Caribbean's new and old music garnered top Latin Grammys

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The Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra. Photo: EFE

The tropical romance of Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra, the edgy urban sounds of Puerto Rico's Calle 13 and sensual Latin vibe of Ricky Martin garnered the top Latin Grammys on Thursday in a banner year for Caribbean music, new and old.

Guerra won five Latin Grammys, including album of the year, record of the year and song of the year for his album "La Llave De Mi Corazon" (The Key To My Heart), which he called his "most romantic." His team took the award for best engineered album.

Guerra, who put the Dominican Republic's merengue and bachata music on the world stage nearly 20 years ago with "Ojala Que Llueva Cafe," was also chosen as "person of the year" by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

"I think merengue will never fall out of fashion, and neither will salsa nor bachata," said Guerra, who plays with a big band called 440.

The provocative Calle 13 won two Grammys for best urban song with "Pal Norte" and best music album for "Residente O Visitante," which mixes the duo's reggaeton roots with excursions into other Latin genres like cumbia and bossa nova.

"It's important to shake up Latin music so new things come out," said Calle 13's Rene a.k.a. Residente, who sports tattoos and an artistically shaved head.

Young Mexicans win

Martin, the most famous of Puerto Rico's music exports, won two Grammys, the best male pop vocal album and the long-form music video for his "MTV Unplugged." He opened the ceremony with two songs, winning praise from his fellow artists.

Italy's Laura Pausini, singing in Spanish, won best female vocal pop album for "Yo Canto."

Mexico's young, urban pop scene also fared well at the awards, the eighth Latin Grammy ceremony.

The songwriting brother-sister duo from Mexico City, Jesse & Joy, took best new artists this year with their upbeat songs from their debut album "Esta Es Mi Vida."

"We are influenced a lot by the music of the 1970s and we are a little pop-rock and a little folk," said Jesse, 24, whoplays piano and guitar, while 21-year-old Joy sings lead vocals.

La Quinta Estacion, a Mexico-based group formed by Spaniards, won best pop group album with "El Mundo Se Equivoca."

Brazilian veteran singer and composer Caetano Veloso took the prize for top singer-songwriter album with "Ce" and best Brazilian song for "Nao Me Arrependo."

The Latin Grammy awards have been held since their inception in the United States, where Hispanics account for 15 percent of the population and are the fastest-growing demographic group.

Hispanics of all ages gathered in the Las Vegas venue to catch glimpses of some of the biggest stars from their native countries.

Some of the award winners took advantage of the stage to call for support for Hispanic immigrants in the United States as the battle over millions of illegal workers and growing Hispanic cultural influence divides the country.

"It's important that we keep speaking Spanish," Martin said.

"I wouldn't like to think that a new generation of Latinos in this country stops speaking its language," he added.