Gilberto Santa Rosa is set to receive a special honor…
Berklee College of Music has announced that the 61-year-old Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero music, nicknamed “El Caballero de la Salsa“, is among the artists that will receive honorary Doctor of Music degrees during a commencement ceremony in May.
Santa Rosa will be recognized alongside Ledisi and Q-Tip.
Recognized for their contribution to the worlds of music and philanthropy, the artists will be celebrated with a reception and concert in the Agganis Arena, where over 200 student vocalists, instrumentalists, dancers, arrangers, and track producers will perform a musical tribute to the work of each of the honorees.
“Very honored and excited,” expressed Santa Rosa on Instagram. “Thank you for this distinction! Thank you all for the demonstrations of support and affection!!!”
Past Latin recipients from the college include Tito Puente, Gloria Estefan, Rita Moreno and Juan Luis Guerra.
The 51-year-old Puerto Rican singer-songwriter has received a special recognition from his alma mater, Berklee College of Music.
Torres, along with other Berklee graduates, was honored during the Alumni Achievement Awards 2023.
He was recognized for his achievements as a musician, composer, and producer and his “versatility and compositions that have broken cultural barriers,” according to a press release.
“This recognition also gives me great joy because I have thought about my entire career up to today and I feel very happy,” said Torres, recalling that he had to convince his father that music was something serious for him.
“I still feel like I’m getting away with something that seems like a dream,” Torres said in a statement. “I’m very thankful with Berklee. Everything I know about music, production and engineering, I learned it here.”
After graduating 20 years ago, one of the pieces of advice he shared with students is that nowadays they cannot blame the industry or society, since each one decides what style of music to create. He also added that he understands that right now entertainment is bigger than art and marketing seems to be more important than music itself.
“I like it a lot, I like to see the faces of students hungry for knowledge, I like to see the illusion,” Torres said, confessing that at some point in his life he could dedicate himself to teaching the art of music.
Torres thanked his fans because without them he understands that it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve success.
The 48-year-old Colombian singer-songwriter is taking his La Ruta Púrpura Tour on the road this fall.
The trek, a celebration of his more than 20 years as an artist, will be a trip down memory lane as the Latin Grammy-winning musician sings “some of the most important songs of his career that have turned him into one of the most important pop artists of his country,” according to a press release.
The La Ruta Púrpura Tour stint is set to kick off on October 6 at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and will make stops in major cities like Atlanta, Miami and Washington, D.C.
Cepeda will wrap up the tour at Boston’s Berklee College of Music in November.
“La Ruta Púrpura is a dream for me,” Cepeda said in a statement. “It’s marvelous to be able to visit some of the most prestigious stages with my music. We start this October in the U.S. and Canada and will then go to other countries with a very special repertoire, at the level of all these cultural temples.”
During Billboard’s last interview with Cepeda in 2020, the “Lo Que Había Olvidado” singer reflected on the importance of touring for him and his team. When the pandemic shut down the live industry, “I worried most about my team because we canceled so many shows and it really impacted my time,” he said then. “From my privileged position, I understand that there are people who are in a more difficult position. When I started my career, I used to survive because of my shows so I know the type of impact that can have on an artist.”
Here’s the complete list of Cepeda’s U.S. and Canada tour dates and venues:
Oct. 6 – New York – Carnegie Hall
Oct. 8 – Toronto – Meridian Arts Center
Oct. 9 – Montreal – L´Olympia
Oct. 10 – Atlanta – Variety Playhouse
Oct. 12 – Vancouver – Vancouver Playhouse
Oct. 13 – Calgary – Bella Concert Hall
Oct. 18 – Orlando – Plaza Live
Oct. 19 – Tampa, Fla. – Ferguson Hall
Oct. 20 – Miami – Adrienne Arsht Center
Nov. 3 – Washington, D.C. – Sixth & I
Nov. 4 – Philadelphia – City Winery
Nov. 5 – Boston – City Winery
Nov. 6-10 – Boston – Berklee College of Music
Alejandro Sanz is this year’s Latin Grammys darling…
The 50-year-old Spanish singer/songwriter is the top-nominated artist for the 20th annual Latin Grammy Awards.
Sanz, a 17-time Latin Grammy winner, is up for eight awards this year, including Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album, for #ElDisco.
Additionally, two of Sanz’s tracks — “No Tengo Nada” and “Mi Persona Favorita” (featuring Camila Cabello, a three-time nominee this year) — are competing against each other in the Song of the Year and Record of the Yearcategories.
Sanz’s compatriot Rosalía is nominated for five awards.
The 26-year-old Spanish singer’s groundbreaking flamenco set El Mal Querer will go head to head against Sanz, her advocate (Rosalía sang at Sanz’s Person of the Year tribute in 2017) in the Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Albumcategories.
Rosalía also has three separate singles, only one of them from her album, competing in different categories: “Aute Couture,” is up for Record of the Year; “Con Altura” with J Balvin, and featuring El Guincho, is up for Best Urban Song; and “Pienso en tu Mirá” (from El Mal Querer) is up for Best Pop Song. El Mal Querer is up for Best Engineered Albumand Best Recording Package. El Guincho, Rosalía’s co producer, is also up for five awards.
This year’s nominations skewed more pop and alternative, with urban totally absent from the main categories (minus Rosalía’s genre-bending fare). It almost felt like a rebuke against a global trend that has seen Latin urban music in all its forms gather record-breaking views on YouTube, streams on Spotify and Apple and positions on the Billboardcharts.
Instead, artists like Bad Bunny (with two nominations), Ozuna and Daddy Yankee(with only one each), were found only in the urban categories.
The most nods in the urban/reggaeton realm went to newcomer Sech, with three, including his multi-artist “Otro Trago,” which competes in the Best Urban Songcategory against Ozuna(“Baila Baila”), ChocQuibtown’s “Pa Olvidarte”; Rosalía and J Balvin’s “Con Altura”; and De La Ghetto’s “Caliente” featuring J Balvin.
Following Rosalía, veterans Juan Luis Guerra, Fonseca and Andrés Calamaro are up for four awards each, as is percussionist and bandleader Tony Succar. All have nominations in the main categories, with Fonseca, Calamaro and Succar all vying for Album of the Year. Meanwhile, Guerra’s “Kitipún,” a slow bachata with jazz undertones, is up for Song and Record of the Year.
In video of the year, the representation came in the form of social commentary from Brazil (via Criolo’s “Boca du Lobo,” a harrowing look at Brazil’s societal crisis) and Spain (with rapper Nach’s “Los Zurdos Vienen Antes”).
This year’s Best New Artist nominees include Argentine trap star Paulo Londra; Colombian rising star Greeicy; and Nella, a Venezuelan jazz singer from Berklee College of Music.
Nominations to the Latin Grammys were selected from approximately 15,500 submissions across 50 categories, of recordings released during the eligibility period (June 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019).
The Latin Grammys will air live on November 14 from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arenain Las Vegas on Univision.
Record Of The Year: “Parecen Viernes” — Marc Anthony “Verdades Afiladas” — Andrés Calamaro “Ahí Ahí” — Vicente García “Kitipun” — Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 “Querer Mejor” — Juanes Featuring Alessia Cara “La Plata” — Juanes Featuring Lalo Ebratt “Aute Couture” — Rosalía “Mi Persona Favorita” — Alejandro Sanz & Camila Cabello “No Tengo Nada” — Alejandro Sanz “Cobarde” — Ximena Sariñana
Song Of The Year: “Calma” — Pedro Capó, Gabriel Edgar González Pérez & George Noriega, songwriters (Pedro Capó) “Desconstrução” — Tiago Iorc, songwriter (Tiago Iorc) “El País” — Rubén Blades, songwriter (Rubén Blades) “Kitipun” — Juan Luis Guerra, songwriter (Juan Luis Guerra 4.40) “Mi Persona Favorita” — Camila Cabello & Alejandro Sanz, songwriters (Alejandro Sanz & Camila Cabello) “No Tengo Nada” — Alejandro Sanz, songwriter (Alejandro Sanz) “Quédate” — Kany García & Tommy Torres, songwriters (Kany García & Tommy Torres) “Querer Mejor” — Rafael Arcaute, Alessia Cara, Camilo Echeverry, Juanes, Mauricio Montaner, Ricardo Montaner & Tainy, songwriters (Juanes Featuring Alessia Cara) “Un Año” — Mauricio Rengifo, Andrés Torres & Sebastián Yatra, songwriters (Sebastián Yatra Featuring Reik) “Ven” — Fonseca, songwriter (Fonseca)
Best Pop Song: “Bailar” — Leonel García, songwriter (Leonel García) “Buena Para Nada” — Paula Arenas, Luigi Castillo & Santiago Castillo, songwriters (Paula Arenas) “Mi Persona Favorita” — Camila Cabello & Alejandro Sanz, songwriters (Alejandro Sanz & Camila Cabello) “Pienso En Tu Mirá” — Antón Álvarez Alfaro, El Guincho & Rosalía, songwriters (Rosalía) “Ven” — Fonseca, songwriter (Fonseca)
Best Urban Fusion/Performance: “Tenemos Que Hablar” — Bad Bunny “Calma (Remix)” — Pedro Capó & Farruko “Pa’ Olvidarte (Remix)” — ChocQuibtown, Zion & Lennox, Farruko Featuring Manuel Turizo “Con Calma” — Daddy Yankee Featuring Snow “Otro Trago” — Sech Featuring Darell
Best Urban Music Album: Kisses— Anitta X 100Pre — Bad Bunny Mi Movimiento— De La Ghetto 19 — Feid Sueños — Sech
Best Urban Song: “Baila Baila Baila” — Ozuna & Vicente Saavedra, songwriters (Ozuna) “Caliente” — J Balvin, René Cano, De La Ghetto & Alejandro Ramirez, songwriters (De La Ghetto Featuring J Balvin) “Con Altura” — J Balvin, Mariachi Budda, Frank Dukes, El Guincho, Alejandro Ramirez & Rosalía, songwriters (Rosalía & J Balvin Featuring El Guincho) “Otro Trago” — Kevyn Mauricio Cruz, Kevin Mauricio Jimenez Londoño, Bryan Lezcano Chaverra, Josh Mendez, Sech & Jorge Valdes, songwriters (Sech Featuring Darell) “Pa’ Olvidarte” — René Cano, ChocQuibtown, Kevyn Cruz Moreno, Juan Diego Medina Vélez, Andrés David Restrepo, Mateo Tejada Giraldo, Andrés Uribe Marín, Juan Vargas & Doumbia Yohann, songwriters (ChocQuibTown)
Best Alternative Music Album: Latinoamericana— Alex Anwandter Discutible —Babasónicos Bach — Bandalos Chinos Prender Un Fuego— Marilina Bertoldi Norma— Mon Laferte
Best Traditional Tropical Album: Andrés Cepeda Big Band(En Vivo)— Andrés Cepeda Vereda Tropical— Olga Cerpa y Mestisay Lo Nuestro— Yelsy Heredia A Journey Through CubanMusic— Aymée Nuviola La Llave Del Son— Septeto Acarey
Best Singer-Songwriter Album: Acústica— Albita Contra El Viento— Kany García Amor Presente— Leonel García Algo Ritmos— Kevin Johansen Intuición— Gian Marco
Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album: Mi Persona Preferida— El Bebeto Sigue La Dinastía… — Alex Fernández Más Romántico Que Nunca— Vicente Fernández Indestructible— Flor De Toloache Ahora — Christian Nodal
Best Norteño Album: Por Más —Bronco Las Canciones De La Abuela— Buyuchek Mitad Y Mitad— Calibre 50 Percepción — Intocable Amo — La Maquinaria Norteña
Best Long Form Music Video: “Anatomía De Un Éxodo” — Mastodonte “Piazzolla, Los Años Del Tiburón” — Astor Piazzolla “Hotel De Los Encuentros” — Draco Rosa “Lo Que Fui Es Lo Que Soy” — Alejandro Sanz “Déjame Quererte” — Carlos Vives
Luis Figueroa is ready to expand his musical empire…
After announcing his affiliation with Magnus Media, the Puerto Rican singer/songwriter, who was born and raised in Philadelphia, has joined Sony Music Latin.
“Luis has diligently developed every facet of his career including singing, songwriting, producing, acting, live performance and promotion,” says Alex Gallardo, President of Sony Music US Latin. “We are very pleased to join him in this next major step of his development.”
Figueroa graduated from Berklee College of Music, was Romeo Santos’ backing and featured vocalist during the last two international tours and, in 2017, performed at Billboard Latin Music Awards.
“I feel honored to sign with Sony because my favorite artists growing up, like Marc Anthonyand Romeo Santos, are here,” adds Figueroa.
Also, in the past year, Figueroa has been working as a songwriter on tracks like “Por Perro” with Sebastián Yatraand Lary Over, and “Telepatía” with the Norwegian EDM star Matoma. Plus, he appears as a featured artist on Yashua’s “Pa Las Babies” which was co-written by Cris Chill.
“I am ready to have a record out, and ready to have an album out,” concludes Figueroa, who will release his debut single “La Especialista” on October 4.
Carlos Vives is helping the next generation of musicians…
The 56-year-old Colombian singer-songwriter has partnered with the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation to provide financial support to an accepted student at Berklee College of Music toward a bachelor’s degree,
“Carlos Vives not only represents musical excellence and achievement, but the equally significant qualities of generosity and altruism,” said Manolo Diaz, the senior vice president of the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, adding “His legacy will also include changing the life of the scholarship recipient.”
The Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, which provides support to Latin students at Berklee College, is now accepting applications for the Carlos Vives Scholarship, valued at up to $200,000.
“The ability to support a new generation of Latin musicians brings me great joy,” said the 11-time Latin Grammy and two-time Grammy winner in a press statement.
Vives now joins the list of previous superstars, likeEnrique Iglesias, Juan Luis Guerra and Miguel Bosé, who have provided college-level scholarships for Latin music students.
For more information on how to apply, visit LatinGRAMMYCulturalFoundation.com.
The 48-year-oldSpanish singer-songwriter, a 17-time Latin Grammy winner and three-time Grammy winner, is partnering with music producer Javier Limon on an original primetime entertainment format, Son of Songs.
A music talent contest that celebrates the vast range of styles open to modern artists, Son of Songs will be produced by Mediapro, Gazul Producciones, which represents Sanz, and the Limon’s U.S.-based record production label, Casa Limon.
Son of Songs also marks one of the earliest formats to emerge from Mediapro as its drives into upscale TV production.
With Sanz also taking an executive producer credit, Son of Songs’ format features eight young talents, drawn from different styles of music, who pay tribute to a guest star performing their greatest hits in different styles. The format is based on the idea that the musical idea of any song can be interpreted in any style: Jazz, blues, hip-hop, Latin, dance, or flamenco, Mediapro said in a statement.
Now in development, but with first images and content recorded in Boston by young musicians at its prestigious Berklee College of Music, Son of Songs yokes the talents and channels the music passions of two key Spanish music industry figures who have successfully crossed over to the U.S, and Latin America.
Selling 25 million albums to date, Sanz broke through internationally with 1997’s Mas. Including “Corazón Partío,” it sold two-million-plus copies in Spain, making it the most-sold album in history. It also vindicated a style which, however much based on romantic ballads laced with flamenco tropes, has seen experimented throughout Sanz’s career with fusions of jazz, R & B, soul and pop – an inclusiveness which has led Sanz to record with multiple artists from Alicia Keys to Shakira, Michael Jackson to The Corrs.
The winner of 10 Grammys, Limon’s Casa Limon has presented Lagrimas Negras and Buika, and produced concerts, documentaries and television programs. A producer, composer and performer, the key to his work has been its diversity, in both the geographic origin and styles of the great artists he has collaborated with, from Paco de Lucia, Enrique Morente and Joaquin Sabina in Spain to Cuba’s Bebo Valdés, Mexico’s Chavela Vargas, the U.K.’s Nick Lowe and India’s Anoushka Shankar. He also serves as artistic director at the Berklee College of Music.
The 21-year-old Cuban American singer/songwriter, the daughter of daughter of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, will be recognized by the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame and WorldArts.
Estefan will receive the first annual WorldArts Discovery of the Year Award during the 2016 La Musa Awards ceremony.
The new award is given to promising young talent at the start of their careers.
“Emily has created a unique sound incorporating all the incredible music she grew up with and the sounds of her own generation with the ease of an artist far beyond her years. I would like to sincerely congratulate her on this prestigious new award from WorldArts which is totally deserved,” said Desmond Child, LSHOF Chairman/CEO, in a statement.
“Emily is one of the most exciting and dynamic new singer-songwriters to emerge on the scene and we look forward to watching her steadily rise and keep bringing her amazing music to the world far into the future,” added Larry Underwood, founder and CEO of WorldArts.
The fourth annual La Musa Awards will take place October 13 at the The Fillmore Miami BeachJackie Gleason Theater.
Estefan, a Berklee College of Music graduate, recently signed a partnership with RED Distribution via her indie label, Alien Shrimp Records.
She’s set to release her new single “Reigns (Every Night)” this month and has a new album due in 2017.
“I am beyond thrilled to call Sony/RED Distribution my new musical home. They took on this little Alien Shrimp with no questions asked, and opened the door to my U.F.O.”
Berklee College of Music has announced that the 58-year-old singer, songwriter, actress and businesswoman and her husband Emilio Estefan are the newest members of the school’s board of trustees.
The Grammy and Latin Grammy-winning power couple have been part of the Berklee family since 2007 when they received honorary degrees.
In 2012, Gloria served as keynote speaker at the Berklee Teachers on Teaching conference.
Most recently, Gloria and Emilio appeared at the 2016 Tony Awards, where their Broadway musical On Your Feet, based on the Cuban artists’ life, was nominated for Sergio Trujillo‘s choreography.
Gloria, along with the cast, performed the hit song “Conga,” even getting Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda on his feet.
Iberia Airlines is sponsoring a new scholarship in the name of the late Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer and producer at Berklee College of Music, open to guitarists from Spain or Latin America.
According to Berklee, Juan Cabezon Oppici of Madrid is the winner of the 2016 scholarship, which covers tuition, travel and board for a five-week summer program.
The Spanish airline will fund the scholarship in 2017 and “would like to establish this scholarship as a long-term offer for young talented guitarists.”
The new scholarship was announced at the same time as the first screening, in Madrid, of a new Iberia-funded documentary that features the last guitar owned by De Lucia in the starring role. In La Guitarra Vuela, the Spanish guitar master’s instrument, known as La Maestro, literally flies as a passenger on flights to nine countries — courtesy of Iberia.
The guitar reached the hands of over a dozen musicians, including Brazilian great Caetano Veloso, flamenco guitarist Tomatito and Portuguese fado singer Mariza.
The documentary was directed by Javier Limón and Jorge Martinez.
Iberia will screen La Guitarra Vuela on its flights starting July 1.
Santa Rosa will be recognized alongside Ledisi and Q-Tip.
