Gloria Estefan, Anitta, Farina, Diego Torres, Giulia and Pedro Castro kicked off this year’s 22nd annual Latin Grammys with a colorful medley performance of “Abriendo Puertas,” “Cuando Hay Amor” and “Magalenha.”
The artists were joined onstage by a sea of vibrant Brazilian dancers for a high-energy performance that Estefan says was meant to provide an “in-depth look at how African rhythms are the roots of a lot of the music that in Latin America we make. Particularly for me, the Cuba-Brazil connection because we have the same kind of African rhythms at the core.”
Estefan’s Brazil305 won best contemporary tropical album at the Latin Grammys on Thursday — and it’s a project she says took a lot to finally release. “It was supposed to come out in 2017 and we spoke about it back then,” she told Billboard before the show. “I was going into the studio to put my voice on it and my mom passed away so I honestly could not bring myself to sing for a long time.” She went on to say, “It’s full of joy, this album, so I wasn’t very joyful that year and then my mom kind of helped me be able to get in there and record it.”
Hosted by Ana Brenda Contreras, Carlos Rivera, and Roselyn Sánchez, the 22nd annual Latin Grammys Awards includes a star-studded lineup of both performers and presenters such as C. Tangana, Maná, Los Dos Carnales, Ozuna, Gloria Trevi, and Myke Towers, among others, taking the stage.
With the theme “rediscovering life through music,” the three-hour show will “invite audiences to rediscover what’s important in life using music as a storyline,” according to a statement from the Latin Recording Academy.
Colombian singer-songwriter Camilo leads the 2021 Latin Grammys nominees with 10 nods, including nominations in the album, record, and song of the year categories. He’s followed by tropical music icon Juan Luis Guerra with six, Spanish rapper Tangana with five nominations, and multiple artists, including Bad Bunny, with four.
