The GRAMMY Museum has teamed up with the Latin Recording Academy to present Latin GRAMMY: 20 Years Of Excellence, showcasing a variety of iconic moments and performances from two decades of the prestigious Latin GRAMMY Awards. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">El <a href="https://twitter.com/GRAMMYMuseum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GRAMMYMuseum</a> presenta Latin GRAMMY, 20 Años de Excelencia, en colaboración con La Academia Latina de la Grabación… <a href="https://t.co/wNt9bCod2S">https://t.co/wNt9bCod2S</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LatinGRAMMY?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LatinGRAMMY</a> <a href="https://t.co/TTzTNxPMFI">pic.twitter.com/TTzTNxPMFI</a></p>&mdash; Latin GRAMMYs (@LatinGRAMMYs) <a href="https://twitter.com/LatinGRAMMYs/status/1186357660469415947?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

From the tuxedo Juan Gabriel wore during his memorable 40-minute performance at the 10th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards to the outfit Luis Fonsi wore during his performance of "Despacito" at the 18th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards, Latin GRAMMY: 20 Years Of Excellence is the Museum's inaugural exhibit on its newly constructed third floor.

Taking visitors on a walk through two decades of unforgetable moments that shaped our culture, the exchibit will also feature instruments played by Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY winners, including Lila Downs, Alejandro Sanz, Julieta Venegas, and more, plus the paint-stained shirt Ricky Martin wore at his performance with the Blue Man Group at the 8th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards.

“Latin music is a worldwide influence and we are honored to partner with the GRAMMY Museum to showcase the talented musicians, monumental Latin music moments, and significant milestones that have contributed to its popularity,” said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., President/CEO of The Latin Recording Academy. “With the exhibit opening the week after this year’s Latin GRAMMY Awards, we can’t think of a better way to highlight the importance of our 20th anniversary celebration and look to the future to showcase our beautiful art form.”

The exhibit serves as the first in the new Latin music gallery, which is a result of The Latin Recording Academy committing more than half a million dollars over a three-year period to expand the Museum's Latin music-focused exhibits and education programs and toward the hiring of a Latin music curator.

"Our expanded partnership with The Latin Recording Academy will significantly increase the GRAMMY Museum’s impact by creating a consistent presence dedicated to celebrating the many genres of Latin music," said Michael Sticka, President of the GRAMMY Museum. "Latin GRAMMY, 20 Years Of Excellence and our newly renovated third floor will greatly amplify the Museum's mission to educate, inspire, and share the significance of all forms of music."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It&#39;s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NationalBossDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NationalBossDay</a>! Get to know our GRAMMY Museum President, Michael Sticka, and his vision to expand the Museum&#39;s impact. <a href="https://t.co/F6pNa8xmrh">https://t.co/F6pNa8xmrh</a></p>&mdash; GRAMMY Museum (@GRAMMYMuseum) <a href="https://twitter.com/GRAMMYMuseum/status/1184613997062119424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The new exhibit will kick-off with a full day of programming on Nov. 18, including an education program for students, live performances and special ribbon-cutting ceremony with Abaroa Jr. and Sticka. The evening portion of the event is free to the public, including entry to the Museum on a first-come, first-served basis.

The GRAMMY Museum's new third floor also includes a refreshed On The Red Carpet exhibit, including GRAMMY Awards fashion articles from BTS, Rihanna, Nipsey Hussle, Alicia Keys, Miranda Lambert, Lang Lang, Maren Morris, Michelle Obama, Rita Ora, Carlos Santana, Kanye West, and Amy Winehouse. Additionally, the Mono To Surround interactive will be upgraded to a Mono To Immersive experience and the interactive GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY timeline will now have user-controlled capabilities, giving new and treturning music fans many resons to visit.

Latin GRAMMY: 20 Years Of Excellence will open to the public on Nov. 20 and run through spring 2020. For tickets and more info, visit the Museum's website.

GRAMMY Museum Announces Arcadia High's Heather Moore As 2019 Jane Ortner Education Award Recipient

Henry Mancini had a gift for melodies of an ethereal, almost supernatural beauty.  

His prolific discography — albums of jazzy orchestral pop, dozens of film and television soundtracks — established him as a cultural icon and transformed the role that melody and song played in the art of movie narrative. Once you encounter a Henry Mancini tune, it’s almost impossible not to start humming it.

A composer, arranger, conductor and pianist of tireless discipline, Mancini won a staggering 20 GRAMMY Awards and was nominated 72 times. All of his wins — including the first-ever golden gramophone for Album Of The Year at the inaugural 1959 GRAMMYs — will be on display at the GRAMMY Museum to honor his centennial birthday, April 16. 

To mark what would be his centennial birthday, Mancini's children will travel to Abruzzo, Italy — where Mancini’s parents migrated from. And on June 23, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra will present a program of his music with a gallery of guest stars including singer Monica Mancini, the maestro’s daughter. Out June 21, The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions – Henry Has Company will feature a new recording of "Peter Gunn" conducted by Quincy Jones and featuring John Williams, Herbie Hancock and Arturo Sandoval.

Although Mancini died in 1994 at age 70, his compositions remain timeless and ever-relevant. Read on for 10 essential Henry Mancini compositions to cherish and rediscover.  

"Peter Gunn" (1958)

In 1958, Mancini was looking for work and used his old Universal studio pass to enter the lot and visit the barber shop. It was outside the store that he met writer/director Blake Edwards and got the chance to write the music for a new television show about private detective Peter Gunn. 

Seeped in West Coast Jazz, Mancini’s main theme sounds brash and exciting to this day – its propulsive beat and wailing brass section evoking an aura of cool suspense. The "Peter Gunn" assignment cemented his reputation as a cutting-edge composer, and the accompanying album (The Music From Peter Gunn) won GRAMMYs in the Album Of The Year and Best Arrangement categories.

"Mr. Lucky" (1959)

Half of the "Peter Gunn" fan mail was addressed to Mancini. As a result, CBS offered Blake Edwards a second television show, as long as the composer was part of the package. Edwards created "Mr. Lucky," a stylish series about the owner of a floating casino off the California coast. 

1959 was an exhausting year for Mancini, as he was scoring two shows at the same time on a weekly basis. Still, his music flowed with elegance and ease. The "Mr. Lucky" ambiance allowed him to explore Latin rhythms, and the strings on his wonderful main theme shimmer with a hint of yearning. It won GRAMMY Awards in 1960 for Best Arrangement and Best Performance by an Orchestra.

"Lujon" (1961)

As part of his contract with RCA Victor, Mancini was committed to recording a number of albums featuring original compositions in the same velvety jazz-pop idiom from his television work. "Lujon" is the standout track from Mr. Lucky Goes Latin, a collection of Latin-themed miniatures that luxuriate in a mood of plush languor.

 Inspired by the complex harmonics of French composer Maurice Ravel, "Lujon" steers safely away from lounge exotica thanks to the refined qualities of the melody and arrangement.

"Moon River" (1961)

Performed on a harmonica, the main melody of "Moon River" is nostalgic to the bone, but also life affirming. A majestic string section makes the music swoon, like gliding on air. And the harmonies in the vocal chorus add gravitas — a touch of humanity. 

It took Mancini half an hour to write "Moon River," but the Breakfast at Tiffany’s anthem made him a global superstar. Among the many artists who covered the song, pop crooner Andy Williams turned it into his personal anthem. Mancini won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and GRAMMY Awards for Record Of The Year, Song Record Of The Year and Best Arrangement. The album soundtrack earned two additional gramophones.

Theme from Hatari! (1962)

After two failed attempts with different composers, legendary director Howard Hawks invited Mancini to write the score for Hatari! — the wildly episodic but oddly endearing safari film he had shot in Tanganyika with John Wayne. Mancini jumped at the opportunity, and Hawks gave him a few boxes from the trip that contained African percussive instruments, a thumb piano and a tape of Masai tribal chants. Two chords from that chant, together with a slightly detuned upright piano formed the basis for the movie’s main theme. 

Mancini’s sparse arrangement and melancholy melody conspired to create one of the most gorgeous themes in the history of film.

"Days of Wine and Roses" (1962)

Throughout the decades, Mancini provided musical accompaniment to Blake Edwards’ filmography, which switched from slapstick comedy to stark melodrama. There is a perverse beauty to the theme of Days of Wine and Roses — a movie about a couple of lifelong alcoholics — as the lush choral arrangement seems to glorify the innocence of better times. 

It won an Academy Award for Best Original Song — Mancini’s second Oscar in a row — and three GRAMMYs: Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Background Arrangement.

"The Pink Panther Theme" (1963)

Directed by Edwards and starring Peter Sellers as part of an ensemble cast, the original Pink Panther was a frothy caper comedy that had none of the manic touches of comedic genius that Sellers would exhibit in subsequent entries of the franchise. It was Mancini’s ineffable main theme that carried the movie through.

Jazzy and mischievous, Mancini wrote the melody with the light-as-a-feather playing of tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson in mind. It won GRAMMYs in three categories: Best Instrumental Arrangement, Best Instrumental Compositions (Other Than Jazz), and Best Instrumental Performance – Non-Jazz.

Charade (1963)

Mancini’s gift for cosmopolitan tunes and jazzy arrangements found the perfect vehicle in the score for Stanley Donen’s Charade — a droll Hitchcockian thriller shot in Paris and starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. 

The main theme is a waltz in A minor, and opens with pulsating percussion. When the central melody appears, it evokes a melancholy reflection and a certain thirst for the kind of globetrotting adventure that the film delivers in spades. It was Johnny Mercer’s favorite Mancini melody, and he wrote exquisite lyrics for it. 

The best version probably belongs to jazz singer Johnny Hartman, who released it as the opening track of his 1964 album I Just Dropped By To Say Hello.

Two For The Road (1967)

Friends and family remember Mancini as a humble craftsman who ignored the trappings of fame and focused on the discipline of work. In 1967, after Audrey Hepburn cabled to ask him about writing the music for the Stanley Donen film Two For The Road, Mancini agreed, but was taken aback when the director rejected his initial theme. Leaving his ego aside, he returned to the drawing board and delivered a lovely new melody – and a spiraling piano pattern seeped in old fashioned tenderness.

"Theme from The Molly Maguires" (1970)

Even though Mancini enjoyed most accolades during the ‘60s, his protean level of inspiration never wavered. In 1970, he was brought in to rescue the soundtrack of Martin Ritt’s gritty secret societies drama The Molly Maguires, about Irish-American miners rebelling against their mistreatment in 19th century Pennsylvania. 

The main theme makes time stand still: a sparse arrangement that begins with a solitary harp, until a recorder ushers in a haunting, Irish-inspired melody. The score reflected a more restrained Mancini, but was still intensely emotional.

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"Oh no, I’m going to start crying again," says La Santa Cecilia singer La Marisoul during a touching scene in Alma Bohemia, the documentary directed by Carlos Pérez honoring the Los Angeles band’s 15 year anniversary. 

As it turns out, there are many reasons to be emotional about this film — and the very existence of La Santa Cecilia in the contemporary Latin music landscape. Fittingly, Alma Bohemia was received enthusiastically by the capacity audience during an exclusive screening on April 3 at the GRAMMY Museum’s Clive Davis Theater in Los Angeles. 

Formed by La Marisoul (real name is Marisol Hernández), bassist Alex Bendaña, accordionist and requinto player José "Pepe" Carlos and percussionist Miguel "Oso" Ramírez, La Santa Cecilia was for years one of the best kept secrets in the Los Angeles music scene.  As close friends and musicians, they won over audiences with an organic, down-to-earth sound and a lovely songbook that draws from traditional formats such as bolero, ranchera and nueva canción.

Alma Bohemia follows the making of La Santa’s 2023 album, Cuatro Copas Bohemia en la Finca Altozano. A celebration of the band’s longevity, the session also functions as a subtle, yet powerful musical experiment. It was recorded at the Finca Altozano in Baja California, where the band members stayed as guests of celebrated chef Javier Plascencia — a longtime fan.

Argentine producer Sebastián Krys — the band’s longtime collaborator — calls this his Alan Lomax experiment. The album was recorded live on tape with a variety of strategically placed microphones capturing hints of ambient sonics — a sweet afternoon breeze, the clinking of glasses, the musicians’ banter, the soft sounds that accompany stillness. 

From the very beginning, the making of Cuatro Copas mirrors the band’s bohemian cosmovision: A communal approach where the quartet — together with carefully selected guest stars — get together to share the magic of creation, the unity of like-minded souls, homemade food, and more than a couple of drinks. In effect, the bottles of mezcal and never ending rounds of toasting quickly become a running joke throughout the documentary.

La Marisoul’s fragile lament is enveloped in spiraling lines of mournful electric guitars with soulful understatement on the track "Almohada." Guest artists liven things up, with Oaxacan sister duo Dueto Dos Rosas adding urgency to "Pescadores de Ensenada," while son jarocho master Patricio Hidalgo ventures into a lilting (yet hopeful) "Yo Vengo A Ofrecer Mi Corazón," the ‘90s Argentine rock anthem by Fito Páez.

Visibly delighted to be part of the bohemia, 60-year-old ranchera diva Aida Cuevas steals the show with her rousing rendition of "Cuatro Copas," the José Alfredo Jiménez classic. "Viva México!" she exclaims as the entire group sits around a bonfire at night, forging the past and future of Mexican American music into one.

Read more: La Santa Cecilia Perform "Someday, Someday New"

Following the screening, the band sat down for a Q&A session hosted by journalist Betto Arcos. Sitting on the first row, a visibly moved young woman from El Salvador thanked the band for helping her to cope with the complex web of feelings entailed in migrating from Latin America. La Santa’s songs, she said, reminded her of the loving abuelita who stayed behind.

"We love the old boleros and rancheras," said La Marisoul. "We became musicians by playing many of those songs in small clubs and quinceañeras. It’s a repertoire that we love, and I don’t think that will ever change."

Carlos touched on his experience being a member of Santa Cecilia for about seven years before he was able to secure legal status in the U.S. When the band started to get concert bookings in Texas, they would take long detours on their drives to avoid the possibility of being stopped by the authorities. Carlos thanked his wife Ana for the emotional support she provided during those difficult years.

Ramírez took the opportunity to acknowledge producer Krys for being an early champion of the band. "He had a vision, and he made us better," he said, flashing forward to a recent edition of the Vive Latino festival. "There were about 12,000 people to see us," he said. "And they were singing along to our tunes."

"The band is just an excuse to hang out with your friends," added La Marisoul just before La Santa performed two live songs. Her voice sounded luminous and defiant in the theater’s intimate space, always the protagonist in the group’s delicately layered arrangements.

"The first time I got to see the finished documentary, I felt proud of all the work we’ve done together," said producer Krys from his Los Angeles studio the day after the screening. "On the other hand, there’s a lot of work ahead of us. I believe La Santa Cecilia deserves wider exposure. They should be up there among the greatest artists in Latin music."

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Los Angeles' legendary Conga Room is closing its doors, but will not go quietly into the night.

The 25-year-old venue has been home to countless Latin music performances and celebrations — including the 2001 Latin GRAMMYs — and will host its final event on March 27. The official, invitation-only closing celebration will feature a performance by Puerto Rican salsa star Gilberto Santa Rosa and the Conga Kids, as well appearances from Jimmy Smits and Paul Rodriguez, both of whom were investors in the space. 

First opened in 1999 on Wilshire Boulevard by real estate entrepreneur and Latin music lover Brad Gluckstein, the Conga Room drew investors like Jennifer Lopez and Sheila E — all of whom were committed to the venue’s vision of being an upscale nightclub devoted to live Latin music and dancing. In both its Miracle Mile location and its later space at L.A. Live, the club attracted an absolutely staggering lineup of talent, including Celia Cruz, Buena Vista Social Club, Tito Puente, Carlos Santana, Alejandro Fernández, Fito Paez, Jerry Rivera, Bad Bunny, and Maluma. The venue also hosted performances from non-Latinx artists like Prince, Ed Sheeran, Lenny Kravitz, Kendrick Lamar, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, and Avicii.

"I saw Prince perform in venues the world over, but his very first performance at the Conga Room was magical," says talk show host Tavis Smiley. "Of all the times I witnessed my friend on stage, from Madison Square Garden to Montreux, the Conga Room remains my favorite Prince performance."

Gluckstein says that the Conga Room was able to draw such great talent not just because it was one of the only major venues that leaned into Latin music in the United States, but because there was a mutual respect between the artists and the venue. 

"We couldn’t compete financially with [Goldenvoice or AEG], but we were able to bring an incredible amount of talent to the venue," he tells GRAMMY.com. "I was talking to Jerry Rivera’s agent the other day and I said, ‘Jerry just played in front of 10,000 people in Venezuela. Help me understand why playing in front of 1,000 people at the Conga room was so important.’ He went on for 10 minutes about what the room meant to these artists and the way we respected them, the sound system, and the way they were treated. The fan engagement, too, plus the fact that there was never really a comparable room anywhere else, even in New York."

"We provided a stage and a voice for acts that didn’t have a way of getting to their audience here in L.A., because no radio stations were playing their kind of music," says Marcella Cuonzo, the venue’s publicist. "For reggaeton, for example, the Conga Room was a pioneer in the movement around 2010. Radio wasn’t playing that music, but the Conga Room took a gamble on the sound because they saw its vision." 

The Conga Room was also the first venue in Los Angeles to host a wide-range of Cuban musical talent starting in the mid- to late ‘90s. "We had probably 50 shows," says Gluckstein. "We got everything from Bebo Valdés to [Diego] El Cigala to Pablo Milanés, who played his first show ever in the U.S. at our venue. He’s the Bob Dylan of Cuba. We brought Los Van Van, who’s probably the most famous salsa or timba group in the history of Cuba. They couldn’t play in Miami, because Miami wouldn’t allow Cuban music, so the GRAMMYs gave them their trophy [for Best Salsa Performance] at the Conga Room."  

The Latin GRAMMY Awards moved from L.A. from Miami in 2001, and the ceremony was set to take place at the Shrine Auditorium on Sept. 11. That telecast was understandably canceled following the tragic events of that day in New York, and rather than rescheduling the whole event, winners were announced at a press conference on Oct. 30 at the Conga Room. Alejandro Sanz came away with four awards, including Album Of The Year, and Juanes took home three Latin GRAMMYs, including Best New Artist.

"I remember Celia Cruz giving a beautiful speech that night in Spanish, thanking the firefighters and policemen and saying ‘this is for you, but also a little bit for us," says Gluckstein. "In later years, once we were at L.A. Live, we hosted the Latin GRAMMY nominations several times. I have footage of Andy Garcia doing them on-stage with Jimmy Smits." 

The Conga Room is closing now because, Gluckstein says, it just seems like the right time. "The pandemic, of course, played a role," he explains. "And I think the enormity of AEG and Live Nation, with how fierce the competition is, all of that has made buying talent much more expensive and has made talent more selective in terms of what's the best economic opportunity for them." 

There’s also the rising success of Conga Kids, the venue’s non-profit arm, to consider. A county-wide organization with about 100 employees, Conga Kids reaches roughly 50,000 elementary-aged kids in largely under-resourced communities every year, using dance and music from the Afro-Diaspora like salsa, merengue, cumbia, reggaeton, Charleston, and hip-hop to promote social and emotional well-being, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusivity. 

Though fans and artists will undoubtedly miss the space, energy, and community the Conga Room provided, Gluckstein says the venue’s closure doesn’t have to be sad. Instead, he says, it can be celebratory. 

"We accomplished so much," he says. "Now, the venue will just have to live on in the hearts and minds of people, instead of as a brick and mortar space." 

GRAMMY Hall Of Fame 2024 Inductees Announced: Recordings By Lauryn Hill, Guns N' Roses, Donna Summer, De La Soul & More

Following a two-year hiatus, the GRAMMY Museum and Recording Academy are reinstating the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame on its 50th anniversary. The momentous event will be celebrated with an inaugural gala and concert on Tuesday, May 21, at the NOVO Theater in Los Angeles; tickets and performers for the event will be announced at a later date. As part of the return, 10 recordings, including four albums and six singles, will be newly inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame later this year.

The GRAMMY Hall Of Fame was established by the Recording Academy's National Trustees in 1973 to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts with final ratification by the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. There are currently 1,152 inducted recordings in the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. View the full list GRAMMY Hall Of Fame past inductees.

This year, the GRAMMY Museum’s GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala will be the first of what will become an annual event, and includes a red carpet and VIP reception on the newly opened Ray Charles Terrace at the GRAMMY Museum, followed by a one-of-a-kind concert at the NOVO Theater in Downtown Los Angeles.

The inaugural gala and concert is produced by longtime executive producer of the GRAMMY Awards, Ken Ehrlich, along with Chantel Sausedo and Ron Basile and will feature musical direction by globally renowned producer and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. For sponsorship opportunities, reach out to halloffame@grammymuseum.org.

Keep watching this space for more exciting news about the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame!

2024 GRAMMYs: See The Full Winners & Nominees List