Latin Grammys pay tribute to Puerto Rico

REGINA GARCIA CANO AND SANDY COHEN

LAS VEGAS Thursday’s Latin Grammy Awards were a love letter to Puerto Rico, with several artists dedicating their performances and awards to the island hard hit by Hurricane Maria.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, rapper Residente and singer-songwriter Luis Fonsi, all of Puerto Rican heritage, dedicated their awards to their homeland.

Fonsi’s global hit Despacito was the night’s big winner, making good on all four of its nominations, including record and song of the year.

“This song is a hymn to Puerto Rico,” Fonsi said backstage. “Everything I do, and everything I will do, now more than ever, is to continue celebrating my island, my culture, my homeland and my music, and to make sure the public knows that Puerto Rico needs help.”

Miranda, recognized for his artistic and philanthropic work with the President’s Merit Award, thanked his wife, his parents, his many collaborators and his Puerto Rican roots. He said he intended to remind the U.S. government that the residents of the island territory “are human beings, too.”

The ceremony, held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and broadcast live on U.S. network Univision, opened with a moment of silence for Puerto Rico, followed by a performance by one of its native sons. Residente wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the Puerto Rican flag he performed his song Hijos del Cañaveral (Sons of Canaveral), a tribute to his country.

He also won two awards: urban album for his self-titled solo debut and urban song for Somos Anormales ( We Are Abnormal). Rubén Blades won the top prize, album of the year, for Salsa Big Band. Other winners included Shakira, for contemporary pop album, Juanes, for pop-rock album, and Vicente Garcia, who was named best new artist.