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Sunday night was a whirlwind of incredible winners and performances at the 68th Annual Grammys, also known as music’s biggest night. Among them was the “Queen of Latin Pop” Gloria Estefan, who won the Best Tropical Latin Album award for her album Raíces. It became the Miami Sound Machine legend’s first Spanish-language release in 18 years, marking her sixth American Grammy after winning five Latin Grammys.
“My heart still beats for music,” she said in her acceptance speech. “50 years, this has been an amazing year.”
She was joined onstage by her husband Emilio Estefan, who produced the album and wrote many of its tracks. She called him her “biggest inspiration” and thanked him for his work.
“I’m proud that we did both languages with Latin music all over the world,” Emilio added, “Proud to be Latino.”
The win was especially significant for Gloria, who beat out a highly competitive field in the Latin categories and recently celebrated five decades in the music industry.
While born in Cuba, she had moved to the Magic City as a young child and built a lifelong connection, telling ArtSpeak at FIU that her “roots are in Miami.” Not only did she build her life here, but her globe-spanning career, citing the local culture as the inspiration to her musical sound.
In honor of her contributions to the community and chart-topping success with hits like “Conga” and “Turn The Beat Around,” the City of Miami Beach recently renamed a portion of 13th Street near Ocean Drive to “Gloria Estefan Way.” The street is adjacent to the Cardozo Hotel which she and Emilio co-own.
See the full Grammy acceptance speech below:
Florida winning big at the Grammy Awards
Alongside Gloria, last night’s awards also saw several artists with Florida ties taking home the gilded trophy.
Boca Raton native Ariana Grande received the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance alongside Cynthia Erivo for their powerhouse rendition of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity.” Meanwhile, Tampa’s own Doechii walked away with the Best Music Video award for her hit “Anxiety.”
Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Another Miami artist, Bizzy Crook, secured his first Grammy win for his contributions to Leon Thomas’ album Mutt, which won Best R&B Album.
And Jennifer Jimenez, band director at South Miami Senior High School, was honored as the Recording Academy’s Music Educator Award winner. One of the youngest winners in Grammys history, Joey Calveiro, is a Miami Dade College student who received the Best Latin Jazz Album award for A Tribute to Benny Moré and Nat King Cole.
Congrats to all who won!