The Latin Grammys made history last year when the awards ceremony, usually hosted in the United States, moved overseas to Seville, Spain. During the great event, the president of the Latin Recording Academy Manuel Abud Rolling rock behind the scenes and showed us how the organization put on a 'magical celebration'.
In a new video, we see Abud walk through various elements of the award show, from its red carpet to its magnificent stage. Abud stops at the outdoor rotunda of the Seville Convention and Exhibition Center (FIBES), where the awards show created “the Seville experience” to immerse the audience in the city.
“Once you land in the host city, you should touch Latin Grammys,” he says. “We wanted to make Seville part of the story and that it was a character in this story we were telling. And it has happened.”
Abud then offers a look at the Latin Grammy Person of the Year ceremony, which takes place before the awards each year. He explained how an “open gallery” was completely transformed for a huge event attended by 2,500 people, including many artists, to celebrate Laura Pausini, the 2023 Person of the Year.
“I'm proud to be Italian, but I grew up traveling a lot in Spain and Latin America. Latinos are not part of me, I am part of them,” Pausini says of his honor with the award. “They taught me how to respect all kinds of cultures and ideas and be there for myself every day.”
Abud explains that the Latin Recording Academy is focused on honoring and being “the vehicle to support” artists and how the “bar” measuring Latin music's success will continue to rise.
The video also features an interview with producer and songwriter Edgar Barrera, who says he appreciates the Latin Grammys honoring songwriters and musicians who work behind the scenes: “It's never been about me,” he says. “It's about the artists and the songs.”
“We're living the future of Latin music right now,” he adds. “The future is already here.”
Barrera was one of the artists who won the most awards on Latin Grammy night, along with Shakira, Natalia Lafourcade, Bizarrap and Santiago Alvarado, with three each. Lafourcade won the Record of the Year award for “De Todas Las Flores,” while Karol G won the album of the Year trophy for Mañana Será Bonito.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/latin-grammys-behind-the-scenes-celebration-spain-1234941297/