Carlos Santana backstage at the Latin Grammys/ Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez
Is music really the universal language? There was no better place to test that ragged old saw than at Thursday’s Latin Grammys at Toyota Center.
As one of the few (if not the only) non-Spanish-speakers in the building, Aftermath had a unique opportunity to sample the best Latin music had to offer, at least according to Grammy voters. And thanks to a very nice Toyota Center security lady named Diane, a curtain on
There were a couple of big winners at last night’s Latin Grammy’s ceremony, namely Juanes and Gloria Estefan. You heard their acceptance speeches, now find out what they said backstage.
The night’s big winner was, of course, Juanes, who took home five awards, making him the winner of the most Latin Grammys ever with 17.
For being the big man of the ceremonies, he was very low-key: “I feel happy, very grateful to the music, to God, to the Academy," he said. "When you see Jose Fe
Gloria Estefan meets the media/ Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez
The woman of the hour Thursday night was unquestionably 2008 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Gloria Estefan, whose “Mi Tierra” was big, brassy, jazzy, horn-heavy and as Cuban as a fine Cohiba cigar. So was “Oye Mi Canto,” a sprightly cumbia marked by elastic piano and both horns and percussion going crazy.
“No Lloren” slowed things down just a little, all the better to accommodate Carlos Santana’s fluid
[Ed. Note: Paola Mayorga is a 21-year-old Missouri City woman who won a contest sponsored by Reliant Energy for a trip to the Latin Grammys, including backstage and green carpet access and accomodations at the Four Seasons. Rocks Off asked her to write up her experience.]
Paola Mayorga and her mother Giovanna on the green carpet
Since the moment that I got the call from the representatives of Reliant Energy, it’s been kind of like a dream. At first I didn’t believe it was true and it was
Vallejo is a rock and roll band of the highest caliber from just a few miles away in El Campo. The band started as a trio of three brothers who moved to Austin in order to pursue their dream of being the next Santana.
Once in the "live music capital of the world," they added a rhythm guitarist and a conga player to further explore their saucy Latin side, and settled down quietly to become one of the foremost acts in the city. Vallejo has since toured with the likes of Stone Temple Pilots, Fue
