Blades’s Mejor Album Cantautor (Best Singer – Songwriter Album) award for his “Cantares del Subdesarrollo.”
At 5 pm the televised portion of the event began. There’s no need to discuss the awards much as presumably everyone watched the event live, but following are a few curiosities heard around the press room in the course of the telecast:
- How are you going to celebrate your Mejor Album de Musica Urbana (Best Urban Music Album) Latin Grammy, Chino y Nacho? “We are going to pour tonight the tequila shots IN the trophy itself and drink them out of it!”
- Trumpet player Chris Botti thanked the opportunity to mingle in the Latin music world. “This Latin Grammy night,” said Botti, “is night number three of my knowing Juan Luis Guerra.” But he did record “Lola’s Mambo” with him and performed it to open up the Latin Grammy telecast. Botti said he would work with Guerra in the video for “Lola’s Mambo” in the coming up days and looks forward to future musical participations.
- Ben E. King, the writer of the “Stand By Me” that Prince Royce has made popular once again, said he sees in the young singer “someone who really enjoys singing and who has taken the song to a whole new place and to a new generation.” You can also dance a lot faster to his version, he kid.
- The extroverted young Prince Royce said that singing with Ben E. King and just being present at the Latin Grammy was “a dream turned into a reality.” As a Dominican born in the Bronx, he feels that his version of “Stand by Me” was "a good way to introduce Americans to bachata." The recording of his duet with Ben E. King at the Latin Grammys is now available for download on iTunes.
- In the middle of Marc Anthony surprising the crowd with his unexpected duo with Juan Luis Perales, non other than Placido Domingo entered the press room. The room exploded into applause and everybody “forgot” about Marc Anthony. “This is a big recognition,” Domingo, who was honored as ‘Person of the Year,’ said. “This one comes from the Latin community and it impresses me. This year’s Latin Grammy shows the artistic quality we now have, which allows us to produce events of this level.”
- Alex Cuba received the Mejor Nuevo Artista (Best New Artist) award. His parents are currently visiting him in Canada from Cuba. They are very proud of this accomplishment, he said, and he is very proud for his father, the person who taught him music to begin with. “Everybody sees this ‘overnight’ success,” he said. “In reality, it has taken me 36 years to get here. I was playing claves on a TV show at 4 years old!” he added.
- Alejandro Sanz now has 16 Latin Grammy and two Grammy. Where does he keep them all? Aligned in his recording studio.
- One by one the artists expressed their happiness to have received a Latin Grammy and made promises of much more work to come.
The Latin Recording Academy hosted an Official Latin Grammy After Party immediately following the telecast. The event included performances by hip-hop and R&B-infused bachata group Bachata Heightz, Salsa group N’Klabe, a fantastic sounding Fania tribute band - Our Latin Thing, and Salsa icon Victor Manuelle. DJ Nino played recorded music between band sets.
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