Latin Grammy Awards Are Leaving America and Moving to Spain

It’s Rosalía’s time to shine. For the first time, the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards ceremony will be hosted in Spain, rather than its usual Unites States location.

“That the Latin Grammys will leave the United States for the first time is reason for special celebration, and what better place to hold them than Andalusia,” Latin Recording Academy CEO Manuel Abud shared in a statement with the Associated Press. He is also the regional president for Andalusia.

In another statement to Rolling Stone, Abud added, “We are considering Sevilla to celebrate the 24th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards this November, but we are still working through the logistics with our partners TelevisaUnivision. We will share additional details about the date and location of the next Latin GRAMMYs soon.”

The Latin Recording Academy was first established in 1997, with the Latin Grammy Awards following in 2000. The 2022 ceremony was held in Las Vegas. “A main purpose of the Latin GRAMMY Awards is to recognize excellence and create a greater public awareness of the cultural diversity of Latin recording artists and creators, both domestically and internationally,” a mission statement on the academy’s website reads.

Dominican musician Juan Luis Guerra and Puerto Rican rapper Residente are tied for the most wins in Latin Grammy history with 28 trophies each, making them the most awarded men. Mexican singer Natalia Lafourcade is the most awarded woman with 14 wins, followed by Columbia’s own Shakira with 12 and Rosalía, who hails from just outside Barcelona, with 11.

“I hope that with my music, other people can find the amazing artists I’m really excited about,” Rosalía told Rolling Stone in a recent cover story. “I find inspiration in so many different places and styles. It’s beautiful, because I feel happy to be able to name where my references come from.”

Still, she has received pushback as a European woman benefiting greatly from toying with genres rooted in Afro-Caribbean communities, like bachata and merengue. Last year, Rosalía performed the bachata track “La Fama” as part of her three-song set at the Latin Grammy Awards. She also took home Album of the Year for Motomami.

“I don’t make music thinking about money, I don’t make music thinking about awards, though I appreciate if I get any of those things,” she said. “[I do it] because I know this is the reason I’m here.”