Musical Notation
by George Rivera
A Last Look at The Latin Grammy Awards
September
17, 2000 – By now talk about the first Latin Grammy Awards has died down. It
was reported on Entertainment Tonight the next day that the show ranked ninth in
its time slot. That is not a good thing considering that there are only three
major networks in most markets.Before I close the book on this subject I’d like to make a few comments. For starters, Andy Garcia should leave the percussion playing to the professionals, after all it is supposed to be a show honoring the very best in Latin music. Whoever LARAS hired to write the script for the show’s talking-heads should consider doing a little research, contrary to what Jimmy Smits stated when presenting a really lousy tribute to Tito Puente, Puente has garnered five Grammys and not four. Christina Aguilera should consider wearing pants more often. Ibrahim Ferrer, Best New Artist? I think that LARAS is fifty-some-odd-years too late. Son By Four, those one-song wonders, or Sun By Four as the announcer kept referring to them, “Superstars”? Gee, can’t wait for the Russian and Italian versions of “A Puro Dolor” to hit the market. Hopefully those versions will be available before their Greatest Hits compilation. ‘NSync will definitely get my vote next year for Song of the Year. Can someone tell me just who the “Devil in the Blue Dress” (and wig!) was? Melanie Griffith, now there’s a sight for sore eyes. That Banderas fellow is surely lucky. Think about it, he can always make the claim that he didn’t understand what she said whenever they argue. I’d like to know just who came up with the idea to have her present the award for Album of the Year. The person must have had a keen sense of humor, or was bent on proving once and for all that blondes have nothing but space between their ears. The poor thing couldn’t even pronounce the name of the winner, Luis Miguel, but who was paying attention by then.
On a serious note I’d like to commend Carlos Santana for being the first of the award recipients to make an acceptance speech in Spanish. I thought that the Santana/Mana performance was indeed the very best of the night. In my opinion it would have been more appropriate if Santana had paid tribute to Puente than Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Andy Garcia, and Celia Cruz. After all it was as a result of Santana’s recordings of “Oye Como Va” and “Para Los Rumberos” that Puente’s career was once again jump-started. I also thought it was a slap in the face to every Latin music recording artist to have Christina Aguilera and ‘Nsync perform, not to mention to have two Gloria Estefan performances, three if you count the Puente tribute. That time could have been used to present a wider spectrum of the music that is out there. It’s also a shame that LARAS has once again failed to honor an individual such as Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill. Chico has been one of the most important musical figures in the history of not only Latin music, but music in general from Machito to Ellington. I guess we’ll have to wait for Chico to pass before anyone at NARAS/LARAS even notices that the man was here. NARAS and LARAS should both give the man a Lifetime Achievement award already.
Finally my suspicions regarding NARAS/LARAS CEO Michael Greene have come to light. Mr. Greene, aka C. Michael Greene, is currently the target of not only an FBI investigation, but of an IRS one as well. The L.A. Times broke the story the day of the awards. It seems that Mr. Greene and NARAS/LARAS are not as charitable as they claim to be. Over the next few week’s things should really start flying especially after several Latin music executives complained about misleading solicitation pitches concerning an alleged fund-raiser to benefit LARAS programs for educational outreach and human services. The executives got wind of this when they read a disclaimer on the bottom of the ticket reservation forms stating, “Support is not tax-deductible as a charitable contribution.” I’m certain that Mr. Greene, who reportedly draws a salary of $1.3 million a year (more than most Latin musicians make in a lifetime), can afford the very best the legal profession has to offer and before you know it this too will pass.
Hasta la proxima, ciao…
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