MIAMI, United States. – The disk Celia Cruz live: 100 years of Sugar was awarded this Thursday with the Latin Grammy for Best Recording Packaging during the ceremony held in Miami. Produced by Loud And Live Studios and curated by Nelson Albareda, Omer Pardillo-Cid and Albertico Rodríguez, the album brings together nine unreleased songs by the iconic Queen of Salsa, including the emblematic Quimbara.
The project was conceived as a tribute to the centenary of the birth of Celia Cruz.
“We feel honored and grateful to receive this Latin Grammy. “Celia was a pioneer and visionary whose contributions remain relevant to this day, and this award is a true testament to that,” expressed Nelson Albareda on his Instagram account after the award.
Omer Pardillo-Cid, universal executor of the singer, dedicated the recognition: “Long live Latin music! “I also dedicate this award to all Cuban exiles around the world,” declared upon receiving the statuette.
¡Empate!
¡Felicidades! Nelson Albareda, Sebastián Aristizábal, Kemelly Figueroa-Mouriz, @OmerPardilloCid, Albertico Rodríguez y @celiacruz: Mejor Diseño de Empaque 🎶👏👏👏 #LatinGRAMMY #25AñosDeExcelencia
¡Felicidades! Carlos Ortíz: @dianaburco, Mejor Diseño de Empaque… pic.twitter.com/fzGVqCd7uY
— The Latin Recording Academy / Latin GRAMMYs (@LatinGRAMMYs) November 14, 2024
Celia Cruz live: 100 years of Sugar shared the award for Best Recording Packaging with the album Karmaby Diana Burco.
The Cuban presence at the Latin Grammys continued with the Canadian pianist of Cuban origin Hilario Durán, who won the award for Best Arrangement for Night In Tunisiaa song performed with his Latin Jazz Big Band and the renowned clarinetist and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera.
When accepting the award, Durán thanked his wife for her unconditional support, his family and especially his mother for instilling in him a love of music. He extended his gratitude to the musicians of his band, to Paquito D’Rivera and offered special recognition to Chucho Valdes “for all its influences.” He also highlighted the support of Canada, a country that has appreciated his art since his arrival.
Although Paquito D’Rivera was nominated in the Best Contemporary Classical Work/Composition category, the award was awarded to Mexican Arturo Márquez.
Dominican José Alberto El Canario won the award for Best Traditional Tropical Album for Rolling around the worlda production in which Cuban musicians such as Alexander Abreu, Alejandro Almenares, Azabache de Cuba, Los Guanches, Magic Sax Quartet and the late Pablo Milanés collaborated.
More than a dozen Cuban artists were nominated in this edition of the Latin Grammy 2024.
Among other outstanding moments of the night, the Dominican Juan Luis Guerra, with more than 40 years of experience, received the Album of the Year award for Radio Güira, production in which he explores mambo merengue for the first time. The album, released at the end of 2023, also won the awards for Best Merengue/Bachata Album, and its single Mambo 23 It was recognized as Recording of the Year and Best Tropical Song.
Uruguayan Jorge Drexler added another achievement to his career by winning Song of the Year for his song Collapse. For his part, Puerto Rican Luis Fonsi was recognized with the award for Best Pop Vocal Album for The Journey, and Colombian star Karol G won the award for Best Urban Music Album for Tomorrow Will Be Beautiful (Bichota Season).
The Latin Recording Academy celebrated its 25th anniversary by honoring Colombian Carlos Vives as Person of the Year and recognizing his work in internationalizing the native rhythms of his country over more than three decades. “This is for Colombia. I continue to believe that music contains the ideas to live together and in diversity,” said Vives upon receiving the recognition from the American Jon Bon Jovi.
The gala featured performances by artists such as Mark Anthony, La India, Anitta, Grupo Frontera and Trueno. The Cuban duo Gente de Zona and the Spanish David Bisbal paid tribute to Carlos Vives by performing some of his hits in a salsa version. In addition, musical tributes were made to figures such as Juan Gabriel, Sergio Mendes and the history of salsa.
