Rubén Blades
Photo: David Becker/Getty Images
Rubén Blades Wins Album Of The Year Latin GRAMMY | 18th Latin GRAMMYs
Panamanian singer/songwriter Rubén Blades Con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta took home a second Latin GRAMMY of the night when they won Album Of The Year for Salsa Big Band at the 18th Latin GRAMMY Awards.
"Good Evening. I am absolutely surprised. Sincerely, and very grateful to the people that made this possible. But I want to say what I said previously when we won the Salsa Album. … Success is never one person's material. I have had the luck and the common sense to work with people who know more than I do and that are better than me. … I'm embarrassed in some ways because I know the talent that is here, and casually I said, 'I feel badly when one wins and maybe the one who loses feels worse.' But sometimes when one wins you also feel badly because you don't want anyone to lose. And in reality here, there are no losers. So this award we dedicate to all of the artistic class, to Latin America, to Panama, of course. To our orchestra, to Roberto Delgado, who is responsible for all of these arrangements. To this band who has made this honor possible. To the guys who are working with us on the recordings in the tiny recording studio where we work, but where there is a big heart. To all of the people who have collaborated. For example, Roman DeLaGuardia, who made all of the graphic designs. The guy, the Argentinian Daniel, who is [doing] the mastering. I know that I am going to forget to thank all of the people I am supposed to thank, but this is an award that truly surprises us. We are so grateful in the name of Panama and all of the artistic class. So thank you very much." — Rubén Blades
Blades has previously been nominated for Album Of The Year for Mundo (2003), Tangos (2014) and Son De Panamá (2015), but this marks his first win in the category. At the 18th Latin GRAMMYs he also took home the Latin GRAMMY for Best Salsa Album, bringing his total Latin GRAMMY career wins to eight.
.@rubenblades is in shock! Him along with Roberto Delgado and Orchestra won Album of the Year. He said: “Success in never a one person thing. I’ve had luck and the common sense of working with people who know more than me and are better than me.” #salsabigband #LatinGRAMMY pic.twitter.com/nDywyDhWts
— Karina Ramírez (@KarinaFRamirez) November 17, 2017
The other nominees for Album Of The Year were Antonio Carmona's Obras Son Amores, Vicente García's A La Mar, Nicky Jam's Fénix, Mon Laferte's La Trenza, Natalia Lafourcade's Musas (Un Homenaje Al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos, Vol. 1), Residente's Residente, Shakira's El Dorado, and Danay Suarez' Palabras Manuales.
