Latin Grammy Awards honors genre’s standouts

For fans of Latin music, it'll be a night of celebration. And, for those who aren't familiar with Latin music, it may well be a night of discovery.

The Latin Grammy Awards return to Las Vegas this evening to honor the best of Latin music. And while the event at the Mandalay Bay Events Center was nearly sold out as early as last week, both fans and fans-to-be will be able to see the ceremony broadcast on the Univision television network (including KINC-TV, Channel 15, at 8 p.m.).

Tonight's event marks the 11th year for the Latin Grammy Awards, and Gabriel Abaroa, president of The Latin Recording Academy, admitted last week to feeling "kind of overwhelmed because, for the first time, I think, in our history, we are sold out in all events."

That, by the way, covers not only today's event from Mandalay Bay but also a nontelevised celebration scheduled for Wednesday for three-time Latin Grammy and nine-time Grammy winner Placido Domingo -- named this year's Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year -- and street parties around town all week.

This year's event marks the third time the Latin Grammy Awards have been in Las Vegas. The Latin Recording Academy has signed a three-year agreement that will keep the awards here in 2011 and 2012 as well, Abaroa said.

Like their cousin Grammy Awards, the Latin Grammy Awards honor excellence in the recording arts. The range of countries represented in the Latin Grammys includes not only the U.S. and Mexico but Spain, Portugal, Venezuela and nearly a dozen other countries.

In fact, this evening's broadcast will go out to more than 100 countries, Abaroa noted, and will serve as a testament that Latin music is "as vibrant and more alive than ever."

This year's top nominees include 14-time Latin Grammy winner Alejandro Sanz of Spain, whose four nominations include album of the year and best male pop vocal album; Juan Luis Guerra of the Dominican Republic; Mario Domm of Mexico; and Jorge Drexler of Uruguay.

For newcomers to Latin music, the Latin Grammy Awards can offer a sort of CliffsNotes summary of what's happening in the genres that make up Latin music. While Abaroa isn't able to prove that newcomers discover new artists via the Latin Grammys, he agreed that it's certainly possible.

However, Abaroa would suggest that newcomers make it a point to check out the entire slate of nominees, rather than to focus solely on the artists they'll see this evening. Then, he said, they'll discover a variety of diverse artists, many of whom were known primarily in their own countries before a Latin Grammy nomination made them known to the rest of the world, too.

As another anecdotal indicator of, perhaps, the wider exposure to Latin music the awards foster, Abaroa noted that the announcement of Latin Grammy Awards nominees each year generates a bit more critical reaction, both positive and negative, than the previous year's.

"What I can tell you is, every year the amount of good and bad criticism that we receive over announcing the nominations has increased significantly, while, in the past, it was only three or four journalists," he said.

"Now, everyone seems to be following it very closely," Abaroa added, a development that is, he joked, "kind of frightening."

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@review journal.com or 702-383-0280.