February 5, 2024
Statement on Behalf of Brenda Victoria Castillo, President and CEO, National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) on the 66th Annual Grammy Awards
In a year in which Latine music and artists continue to grow exponentially at a global scale and Spanish-language music’s share of the top 10,000 songs streamed in the U.S. grew 3.8%, and English-language music’s share dropped 3.8%, we are disappointed in the lack of recognition of Latine musical talent by the Recording Academy at this year's GRAMMY Awards. With Best Música Urbana Album being the only Latin category announced during the televised ceremony - in this awards circuit, our Latine musical talent has been made invisible, and that must change. In the now-famous words of Jay-Z calling out the Recording Academy for its lack of diversity and inclusivity, “We want you to get it right — at least get it close to right.”
Congratulations to last night’s Latine winners: Karol G (Best Música Urbana Album - Mañana Será Bonito), Peso Pluma (Best Música Mexicana Album - Génesis), Gaby Moreno (Best Latin Pop Album - X Mí (Vol. 1)), Juanes (Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album - Vida Cotidiana) and Natalia Lafourcade (Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album - De Todas Las Flores), among others. Last year, six Latin Music artists achieved over 1 Billion on-demand audio streams in the US with each of them in the US Top 125 for 2023 Audio streaming including this year's winners Karol G and Peso Pluma along with Bad Bunny, Eslabon Armado, Junior H, and Fuerza Regida.
Latine music and artists deserve recognition in more than just a few categories – period. If the Recording Academy is actually dedicated to ensuring the recording arts, as they claim, “ remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage,” we urge its members to truly reexamine their definition of cultural heritage – and the tremendous contributions of artists of color who are blatantly excluded from it on the big stage time and time again
The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) welcomes a conversation with the Recording Academy to discuss the importance of Latine representation in the U.S. and how we can better ensure those receiving the awards truly reflect those making contributions to both music and culture.
Latine talents' influence on popular culture has earned them their seat at the table and artists deserve to be recognized at the GRAMMY Awards. It is imperative that the Recording Academy takes the necessary steps to ensure our artists receive their earned recognition.
Yours in the Movement,
Brenda Victoria Castillo
President and CEO
National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
