A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The Latin Grammy Awards were held last night in Las Vegas. Rosalia took home album and recording of the year and Milo Jota best song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NINO")
MILO J: (Singing in Spanish).
MARTÍNEZ: Well, the night's wins seem to be a little conflicted, and NPR's Anamaria Sayre is here to tell us all about it. She was at the awards - joins us now from Las Vegas. So what were your expectations going into the big night?
ANAMARIA SAYRE, BYLINE: Oof, A. I was actually really excited. I've been following this really curious phenomenon for the past few years, which is this rise in alternative artists in Latin America. And I was surprised and, again, excited when I saw the nominations come out - a huge change. We saw alternative artists take over major categories like album, song and record of the year. It felt almost political.
To give you a little context why, I have to explain that Latin music has generally steered away from being political. You think of artists in the early 2000s, like Gloria Estefan and Shakira, and they tried to be pretty neutral. These alternative artists are pretty overtly talking about issues that are touching Latin America. They're pro-Indigenous rights, women's rights. They're even revelatory about mental health or challenge gender norms. Here's what Milo Jota, a 20-year-old folk-hip-hop Argentine singer who has taken Latin America by storm, had to say about why he makes political music and what that really means.
MILO J: (Speaking Spanish).
SAYRE: Last night, he shared with me that all music, whether it wants to or not, is political - not in a party way but in a real way, supported by metaphor but based in fact. Beneath artists like Milo Jota is a movement for honesty in art, acknowledgment of the personal and painful in Latin America. So what I was really curious to see is if the Academy would also want to acknowledge what the people wanted. I wondered if the night's wins would reflect shifts in politics, actually, that we've seen recently.
MARTÍNEZ: And so is that what you saw?
SAYRE: Well, like most politics, it ended up being split. I think we're catching (laughter) - I think we're catching the Academy in the middle of a bit of an identity crisis. I mean, let's just take a look at the major categories. You have Rosalia, who took home album and record of the year. She's a Spanish superstar.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MIO CRISTO PIANGE DIAMANTI")
ROSALIA: (Singing in Spanish).
SAYRE: And then you have Milo Jota.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOLIFICAN12")
MILO J: (Singing in Spanish).
SAYRE: Now, Rosalia won for a record that's pretty European in its sound - maybe global, but definitely not very Latin American. Milo Jota is one of the most explicitly political artists we've seen in recent years and pays homage consistently to Latin America. Even look at the best new artist category. I mean, it was incredibly varied in its nominations, with all kinds of alternative artists. But you end up having Aria Vega win, who is considered by many to be a new Shakira, very much in line with the old guard.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CHEVERE (PREMIUM REMIX)")
ARIA VEGA: (Singing in Spanish).
SAYRE: So here's where you get the internal conflict with the Academy - Rosalia, who's doing something European-sounding, very much the traditional Academy, and then Milo Jota, who does anything but - refuses to speak in English and does all kinds of things that are focused on folk and Indigenous tradition.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Anamaria Sayre in Las Vegas. Thank you very much.
SAYRE: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TROPICOQUETA")
KAROL G: (Singing in Spanish). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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