It was Shakira’s night, Natalia Lafourcade and Karol G, the three winners of three Latin Grammys. But it was also the evening of Niña Pastori and Joaquina, and of course Julieta Venegas. The first Latin Grammy gala in its new home in Seville elevated female music in the main categories. He did it, as it could not be otherwise, in a gala that oozed flamenco from all its seams, on the stage, in the references, in the speeches and of course in the songs, some as deep-rooted as Granada, by Agustín Lara, which Andrea Bocelli performed with his powerful tenor voice while a couple of dancers danced on stage. Or the Heart left by Alejandro Sanz who sang it with a background of architecture reminiscent of the Andalusian, surrounded by a group of dancers dressed in shawls and fans. [The best of the red carpet]
Although for flamenco roots the one that Rosalía planted opening the evening with Se nos roto el amor by Rocío Jurado. The Catalan, who did not win a Grammy, brought out a heartfelt tonadillera from her guts to perform the song that gave an accent to the night, and it was an Andalusian accent.
“It is the land of Federico García Lorca, of Machado, of Velázquez, of Pablo Picasso, of Paco de Lucía and many others,” recalled Antonio Banderas, coincidentally without mentioning any women. It was in the first attacks of a night filled with many musical surprises, in which Rauw Alejandro performed Se fue by Laura Pausini, who knows if it was a message to Rosalía with the words of the Latin Grammy Person of the Year, who took the microphone to sing a mix of his greatest hits.
The melodic singer dedicated the award to her father “for that night when he didn’t go to the movies and stayed home with my mother making love,” and recalled that she feels adopted by the Latin musical community, which allows her to be “The most Latin Italian in the entire fucking world!”
Along with Pausini’s joy there were other emotions, that of Alejandro Sanz who shed a tear when receiving the first applause, or that of Juanita when she received the award for young artist and remembered those who told her that she would never be able to make a living with the music. Also from one of the winners of the night, Karol G, receiving the award for Album of the Year for Mañana will be nice. Previously, the Colombian (the South American country was another of the main protagonists) had already gone on stage surprised because she could not believe “that the best urban music album is for a woman.”
And of course there was music, Maluma and the Mexican Carín León went from corrido to salsa through bachata, Pablo Alborán and María Becerra sang Amigos and Sebastian Yatra did not forget Vagabundo. But the musical protagonist, with Rosalía’s permission, was Shakira with her two appearances on stage. The first dressed in a golden suit with an image of the Virgin on her chest to perform Acrosticus with two exceptional guests, her children Milan and Sasha. The images of the children were projected on the screens while each one sang a verse of the song with which the Colombian artist said goodbye to Barcelona and Gerard Piqué to head to Miami. It was a slow and emotional performance where the artist was accompanied by a group of drums and a piano that brought softness to the song with which she seems to want to turn the page on her stormy sentimental breakup with Piqué.
When it seemed that the artist would only return to the stage to collect awards, a second appearance by Shakira was announced, accompanied this time by Bizarrap to perform Sessions 53. The performance began with the rhythm of tango with the lyrics of another Argentine hit, the award-winning Quédate which he recorded with Quevedo. It sounded in a tango version that allowed Shakira to appear on stage doing an athletic exhibition of Argentine dance. Clad in a suggestive jumpsuit, the Colombian surrounded herself with a group of male and female dancers to draw applause from the audience, including her two children.
On a women’s night we must not forget Bizarrap, the Argentine producer who won three statuettes for his work on the mixing desk. The same trophies won by the Mexican Edgar Barrera, a composer and producer who is now 23 years old, stepping on the toes of Alejandro Sanz with a studio work that the times of music are increasingly putting into focus. And of course we must remember Seville, the new headquarters of the Latin Grammys (it will also be the next two years) that knew how to fit into the city a gala with a Hollywood flavor to which it has added a few drops of flamenco flavor, “the music most beautiful there is,” said Niña Pastori, a woman, Andalusian and very happy last night.
