The 51-year-old Puerto Rican superstar honored President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday with a special performance during the 59th Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremony.
Dressed in an all-white outfit and sparkling jewelry, J.Lo opened with a rendition of Woody Guthrie‘s “This Land Is Your Land,” before transitioning into “America the Beautiful.”
“One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” Lopez then said in Spanish.
She also sang a few moments of her 2000 hit “Let’s Get Loud,” before closing with more notes of “America the Beautiful.”
The 79-year-old half-Mexican American singer-songwriter has been named this year’s recipient of the Woody Guthrie Prize, in recognition of her “groundbreaking career and impact on humanitarian causes.”
Baez, a legendary folk singer, activist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, is the first Latina/o artist to win the award.
She’ll be inducted on Saturday, August 16 during a virtual edition of the Philadelphia Folk Festival.
The prize was established in 2014 and is given each year to an artist who best exemplifies the spirit and life work of Woody Guthrie by speaking for the less fortunate and serving as a positive force for social change.
Baez “has consistently been on the front lines in the fight for social justice, peace, and equality,” comments Woody Guthrie Center director Deana McCloud in a statement.
Baez joins previous recipients of the award John Mellencamp, Kris Kristofferson, Mavis Staples, Pete Seeger and last year’s winner, Public Enemy‘s Chuck D.
“It has been my mission to use my music as a voice for those who cannot be heard or have been silenced by fear and powerlessness,” Baez said.
Baez’s 25th and final studio album Whistle Down The Wind, her first new LP in nearly a decade, arrived in early 2018.
A New York native, Baez was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2017.
The 40-year-old Colombian singer will perform at a special concert in Los Angeles in honor of Bruce Springsteen on February 8, according to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.
Springsteen, the winner of 20 Grammy Awards, the first in 1985 for “Dancing in the Dark,” will be recognized for his impressive career and philanthropic activities.
The New Jersey native will be the person of the year at the MusiCares charitable concert, the funds collected from which each year are funneled to beneficial causes.
Juanes, who has sold 15 million albums worldwide, shared the stage last year with The Boss at a tribute in Texas to Woody Guthrie, an influential folk singer who particularly identified with social causes.
Also performing at the Springsteen tribute will be Sting, Elton John, Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, Tom Morello and Tim McGraw, Mumford & Sons and Alabama Shakes, among other artists.
Juanes, who has won several Latino Grammys and is also known for his humanitarian work through his Mi Sangre Foundation, will continue his Loud & Unplugged tour in 2013.
