Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz was the big winner at last night's third annual Latin Grammy awards at Los Angeles' Kodak Theater, grabbing gongs for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for Y Solo Se Me Ocurre Amarte, and Album of the Year for MTV Unplugged.

"I feel very fortunate," said Sanz of his winnings. "I try to make music from the heart."

Other winners included Jorge Moreno for Best New Artist, La Ley for Best Rock Album by a Duo or Group for their own MTV Unplugged, Celia Cruz for Best Salsa Album for La Negra Tiene Tumbao, and veteran crooner Vicente Fernandez, who picked the Legend Award in addition to Best Ranchero Album for Mas con el Numero Uno.

Hosted by Jimmy Smits and Gloria Estefan, the Latin Grammys included performances from Marc Anthony, Sanz, Shakira (whose "Suerte" won Best Music Video), Cruz, Juanes with Nelly Furtado, and Santana, who teamed with P.O.D. for the song "America."

Celebrity presenters included Jennifer Love Hewitt, Nick Carter, Cheech Marin, Ali Landry, Daisy Fuentes and Esai Morales, with 'N Sync's Justin Timberlake presenting the Best Salsa Album award to the seventy-seven-year-old Cruz, proclaiming in stilted Spanglish, "This is so sabroso [tasty]."

Last year's Latin Grammys had originally been scheduled for September 11th but were subsequently canceled after the terrorist attacks, and performers and presenters alike commented on the importance of having them this year. However, more than twenty Cuban artists were unable to get into the country for the show due to an increasingly stringent visa application process as a result of the attacks.

Comedian Paul Rodriguez used a portion of his presenting slot to explain the finer points of lesser-known categories such as Banda. "When we watch the gringo Grammys you don't explain to us what the hell country western is," he said later backstage. "No, the reason I did that is because Latino music, is not something that happened yesterday, it goes way back to Xavier Cuga, Desi Arnez, the late, great Tito Puente . . . I pictured a couple in Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin, going, 'You know I like the show, but I'd like to know what the hell's a banda?'"

COLIN DEVENISH
(September 19, 2002)