Shakira, Bad Bunny, Karol G… Latin artists did not participate in the Grammy Awards

A year earlier, reggaeton prince Bad Bunny headlined the Grammy Awards ceremony, raising hopes of lasting recognition for Latin music. But on Sunday, these artists will still be overlooked at the American Music Industry Awards evening, a stark contrast to their popularity.

Bad Bunny also managed to release a record in Spanish for the first time in 2023, Un Verano Sin Tea, among the nominees in the Best Album category. but for 66^I At the ceremony, Sunday in Los Angeles, no Latin American artist was named in this category or one of the three other most prestigious (song of the year, recording or revelation).

enough to shock observers, who note that Mexican singer Peso Pluma enjoyed tremendous success – 5^I The world’s most listened to artist on Spotify in 2023 was left out of the year’s reveals. ,They’re unleashing a whole new wave of talent that’s changing the music landscape», the magazine wrote Rolling stone,

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Corrido and Narcocorrido

Shakira, who relaunched her career with a global hit Bzrp Music Session, Vol. 53, on splitting from former footballer Gerard Piqué? Forgotten. Like Puerto Rican rapper Eladio Carrión, or Colombian Karol G, 9^I The most listened to artists on Spotify in 2023 but who do not fall into the usual categories. The head of the Recording Academy, which represents professionals in the American music industry and organizes the Grammys, Harvey Mason Jr. recognized this on the Billboard website: “I would love to include more Latino artists and creators,We need to make sure that we present the music in its true form“, he announced.

For critics of the Grammys, it is obvious to sideline the genres of regional Mexican music (banda, sereno, norteño, mariachi), which have become very popular in the United States, and which have reached the top 10 several times this year. American reference ranking, magazine’s “Hot 100” Board, This boom has allowed a new generation of artists to revisit the traditional ballads that were popularized more than a century ago during the Mexican Revolution, with influences from rap or reggaeton.

Paso Pluma has faced criticism for adopting the historical subgenre of narcorrido, with songs telling stories about drugs, accused of glorifying drug trafficking and cartels. But they attract young and digitally savvy international fans, who flock to streaming platforms and social media.

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erosion of english

,What is happening now is a recalibration not only of regional Mexican music, but also of Mexican identity in the United States.», explains Juan Carlos Ramírez-Pimienta, professor at San Diego State University (California), expert in corridos and narco culture. Many fans of artists like Peso Pluma are young immigrants or first-generation Americans to the United States, as well as many non-Hispanics who do not speak Spanish.

,It’s really about the erosion of English and American music as world music.», adds the academic. Like pop, rock, hip-hop, country and many other genres, Latin music has its own subcategory of awards along with the general, most prestigious category. Since 2000, a separate branch of the Recording Academy has also organized the Latin Grammys, dedicated solely to Spanish and Portuguese language music.

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For Ed Morales, a professor at Columbia University in New York, the function is “both.”A major business promotion opportunity“, but it can also happen”PARTITION» Latin Music and “Reduce the need for representation at the traditional Grammys“. Both researchers say this marginalization is similar to what hip-hop artists have experienced for decades, and which has only recently been addressed.

,This is the same process of denial of representation“, says Juan Carlos Ramírez-Pimienta.Latin Americans must not always remain marginalized and exotic», says Ed Morales.