Inaugural Latin Grammys Set For 2000

The inaugural Latin Grammy Awards will take place in November 2000 says Michael Greene, president/CEO of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and its Latino arm, LARAS. Greene made the announcement yesterday in Miami during industry conference MIDEM Americas; according to Billboard Bulletin, he was joined at the news conference by such major Latin recording artists as Cafe Tacuba, Control Machete, Elvis Crespo, Luis Enrique, Gloria Estefan, Emilio Estefan, Arturo Sandoval, and Jon Secada, among others.

Greene says he is holding talks with U.S. Spanish-language TV networks Telemundo and Univision to broadcast the awards; the show, he stresses, will be every bit as sophisticated and multi-faceted as the main Grammy Awards. He adds that CBS-TV may participate in the telecast by providing outlets in cities with large Latino populations where Hispanic TV coverage is limited. NARAS is also negotiating to secure international coverage of the awards ceremony.

Awardees will be voted on by members of NARAS who have pre-qualified to vote in the Latin fields, as well as members of LARAS. The Academy announced 39 initial award categories, including four general categories (record, album, and song of the year and best new artist) and 12 nomination fields (among them pop, rock, tropical, regional, traditional, jazz, Brazilian, children's, and classical). The eligibility period for submitted recordings is Jan. 1, 1999, to June 30, 2000.