Puerto Rican duo Calle 13 swept all of its nominated categories Thursday Novemebr 5th at the 10th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, and took home trophies for Album of the Year, winning the top prize for its politically charged third offering, “Los De Atrás Vienen Conmigo.”
The awards, which were held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, were co-hosted by actor/comedian Eugenio Derbez and actress/singer Lucero. And it was unmistakably a Vegas production, with Cirque du Soleil performers, fireworks and pole dancing.
The ceremony was marked by a clear political commitment from the artists: two leading contenders, Calle 13 and Mercedes Sosa from Argentina, were generations apart but linked by idealism. Calle 13, a duo made up of the rapper Residente (René Pérez) and the producer Visitante (Eduardo Cabra), has indeed brought political critiques carried by eclectic musical production to the Latin hip-hop style called reggaeton.
Highlights of the night included Puerto Rican duo Wisin y Yandel who played on the Vegas atmosphere with a casino-style stage, complete with cocktail servers, slot machines and blackjack tables, for a performance of “Medicina” and “Abusadora.”
Another intense performance was delivered by Alejandro Sanz. The audience rose to its feet during performance, when the Spanish pop singer was joined onstage by Grammy darling Alicia Keys, performing “Looking for Paradise” from his soon-to-be-released “Paraíso Express.”
Check out their video of “Electro movimiento”
