A Caribbean Surge at the Latin Grammy Awards
Juan Luis Guerra performs last night after accepting the award for person of the year.
(By Jae C. Hong -- Associated Press)
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Friday, November 9, 2007; Page C12
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 8 -- Dominican singer-songwriter Juan Luis Guerra swept the Latin Grammy Awards on Thursday, taking home five musical honors, including album of the year, record of the year and song of the year, plus being named person of the year.
The singer and his band, 440, also won trophies for best merengue album and tropical song for "La Llave De Mi Coraz¿n" and its playful, upbeat title track. The album also garnered the award for best engineered album.
"I want to dedicate this award to the Dominican Republic," said Guerra upon being named the Latin Recording Academy's person of the year, recognizing career and personal achievements. "In recent days, we've had some difficult moments," he said of his homeland, referring to the tropical storm that killed dozens, "but we are a strong and courageous people."
Guerra, credited with popularizing the bachata dance rhythms outside the Dominican Republic, bested Miguel Bos¿, reggaeton duo Calle 13, Ricky Martin and Alejandro Sanz for album of the year.
Martin and Calle 13 each picked up two trophies.
The awards show made its Las Vegas debut, and the flavor of Sin City was evident from the get-go, when Martin opened the show with a rousing performance along with the blue-headed musical trio Blue Man Group.
The superstar performed a medley of "Lola" and "La Bomba," while Blue Man Group added their signature frenetic dance visuals. It was one of the show's several mash-ups of nominees and Las Vegas Strip staples.
Backstage, Martin praised Guerra.
"Juan Luis Guerra is . . . the father of Latin American poetry, and whoever thinks the contrary, well, get off the bus," Martin said.
The Puerto Rican superstar took home the awards for long-form music video (for "MTV Unplugged") and male pop vocal album.
Fellow Puerto Rican group Calle 13, which also started the evening with four nominations, picked up the trophy for urban music album for its politically charged "Residente o Visitante."
"We are super-thrilled, nervous -- this has been a lot of pressure," singer Ren¿ P¿rez said onstage. "To all of Mexico, Colombia, from the heart -- to all Latinos: From here, no one will remove us."
