{"id":626820,"date":"2026-09-16T21:24:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/626820\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T21:24:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:24:16","slug":"5-takeaways-from-the-latin-grammy-nominations-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/626820\/","title":{"rendered":"5 takeaways from the Latin Grammy nominations : NPR"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789593853_47_.jpeg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/4867x3222+0+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F81%2F07%2F80dec7694fe0a67ba7fd80094f5f%2Fgettyimages-2246039416.jpg\" class=\"img\" alt=\"Mexican songwriter and producer Edgar Barrera is nominated for 10 awards this year.\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\n                Mexican songwriter and producer Edgar Barrera is nominated for 10 awards this year.<\/p>\n<p>                    MICHAEL TRAN\/AFP via Getty Images\/AFP<\/p>\n<p>                hide caption\n            <\/p>\n<p>              toggle caption<\/p>\n<p>        MICHAEL TRAN\/AFP via Getty Images\/AFP<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday (Sept. 16), the Latin Recording Academy announced the nominees for the 27th annual Latin Grammys. The list includes veteran hitmakers, a fresh crop of best new artist nominees and a 19-year-old folk prodigy. Here are five takeaways from this year&#8217;s nominations:<\/p>\n<p>1. Edgar Barrera leads the pack (again)<\/p>\n<p>The most nominated person this year is not necessarily a household name or arena-selling pop star, but rather the person behind the scenes who writes and produces much of their music. Mexican-American <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/06\/26\/1197956725\/edgar-barrera-interview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">hitmaker<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/1254869348\/edgar-barrera\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Edgar Barrera<\/a> tops the list with 10 nominations (the same number he received last year), many for his work with Colombian pop star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/1000133788\/karol-g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Karol G<\/a> and regional Mexican singer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/1122707318\/carin-leon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Car\u00edn Le\u00f3n<\/a>. In addition to songwriter of the year, producer of the year and record of the year, Barrera received multiple nods in each of the following categories: album of the year (two nominations), song of the year (two nominations) and best regional song (three nominations).<\/p>\n<p>                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImage1197956725\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/06\/26\/1197956725\/edgar-barrera-interview\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2024\\\/06\\\/26\\\/1197956725\\\/edgar-barrera-interview&quot;}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/al-6.25_sq-8913fcc7eece1cc6028e42a3488f27fe63d00c92.png\" data-original=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2024\/06\/25\/al-6.25_sq-8913fcc7eece1cc6028e42a3488f27fe63d00c92.png?s=100&amp;c=100&amp;f=png\" data-template=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2024\/06\/25\/al-6.25_sq-8913fcc7eece1cc6028e42a3488f27fe63d00c92.png?s={width}&amp;c={quality}&amp;f={format}\" data-format=\"png\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"Edgar Barrera is this week's guest on Alt.Latino.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s safe to say that 36-year-old Barrera, who has already won 29 Latin Grammys over the course of his career and has been nominated for more than twice that number, still reigns in Latin pop. Behind him, the artists Karol G, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/663524172\/rosalia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rosal\u00eda<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9kqnsoY94L8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">CA7RIEL &amp; Paco Amoroso<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/15199041\/jorge-drexler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jorge Drexler<\/a> are all tied with seven nominations each.<\/p>\n<p>2. Folkloric music goes mainstream<\/p>\n<p>Many of the projects nominated for album of the year share a common theme: they include a myriad of folkloric influences from around Latin America.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/979280994\/silvana-estrada\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Silvana Estrada<\/a>&#8216;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/03\/06\/nx-s1-5739239\/silvana-estradas-album-vendran-suaves-lluvias\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Vendr\u00e1n Suaves Lluvias<\/a> blends the Mexican singer-songwriter&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/10\/15\/nx-s1-5574403\/alt-latino-a-tiny-desk-chat-with-silvana-estrada\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">reflections<\/a> on grief with softly-plucked acoustic guitars, lush orchestral arrangements and her trusty Venezuelan cuatro. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/15199041\/jorge-drexler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jorge Drexler<\/a>&#8216;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/04\/15\/nx-s1-5785262\/alt-latino-jorge-drexler-returns-home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tarac\u00e1<\/a> goes all in on the Afro-Uruguayan tradition of candombe. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/g-s1-118118\/milo-j\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Milo J<\/a>&#8216;s breakthrough album, La Vida Era M\u00e1s Corta, weaves a rich tapestry of Argentinian roots music with the teenage rapper&#8217;s contemporary influences. Car\u00edn Le\u00f3n&#8217;s Muda takes Musica Mexicana to unexpected places including soul, funk and ska. And even more pop-driven acts \u2014 including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/1026025362\/rawayana\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rawayana<\/a>, Karol G and Rosal\u00eda \u2014 dabble in traditional rhythms and vocal arrangements from different corners of Latin music.<\/p>\n<p>                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImageg-s1-92211\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/10\/15\/g-s1-92211\/silvana-estrada-tiny-desk-concert\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/15\\\/g-s1-92211\\\/silvana-estrada-tiny-desk-concert&quot;}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789593855_821_.jpeg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1688x1688+920+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa3%2F20%2F9c3c71ae4c3585387db1bcbfea1f%2F20250925-silvanaestrada-tinydesk06.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1688x1688+920+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa3%2F20%2F9c3c71ae4c3585387db1bcbfea1f%2F20250925-silvanaestrada-tinydesk06.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"Silvana Estrada performs at NPR's Tiny Desk, or El Tiny, on Sept. 25, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Maansi Srivastava\/NPR\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p>3. Milo J takes center stage<\/p>\n<p>Milo J might only be 19 years old, but the Argentine artist&#8217;s meditation on nostalgia and the passing of time has already turned him into a leading voice in Latin music. His third studio album, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/05\/06\/nx-s1-5812882\/el-futuro-es-milo-j\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">La Vida Era M\u00e1s Corta<\/a>, melds the teenager&#8217;s freestyle, rap battle sensibilities with traditional instruments like Andean pan flutes and bombo leg\u00fcero drums \u2014 a refreshing yet deeply referential homage to his home country&#8217;s history. The ambitious, genre-bending project earned Milo J five nominations, including for album of the year, song of the year and record of the year, as well as nods in the folk and urban categories.<\/p>\n<p>                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImageg-s1-118117\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/04\/30\/g-s1-118117\/milo-j-tiny-desk-concert\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/30\\\/g-s1-118117\\\/milo-j-tiny-desk-concert&quot;}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789593855_20_.jpeg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1080x1080+435+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F55%2F43%2F5b407093496abe5182fe44513451%2Fmilo-j.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/1080x1080+435+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F55%2F43%2F5b407093496abe5182fe44513451%2Fmilo-j.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"Milo J performs a Tiny Desk concert at NPR in Washington,\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p>4. The best new artist category casts a wide net<\/p>\n<p>From the indie folk of Mexican singer-songwriter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/g-s1-92208\/macario-martinez\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Macario Mart\u00ednez<\/a> to the R&amp;B fusion of Brazilian artist Dora Sanches, this year&#8217;s best new artist nominees span a multitude of countries and musical traditions. Aria Vega reps the Colombian coast of Barranquilla with her take on Caribbean music. Venezuelan singer-songwriter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/1036998766\/maye\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">maye<\/a> and Mexican-Swedish artist Sofia Monroy craft dreamy indie pop, while Veracruz native Arath Herce veers into alt rock. Coincidentally, two of this year&#8217;s best new artist nominees \u2014 Loulu Gilberto and Zeca Veloso \u2014 are the children of pioneering Brazilian musicians (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/15675062\/joao-gilberto\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Jo\u00e3o Gilberto<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/14994307\/caetano-veloso\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Caetano Veloso<\/a>, respectively).<\/p>\n<p>5. Political songs \u2014 and artists \u2014 get recognition<\/p>\n<p>Last year&#8217;s Latin Grammys ceremony featured <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/11\/14\/nx-s1-5605433\/2025-latin-grammy-awards-bad-bunny\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">few acknowledgements<\/a> of the political climate or growing crackdown on immigrant communities in the United States. This year&#8217;s nominations make more pointed statements. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/674144386\/becky-g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Becky G<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/artists\/15442799\/carlos-santana\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Carlos Santana<\/a>&#8216;s &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VW3VSFy-dgw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mi Gran Amor<\/a>,&#8221; written and produced by Edgar Barrera, is up for song of the year. The pan-Latin song champions hardworking Latinos and rails against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with a chorus that translates to &#8220;it&#8217;s become a nightmare to chase a dream in the United States.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>                  <a class=\"imagewrap\" id=\"featuredStackSquareImagenx-s1-5758044\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/03\/24\/nx-s1-5758044\/bobby-pulido-congress-music-career\" data-metrics-ga4=\"{&quot;category&quot;:&quot;recirculation&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:&quot;story_recirculation_click&quot;,&quot;clickType&quot;:&quot;inset box&quot;,&quot;clickUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.npr.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/24\\\/nx-s1-5758044\\\/bobby-pulido-congress-music-career&quot;}\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789593856_453_.jpeg\" data-original=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2668x2668+666+0\/resize\/100\/quality\/100\/format\/jpeg\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F47%2Fc0%2Ff30000f9495f9421f68f852bec5e%2Fgettyimages-2263404829.jpg\" data-template=\"https:\/\/npr.brightspotcdn.com\/dims3\/default\/strip\/false\/crop\/2668x2668+666+0\/resize\/{width}\/quality\/{quality}\/format\/{format}\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F47%2Fc0%2Ff30000f9495f9421f68f852bec5e%2Fgettyimages-2263404829.jpg\" data-format=\"jpeg\" class=\"img lazyOnLoad\" alt=\"Bobby Pulido at a campaign event in February.\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/a>         <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/03\/24\/nx-s1-5758044\/bobby-pulido-congress-music-career\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bobby Pulido<\/a>, the Tejano star running for Congress in Texas, received a nod for best Tejano album for his record Bobby Pulido &amp; Friends Una Tuya y Una M\u00eda (Vol.2\/En Vivo). Last year, while accepting the Latin Grammy for best Tejano album, Pulido confirmed he would be retiring from music to pursue a career in politics. He is running as the Democratic candidate against incumbent Republican Monica de la Cruz in the state&#8217;s 15th Congressional district, which stretches from San Antonio down to the border with Mexico.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mexican songwriter and producer Edgar Barrera is nominated for 10 awards this year. MICHAEL TRAN\/AFP via Getty Images\/AFP&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":626821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,60,278],"class_list":["post-626820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}