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Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation Accepting Scholarship Applications From Young Musicians Wishing To Pursue Latin Music Study

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The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation hopes that the financial aid will help support the next generation of musicians
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Dec 7, 2018 - 12:09 pm

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation has announced it is accepting scholarship applications for a total of $700,000 in aid for music students.

The scholarships are to aid 43 students, between 17 and 24 years old, accepted into universities who wish to pursue studies in Latin music and who face financial challenges, the foundation announced in a statement.

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation hopes that the financial aid will help support the next generation of musicians, who in turn will help Latin music thrive in global culture.

"We are pleased once again to help provide talented students with financial constraints a quality music education," Sr. Vice President, Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation, Manolo Díaz said. "Our work is more relevant than ever as Latin music continues to grow and captivate audiences worldwide."

Three students will receive the Gifted Tuition Scholarships that will award $25,000 annually, a total of $100,000 that will be handed in a span of four years. There will also be a chance for 40 students to receive a one-time award of 10,000 for Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 semester.

To apply, students are asked to create audition videos, send two letters of recommendation and answer questions in form of an essay. Deadline to apply is April 10, 2019. For more information visit the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation site. Questions can be answered at LGCF@grammy.com.

2019 GRAMMY Awards: Complete Nominations List

Ozuna

Ozuna

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2019 Latin GRAMMYs: Ozuna, Miguel, Alicia Keys, Residente, Farruko, Fito Páez & More Added As Performers

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The show will open with a special tribute to Latin music and its 20th anniversary, with 20 artists performing together collectively for the first time
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Nov 12, 2019 - 2:20 pm

Yesterday, Nov. 11, the Latin Recording Academy announced the final wave of performers for the upcoming 20th Latin GRAMMY Awards, taking place in two days. Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY winners Beto Cuevas and Residente, as well as GRAMMY winners Alicia Keys and Miguel, will perform at the historic 20th anniversary show, hosted by Ricky Martin, Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega.

Current Latin GRAMMY nominees Calibre 50, Farruko, Leonel García, Ozuna, Fito Páez, Milly Quezada and Tony Succar also join the star-studded musical lineup. Past Latin GRAMMY nominee Prince Royce, along with Carlos Rivera, top off the newly revealed performers list.

These artists join the previously announced acts, which include current Latin GRAMMY nominees Alejandro Sanz, Rosalía—the top nominated artists this year at eight and five nods, respectively—Ximena Sariñana, Anitta, Bad Bunny, Sebastián Yatra, Fonseca, Luis Fonsi, Alessia Cara and Juanes, the Latin Recording Academy's 2019 Person Of The Year, who will perform a special medley of his hits during the show.

Pepe Aguilar, Pedro Capó, Reik, Draco Rosa, Sech, Darell, De La Ghetto, Dimelo Flow, Christian Nodal are also among the artists previously revealed to perform. GRAMMY-nominated Mexican regional/pop singer Alejandro Fernández will sing together with his father, iconic ranchera singer Vicente Fernández, as well as his son Alex Fernández, for the first time.

Read: 2019 Latin GRAMMYs Viewer's Guide: Here's How, When & Where To Watch

The 20th edition of the legendary awards show will, of course, feature "historical moments, reunions, tributes and one-of-a-kind performances from nominees, past winners and legends."

To start things off accordingly, the show will open with a very special tribute to Latin music from 20 artists performing together collectively for the first time. The musical tribute "will interpret multiple iconic songs spanning various genres of Latin music, while commemorating the past 20 years of excellence." The Latin Academy also stated there will be "a special moment" with past nominee Thalía.

Additionally, yesterday's announcement also shared more presenters, who will hand out the prestigious awards during the evening: Ángela Aguilar, Eduardo Cabra, Sofia Carson, Emilio Estefan, Mon Laferte, William Levy, Rudy Mancuso, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Michael Peña and Dayanara Torres. The presenters will be joined by eight of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation scholarship recipients to help deliver the eight televised awards, "symbolizing the next generation of artists fostered through the Foundation's international programs."

Watch Shakira's Fiery Performance Of "Ojos AsÍ" At The First-Ever Latin GRAMMYs | GRAMMY Rewind

In just five years, the Foundation has offered $5 million in scholarships, grants, musical instrument donations and educational events in the United States and Ibero-America. One fun way to help support their work is by purchasing limited-edition 20th Latin GRAMMY merch. In collaboration with Footaction and streetwear designer Guillermo Andrade, the stylish T-shirts feature current nominees Bad Bunny, Greeicy, Christian Nodal and Sebastián Yatra.

Don't forget to tune in to The Biggest Night in Latin Music on Univision this Thurs., Nov. 14 from 8–11 p.m. ET/PST (7 p.m. Central). Check out our viewer's guide here for more info on the events leading up to the show, including where to see the red carpet. Stay tuned to GRAMMY.com for live coverage of all the magic.

Exclusive: Sebastian Yatra Teases 2019 Latin GRAMMY Performances & Reveals His Life's Purpose: "To Share Love With People"

Carlos Vives at the 2018 Latin GRAMMYs

Carlos Vives at 19th Latin GRAMMYs

Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images for LARAS

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Carlos Vives, Elsa Y Elmar & More Celebrate Their 2019 Latin GRAMMY Nominations

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As the monumental 20th anniversary Latin GRAMMYs approaches, share in the excitement with some of this year's nominees
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Sep 26, 2019 - 2:05 pm

On Sept. 24, the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences shared the nominees for the 20th Latin GRAMMY Awards, set to take place in Las Vegas on Nov. 14.

In the day and a half since the big news went live, many of the nominated artists have taken to social media to share their gratitude and excitement for their nods.

GRAMMY- and Latin GRAMMY-winning Spanish singer/songwriter Alejandro Sanz leads as the artist with the most nominations at eight total. His nominations include Album Of The Year and Best Contemporary Pop Album, for his coyly titled 12th studio album, #ELDISCO ("the album"). Two of its singles, "No Tenga Nada" and "Mi Persona Favorita," featuring GRAMMY nominee Camila Cabello, are both nominated for Song and Record Of The Year, marking the first Latin GRAMMY nods for the 22-year-old Cuban-born pop star.

Cabello shared a heartwarming post (switching between Spanish and English) filled with seven exclamation points, while revealing that "Mi Persona Favorita," which she and Sanz co-wrote, was inspired by her younger sister:

"My dear friend Alejandro Sanz, this is so special because this song is with someone I love and admire so much, and was written with so much love! I love you so much, wow!!!!! When we wrote this song I was inspired by my sister, my little Tofi, who is mi persona favorita!"

Sanz, who was honored as the 2017 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, wrote on Twitter, "Celebrating every nomination for each and everyone of the people that are behind every award. Thank you, always. Congratulations to all of the nominees."

Los Angeles-based mixing engineer Jaycen Joshua also received eight nominations, including for his role as album mixer on three Album Of The Year-nominated LPs—Luis Fonsi's Vida, Rosalía's El Mal Querer and Sebastián Yatra's Fantasía.

Speaking of flamenco-fusion queen Rosalía, the Barcelona-based Latin GRAMMY winner, who took home her first two wins at the 19th Latin GRAMMY Awards, was also one of the top nominees, earning five nods this year. 2018's El Mal Querer not only earned her the major Album Of The Year nod, it is in the running for Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album and Best Engineered Album (an award given to the audio engineers). Several of her 2019 singles are nominated for Latin GRAMMYs as well, including "Con Altura," with her co-producer El Guincho and fellow Latin GRAMMY winner J Balvin, for Best Urban Song, and "Aute Couture" for Record Of The Year.

Celebrating her nominations on her 26th birthday, Rosalía tweeted, "A thousand thanks Latin GRAMMYs and everyone else for these nominations!" She also shouted out El Guincho in the post, which included of a video of the creative powerhouse pair each holding big unicorn balloons.

Another multiple nominee is Mexican alt-Latino singer Ximena Sariñana, who, like the two aforementioned Spanish pop stars, also earned Album Of The Year and Record Of The Year nods, for her album ¿Dónde Bailarán Las Niñas? and "Cobarde," respectively. "I feel very honored to be nominated," she posted to Twitter, shortly after the nominations were announced.

Eternal Colombian musical icon Carlos Vives celebrated his nomination for Best Long Form Music Video for "Déjame Quererte" ("Let Me Love You"). The song and video celebrates the rich beauty of his home country along with a diverse group of fellow Colombian artists: Cholo Valderrama, Cynthia Montano, Elkin Robinson, Kombilesa Mi and Velo De Oza. The multiple GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winner marked the nomination with a thoughtful post. "I never miss the opportunity to continue looking to my country through music and to show the world a more inclusive Colombia. Thank you to the Latin Academy for the nomination and for honoring this."

He also shared his excitement (with three exclamation marks) for another nominee and fellow GRAMMY- and Latin GRAMMY-winning musical vanguard. "Congratulations dear Rubén Blades!!!" Vives wrote along with a retweet of the Panamanian Latin jazz/salsa heavyweight's tweet about his three nominations this year. Blades, whose many Latin GRAMMY wins to date include Album Of The Year in 2017, is up for Album Of The Year again, for his 2019 collaborative project Paraíso Road Gang. For this project, the musician/activist/actor featured artists that share his Panamanian roots, including Horacio Valdés and Kansas City-based alt-rock group Making Movies.

GRAMMY winner Alessia Cara, who is nominated for Record and Song Of The Year for "Querer Mejor," her first release in Spanish, shared a simple yet stoked: "YEAAAHHHHH," complete with three star emojis. She also tagged her duet partner in the song, GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY winner Juanes, who retweeted her post.

The longtime Colombian alt-rock artist is also up for a third award for "La Plata," featuring Colombian rapper Lalo Ebratt, and is also up for Record Of The Year. Additionally, Juanes has been named the Latin Recording Academy's 2019 Person Of The Year, which will be celebrated with the special show held annually during Latin GRAMMY Week.

Brazilian tri-lingual (she sings in Portuguese, Spanish and English) pop star Anitta added her joy to the online celebrations, as her fourth studio album, Kisses, earned a nod for Best Urban Music Album. The reggaeton princess wrote, "I'm so so happy to be nominated…for my album "Kisses"! Thank you to the Latin GRAMMYs, thank you to all of my friends who helped me make this project that I love so much"

Arguably one the most exciting parts of the annual Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY nominations is meeting the class of first-time nominees, including the recipients of Best New Artist nods. One of these Latin GRAMMY Best New Artist nominees is rising Venezuelan Latin jazz artist Chipi Chacón. Like Rosalía, he celebrated both his Libra birthday (Sept. 23) and his nomination. The 31-year-old shared a long, heartfelt post on Instagram, writing "What an incredible birthday present. I'm thankful for the Latin GRAMMYs for taking my music into consideration. This nomination is completely for Venezuela. Thanks to all of the incredible musicians and engineers who participated in my album Transparente."

Another Best New Artist nominee, Colombian Elsa Carvajal, shared in that special first-time nom feeling. The Berklee College of Music graduate, who makes dreamy alt-pop as Elsa y Elmar, shared a teary-eyed video reflecting on the nomination. In the post she wrote, "I thought these things were not for me… Thank you for being part of this reminder that the hard work is worth it… Thank you to the academy, Latin GRAMMYs, for considering me worthy of a nomination. Like this, punk as I am."

Make sure to tune in to Univision on Nov. 14 to catch all the magic of the Biggest Night in Latin Music live from Las Vegas. Also, stay tuned to GRAMMY.com—and @RecordingAcad on @LatinGRAMMYs on Twitter—for timely updates on all the big winners and lively Latin GRAMMY Week events.

The 20th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards Nominations Are Here

Manolo Diaz

Manolo Díaz 

Photo: David Becker/WireImage

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Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation Names Research And Preservation Grant Winners

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The grants aim to help projects that "will contribute to the advancement of the world’s culture"
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jan 24, 2019 - 6:05 pm

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation has announced the recipients of their Research And Preservation Grant Program, established to continue the cultural understanding of Latin Music and its history.

Two research projects and two preservation projects will be funded with grants totaling $20,000, or 5,000 each. Music writer Judy Cantor-Navas, who has written for Billboard and other publications, and Juan Díaz of Colombia's Corporación Universitaria Reformada will receive research grants, while Víctor Márquez from Venezuela and Brazil's Renata Amaral, of Maracá Produções Artísticas e Culturais will receive preservation grants.

"We are proud to help a new group of scholars undertake important and noble projects to preserve and study the rich and storied Latin musical traditions," Sr. Vice-President, Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation Manolo Díaz said in a statement. "These projects will not only help us better understand our traditional music genres but will contribute to the advancement of the world’s culture."

Cantor-Navas will document the history of Cuba's now defunct Panart Records, including the discography, artist list and stories behind music recorded during the 1940s–50s. Díaz's project will study three endangered Colombian indigenous instruments and will build a website and other digital media to make the information available to the public at no cost.

Márquez will digitize original versions of the Venezuelan joropo musical style from 1917–1999 from old vinyl records, cassettes and radio recordings and create a bilingual digital library to be available online for free. Amaral will digitize thousands of Brazilian recordings, including the Bumba Boi and Ciranda genres, from 1991 in various mediums that will also be available online for free.

In the past, projects awarded the grants, established in 2015, have lead to Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY wins, according to a statement by Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation.

Nina Simone, Tom Petty Recordings Among 2019 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inductions

Gloria Estefan and Emilio Estefan

Gloria and Emilio Estefan

Photo: Lester Cohen/WireImage

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Emilio And Gloria Estefan $200,000 Music Scholarship Announced

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The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation announced the Estefans' co-sponsorship of the Prodigy Scholarship, extending a proud line of artistic generosity
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Dec 14, 2018 - 4:15 pm

On Dec. 14, the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation  announced that the winners of multiple GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY awards, Emilio and Gloria Estefan have launched the Emilio and Gloria Estefan Scholarship for $200,000 to help underwrite a Latin music student's four-year bachelor's degree at Berklee College of Music.

"It is a pleasure to support and help a student attend one of the most prestigious and celebrated universities in the world, Berklee College of Music," said Emilio Estefan.

The Estefans' amazing life together has been such a testimony to music that it is even the subject of its own Tony Award-nominated musical, On Your Feet. They have each been honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year. Emilio was the very first, in 2000, followed by Gloria Estefan in 2008.

Their daughter, recording artist Emily Estefan is herself a Berklee graduate. "I always had the ability to pick up an instrument and play and explore my artistry," she said at a recent Recording Academy Florida Chapter event. "So many kids don't have the opportunity to do that."

"It is a privilege for us to have the support of music icons Emilio and Gloria Estefan," said Manolo Díaz, Sr. Vice President of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation. "Through their leadership and support we hope to — not only change the life of an aspiring talent — but also inspire others to pursue the many careers available in music while inviting people to join our cause through donations."

The deadline for applications to be submitted is April 10, 2019 with details at the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation website. Submissions may be in English, Spanish or Portuguese and require two audition videos, two recommendation letters and answers to two essay questions. All applications are carefully evaluated by the Foundation's Scholarship Committee.

This is the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation's fifth co-sponsored Prodigy Scholarship in a program begun by Enrique Iglesias in 2015. Subsequent artists generously participating have been Juan Luis Guerra, Miguel Bosé and Carlos Vives — and now the incomparable Emilio and Gloria Estefan as well.

"Twenty years ago we were part of the founding committee that launched the Latin GRAMMYs," said Emilio Estefan. "It is such a satisfying honor to be a part of this organization as benefactors that will make reality the dream of one student with interest in Latin music."

Charitable commitments by the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation total $4 million to date, supporting 200 scholarships, donations of musical instruments and Latin music educational events.

Carlos Vives, Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation Offer Scholarship