Known for his preference for individual notes and riffs that stand out even within chords, the Juanes Stratocaster® captures his unique sound with noiseless single-coil pickups to achieve clear tones and note distinction. With its alder body featuring a stunning, moon-reminiscent Luna White Satin finish, an ode to his oldest daughter, Luna, which means moon in Spanish, the guitar exudes elegance and style.

Joining the ranks of signature artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and H.E.R., Fender’s Artist Signature series honors legendary artists through the ages by recreating their most-loved guitar models and making them available to players everywhere. With Latin music exploding across pop culture – taking over the Grammy’s, festival stages, breaking streaming records, and generating $1.09 billion of recorded music revenues in 2022 – Fender looked to Juanes as a legacied global ambassador for Latin music to help become a face for these sounds in guitar.

Since releasing his solo debut album Fíjate Bien in 2000, Juanes has won 24 Latin Grammy Awards and sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. He is one of the best-selling Spanish-language artists of all time.

All artist proceeds from the Stratocaster guitar & Juanes Capsule Collection will go to support the Mi Sangre Foundation, a philanthropy founded by Juanes to construct a culture of peace and a celebration of music in his home country, Colombia.

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Singer-songwriter Chiquis has reached yet another milestone in her career garnering her first GRAMMY nomination for “Best Regional Mexican Music Album” for Abeja Reina. She is currently nominated to aLatin GRAMMY in the same category she won in 2020 with her album Playlist, becoming the first solo female artist to garner the Best Banda Album Latin GRAMMY.

“I feel very blessed with this amazing news. Thank you so much to the Academy, all of the industry colleagues that voted, my production and work team for making this possible. Abeja Reina is the culmination of tw years of dedication and passion,” Chiquis expressed.

Chiquis’ fourth album Abeja Reina was released in May,representing a new chapter in the artist’s career. Most of the album’s tracks are banda and Chiquis also includes some cumbia, R&B and rap-style fusions, in Spanish with some English, reflecting her 200 percent essence and culture, as she considers herself 100% Mexican and 100% American. To stream or download Abeja Reina click HERE.

Executive-produced by Janney Marin (Chiquis) and produced by Ulises Lozano El Licenciado, Luciano Luna, Richard Bull and Martin Castro, Abeja Reina has 18 tracks that include 5 songs written by Chiquis (“Abeja Reina”, “Entre Besos y Copas”, “Cualquiera”, “La Ex”, and “A Lo Menso”). The album was recorded at studios in Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles, California; Mazatlan, Sinaloa; and Brownsville, Texas.

The 2023 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 65th GRAMMY Awards, will air live on Sunday, Feb. 5, from Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, and it will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET / 5-8:30 p.m. PT+.

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Colombian singer/songwriter Camilo was the big winner at the 2021 Latin Grammy Awards, taking four prizes followed by Mexican songwriter and producer Edgar Barrera and Spanish rapper C. Tangana, each with three awards. Other winners in important categories included Ruben Blades, Caetano Veloso and Juliana Velasquez.

Camilo took home the trophies for Best Pop Vocal Album for Mis Manos; Best Pop Song for “Vida de Rico” that he shared with Barrera; Best Urban Fusion/Performance for “Tattoo (Remix),” shared with Rauw Alejandro; and Best Tropical Song for “Dios Así lo Quiso,” shared with David Julca, Jonathan Julca, Yasmil Jesús Marrufo and Ricardo Montaner.

Barrera won the coveted Producer of the Year award, with eight notable albums for stars like Camilo, Christian Nodal, Maluma, Daddy Yankee and Marc Anthony.

For his part, C. Tangana scored wins for Best Alternative Song category for “Nominao,” shared with Jorge Drexler, Best Pop/Rock Song for “Hong Kong” shared with Andrés Calamaro and Best Engineered Album for El Madrileño.

Brazilin music icon Veloso earned the prize for Record of the Year with “Talvez,” alongside Tom Veloso.

Blades, who was also selected as the Latin Grammy Person of the Year, also walked away with a Grammy for Album of the Year for Salswing!, which he recorded with Roberto Delgado & Orquesta.

Newcomer Velasquez from Colombia won in the Best New Artist category. An actress since age 7, she made a name for herself in TV and theatre. This year she dropped her debut album “Juliana,” which produced hits like “Cóseme.”

The Latin Grammy night at Las Vegas’s MGM Grand Garden Arena also presented performances by Gloria Estefan, Christina Aguilera, Yotuel, Milly Quezada and Danna Paola. The event was hosted by Mexican-American actress/singer Ana Brenda Contreras, Mexican pop singer Carlos Rivera and Puerto Rican actress Roselyn Sánchez.

Other award winners this year were Bad Bunny, Juan Luis Guerra, Juanes, Karol G, Vicente Fernandez and Vicentico. (See the list of winners below.)

Featured Photo: Camilo (Credit: Courtesy, self), Ruben Blades (Courtesy, self) and Vicente Fernandez (Courtesy, self)

Check out the videos of a performance by Becky G, Aguilera, Nathy Peluso and Nicki Nicole at the 2021 Latin Grammy Awards.

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This will be the second consecutive time Contreras hosts the show, joined by Rivera who previously emceed the awards night four years ago. For Sánchez, it will be her fifth time hosting the Latin Grammy. The actress of the Fox series Fantasy Island served as the hostess of the 16th, 17th, 18th and 20th editions of the coveted music prize.

While born in McAllen, Texas, Contreras was actually raised in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. She moved to Mexico City while still a teenager to participate in the competition TV show Pop Stars. She was a member of the group T’detila. After studying acting, she worked in telenovelas like Barrera de Amor, Duelo de Pasiones, Teresa and Corazón Indomable. She returned to the U.S. in 2018 to join the cast of The CW’s soap opera reboot of Dynasty, which she only did for one season before going back to Mexico. There, she will be featured in the upcoming TV thriller series Toda la Sangre.

Rivera rose to fame in his native Mexico when he won TV Azteca’s singing competition La Academia in 2004. Since then, the singer has released four studio albums and starred also in several theatre productions. One of his biggest hits is the 2020 song “Perdiendo la Cabeza” performed along with American singer Becky G and Puerto Rican singer Pedro Capó. The song reached number one in Mexico and also charted in other Latin American countries. 

Sánchez is best known for her roles on the CBS police drama Without a Trace, which earned her an Alma Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Television Series. She was also featured on the Lifetime comedy-drama Devious Maids and currently stars in the Fox series reboot of Fantasy Island. Her film credits include Rush Hour 2, Boat Trip, The Game Plan and Act of Valor. The actress/model, who also has delved into music, has also been a Latin Grammy nominee herself. In 2003, she recorder her debut album, Borinqueña, with the single entitled “Amor Amor” getting a nod for Best Music Video.

After the Latin Grammy ceremony, winners and other guests are expected to attend the Official Latin Grammy After-Party, which once again will take place at the Hakkasan Nightclub. 

Not only nominees, stars and celebrities will attend this year’s Latin Grammys. A limited number of tickets are now available for purchase at www.axs.com. 

In Sin City, Latin Grammy attendees are expected to observe Covid-19 protocols, providing proof of full vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test along with a government-issued photo ID. Only lab-administered PCR and Antigen COVID-19 tests will be accepted and must be administered within 72 hours of the events, according to organizers. Furthermore, guests of all Latin Recording Academy events will also be required to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status and could undergo symptom screening upon entry. 

The award ceremony will also air on the cable channel TNT in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela. Additional international broadcasting partners will be announced at a later date.

Featured Photos: From left, Ana Brenda Contreras (Credit: Luis de la luz), Carlos Rivera (Credit: Felix Valiente) and Roselyn Sánchez (Credit: Jesus Cordero)

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Considered one of the top-selling tropical/salsa singers of all time, the multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy winner will launch the Marc Anthony Tour Aug. 27 in San Antonio, Texas. He’s reportedly the first artist to perform at the AT&T Center since the venue shuttered early in the pandemic in March of 2020.

San Antonio will be the first stop of the artist’s tour, visiting 23 American and Canadian cities through the end of this year.

The “Vivir mi vida” singer will then visit Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Charlotte, Uncasville, New York City, Chicago, Kansas City, Tulsa, Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, Ontario, Phoenix, Fort Myers, Orlando, Miami. He’ll cross into Canada to perform in two cities, Montreal and Toronto, before coming back for two performances in California, first in San Jose and then Los Angeles, where he’ll end the portion of his American tour Dec. 18. 

New York-born Puerto Rican Marc Anthony has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide and won three Grammys and six Latin Grammys. He has 26 Billboard chart hits like “Vivir Mi Vida” which has more than one billion views on YouTube and “Flor Pálida” with more than 142 million plays on Spotify. The singer also holds the Guinness World Record for best-selling tropical/salsa artist and the most number-one albums on the Billboard Tropical Albums year-end charts, an honor he shares with Romeo Santos and Eddie Santiago. 

The Boricua superstar was named after the Mexican balladeer Marco Antonio Muñíz. While a global salsa icon for a long list of Spanish-language hits, he started his recording career singing English, performing a dance music genre known as freestyle. That changed when he switched to salsa in 1993 and put out three commercially successful salsa albums in four years, Otra Nota, Todo a su Tiempo, and Contra la Corriente. 

But he also found success in the mainstream American market. Marc Anthony’s eponymous English-language album debut went triple-platinum in the U.S., becoming part of the nation’s so-called “Latin boom” in music during the waning years of the past millennium. 

Marc Anthony has received a total of 29 Premio Lo Nuestro awards, the ASCAP Founders Award, 12 Billboard Latin Music Awards and three Billboard Awards.

The singer also turned to acting in the mid-1990s. His film credits include Big Night, Bringing Out the Dead, In the Time of the Butterflies, Man On Fire. He played Puerto Rican salsa legend Héctor Lavoe in the 2007 biopic El Cantante. Additionally, he performed on Broadway, starring opposite Rubén Blades and Ednita Nazario in Paul Simon’s The Capeman in 1998.

In In the Heights, Marc Anthony has a small role. He plays Gapo, the alcoholic father of Sonny, the cousin of central character Usnavi, played by Anthony Ramos. The salsa legend is also part of the soundtrack. He lends his vocals to the song “Home all summer,” written by Lin Manuel Miranda and also featuring vocals by Ramos and Leslie Grace, who plays Nina.

Featured Photo: Marc Anthony in concert in New York last year (Credit: Magnus)

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The event was filmed on Miches, a beach town located on the northeast coast of the Caribbean nation. Guerra is accompanied by his legendary band 440 in front of sea waves and beautiful palm trees, interpreting his classic and recent hits. The special will also provide a look into arrangements from the singer’s most recent audiovisual work titled Privé. 

A multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy award-winning artist, Guerra is credited with internationalizing bachata, a music genre born in the Dominican Republic in the first half of the twentieth century that mixes Spanish, Taino and African musical elements. 

After graduating from Boston’s Berklee College of Music in the early 1980s, Guerra went back to his homeland and recorded his debut album Soplando with a group of local musicians that later became known as Juan Luis Guerra and 440. His album Ojalá que Llueva Café showcased tropical genres like merengue, salsa and bachata-fusion as well as rock and romantic ballads and made him an international star. That was followed by the hit-making album Bachata Rosa, with songs like “Burbujas de Amor,” “Bachata Rosa,” “Rosalía” and “Como Abeja al Panal,” which won him his first Grammy. His other albums include Areíto, Para Ti, La Llave de Mi Corazón and Literal.

A winner of more than 20 Latin Grammys and three Grammys, Guerra has collaborated with legendary and top-selling artists like Tony Bennett, Alejandro Sanz, Luis Fonsi, Enrique Iglesias, Juanes, Maná, Diego Torres and Nelly Furtado.

“Providing impressive visual beauty amidst an inspiring backdrop, this concert will bring joy to all Latin Americans during these difficult times through Juan Luis Guerra’s songs of hope, love, happiness and joy, brought to life with his energetic merengues, salsas, and classic bachatas,” said the streamer in a press release. “This concert special is an intimate experience, from the most beautiful beaches of the Dominican Republic.”

The music event was shot during the COVID-19 pandemic with more than 75 crew members, 20 musicians and a dozen assistant crew members following safety and social distancing protocols, according to HBO. 

Juan Luis Guerra: Entre Mar y Palmeras is produced by Miami-based Loud and Live Studios an Entertainment and Santo Domingo-based Guerra Films. It is directed by Jean Guerra, the artist’s eldest son who has led his latest audiovisual projects. 

The performance is one of several concert specials of HBO Latino such as Piano y Mujer and Havana Street Party Presents: Beatriz Luengo earlier this year as well as others from the past few years featuring Diego Torres, Shakira, Orishas, Farruko, Gente de Zona and Pedro Capó–all of which are also available on HBO Max.

Featured Photo: Juan Luis Guerra (Credit: Universal Music Latin Entertainment)

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Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman (A Private War, Cartel Land) has released the trailer of The Boy From Medellín, a documentary about top-selling reggaeton artist J Balvin. 

The Amazon Original film follows the Latin Grammy-winning singer, whose real name is Jose Alvaro Osorio Balvin, as he prepares for what may be one of the most important performances of his career—a sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellín, Colombia. But political unrest explodes in the streets just days before the concert date and J Balvin must wrestle with his responsibility as an artist to his country and his legions of fans around the globe.

The film captures the artist behind the scenes in a tense time of his life, compounding his struggles with anxiety and depression that have plagued him for years. The Boy From Medellín was shot entirely in a dramatic week leading up to the concert. 

J Balvin is a reggaeton superstar who has reportedly sold more than 35 million records worldwide. He has won four Latin Grammys, five Billboard Latin Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and four Latin American Music Awards. He has also been nominated twice for the Grammy Award.

The doc will be available globally on May 7 on Amazon Prime Video. The film was directed and produced by Heineman and exec produced by Fabio Acosta, Scooter Braun, Allison Kaye, Scott Manson, Jennifer McDaniels, Jenna Millman, Juan Diego Villegas and J Balvin himself.

Top Featured Photo: J Balvin in ‘The Boy From Medellín.’ (Credit: SCV JB Concert Doc Project, LLC)

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Arthur Hanlon, pianist, songwriter and arranger is widely known in the Latin music realm having had multiple hits on the Billboard charts. For Piano y Mujer he is collaborating with Puerto Rico’s Kany García, Colombia’s Goyo, Venezuela’s Nella, Spain’s Natalia Jiménez and Venezuelan-American Evaluna Montaner.

Filmed at the Faena Theater in Miami last October in the middle of the pandemic, the special includes renditions of Garcias’ Hoy Ya Me Voy, Nella’s Me llaman Nella and the tropical classic Gotas de Lluvia/La Reina del Combo. The hotel was closed off to the public due to COVID-19 but a section was transformed into an intimate venue and temporary studio to record all the live performances following local pandemic protocols.

The concert followed the recording of Hanlon’s latest album of the same title earlier last year. The album is produced by Motiff (Gloria Estefan, Gente de Zona, Yandel) and consists of 13 tracks—three instrumentals by the pianist and 10 collaborations with the same five female artists. The album is set to release April 9. 

Detroit-born Hanlon plays a blend of Detroit street, jazz, Motown, classical virtuosity and Latin beats and collaborated with Latino stars like Luis Fonsi, Fonseca, Laura Pausini, Marc Anthony, Juanes, Chocquibtown, Ozuna, Prince Royce, Myriam Hernandez and Ricardo Montaner among others. The album has hit No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts.

García has won six Latin Grammys and received two Grammy nominations. The Boricua singer-songwriter released her latest album Mesa para dos in 2020. She also had her own HBO concert special, Kany García: Soy Yo en Vivo, that is currently available on HBO Max. García was also part of the line-up for the musical series A Tiny Audience’s second season earlier this month.

Goyo is a singer and rapper who co-founded the Latin Grammy award-winning ChocQuibTown, an Afro-Colombian hip-hop group that combines electronica, Afro-Latin rhythms and Latin jazz.

For her part, Madrid-born Jiménez has sold three million albums worldwide and recorded duets with luminaries like Marc Anthony and Ricky Martin. In 2019, the Latin pop artist released the “rancheras” album México de Mi Corazón to honor that Mexican genre. She also has been a guest in A Tiny Audience.

Actress turned singer, Montaner is an up-and-coming Venezuelan-American artist who still combines music and acting. She made her TV debut on Nickelodeon’s Latin American series Grachi. Montaner was featured in the film Hot Pursuit, a dramedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara, and Club 57, another Nickelodeon TV series. Her singing career started accompanying his famous father, legendary singer Ricardo Montaner, who is a recipient of a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Finally, Latin Grammy-winning singer Nella sound mixes her native Venezuela’s music with Andalusian influences. She won the music award with her debut album Voy in 2019.

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Celebrating a birthday today is rapper, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist Armando Christian Pérez AKA PitBull.  He was born in Miami on January 15, 1981, and began his career recording reggaeton, Latin hip hop, and crunk music, eventually rebranding himself as a pop artist. Now he has been immortalized with a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood.

Pitbull has sold over 7.5 million studio albums and over 100 million singles worldwide.  As of May 2020, he has over 15 billion views on YouTube. He was ranked by Billboard as the 45th Top Artist of the 2010s and the 24th Top Latin Artist of the 2010s. As of May 2019, Pitbull had won 35 Billboard Latin Music Awards and has received Grammy Awards, Latin Grammy Awards, Nickelodeon, Premio Lo Nuestro, IHeart Radio Award among many others.

Pitbull’s Planet Pit album is the most commercially successful album to date, according to Wikipedia.

The immensity of his work is breathtaking having released music in both Spanish and English throughout his career.  He has performed to support causes bringing awareness to issues like Global Warming, Feeding America, COVID 19, Hurricane Maria, and others.  He has performed alongside and/or collaborated with some of the most well-known recording artists and celebrities around the world including Britany Spears, John Travolta Blake Shelton, Jennifer Lopez,  Priyanka Chopra, Flo Rida, Jessica Mauboy, Belinda, Jason Derulo, and Gloria Estefan, Janet Jackson, Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera, Cypress Hill, Paulina Rubio, and so many more

He is determined to help the Latino community. Pitbull’s social impact focus for the last decade has been closing the poverty gap through educational initiatives. During Hurricane Maria, Pitbull used his private plane to bring cancer patients from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States for treatment.

Pitbull also donated all proceeds from song sales, streaming, and views to Feeding America and the Anthony Robbins Foundation from the single titled I Believe That We Will Win (World Anthem) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On December 31, 2020, Pitbull performed for a crowd of first responders in Times Square adhering to the COVID-19 pandemic guideline for the famous New Year’s Eve celebration.

— Latin Heat News Service

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By Latin Heat News Services

Actress Roselyn Sánchez  and singer Carlos Rivera will return as co-hosts of the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards on Thurs., Nov, 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT)

Rivera previously joined as emcee during the 18th Annual Latin Grammy Awards, while Sánchez returns for the fifth time, after hosting the 16th, 17th, 18th and 20th Annual Latin Grammy Awards.

The Latin Recording Academy has also announced the roster performers for the awards ceremony that includes Latin Grammy current nominees and past winners Bad Bunny, Pedro Capó, Alejandro Fernández, Karol G, Kany García, Los Tigres del Norte, Christian Nodal and Fito Páez. 

Other confirmed performers for the Thursday, Nov. 19 event are current nominees Anuel AA, Calibre 50, Julio Reyes Copello, Alex Cuba, Guaynaa, Víctor Manuelle, Ricardo Montaner, Debi Nova, Nathy Peluso, Raquel Sofía, and Sebastián Yatra.

Co-host Sánchez of Without a Trace fame returns for the fifth time, after hosting the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 20th annual Latin Grammy Awards. Mexican singer Rivera, who rose to fame as the winner of the third generation of the television contest La Academia, previously joined as emcee during the awards’ 18th edition.

With the theme “Music Makes Us Human,” the telecast will be anchored from Miami, featuring performances from multiple cities around the world. “The show will be a celebration of musical excellence and the power of music to bring us together, through diverse stories of hope, community and a renewed sense of purpose,” said the Academy in a press release.

The Latin Grammy Awards will air on Univision on Thurs., Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT). The broadcast will also air on the cable channel TNT in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, and on Televisa on Channel 5.

The Latin Grammy Award show, in which the majority of the categories are awarded, will precede the telecast. This long-established ceremony will be a virtual production, featuring remote performances and the ability for all nominees to participate.

Due to the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 21st Annual Latin Grammy Awards will not have a live audience or a red carpet. The Latin Recording Academy, Univision and its production teams will adhere to strictest safety guidelines and protocols, according to the awards’ organizers.

Featured Photo Credit: Roselyn Sanchez Facebook

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