November 16, 2023
A Statement from Brenda Victoria Castillo, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC)
The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is disappointed by the failure of the Recording Academy to recognize Latine artists in several of the top award categories for this year’s GRAMMY Awards nominations.
This year, Latin Artists were excluded from three of the Big 4 General Field award categories: Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year (Afro-Latina rapper Ice Spice, of Dominican and Nigerian roots, was nominated for Best New Artist). In a year in which Latin music has dominated the charts, broken streaming revenue records, and is listened to globally, it is shocking for the Recording Academy to continue to overlook artists and creators from our communities.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time our community has been considered an afterthought by the Recording Academy – we remember all too well when international reggaeton artist Bad Bunny opened the 2023 GRAMMY Awards Ceremony with his hits “El Apagón” and “Después de la Playa,” during which the live broadcast closed captions said “[SINGING IN NON-ENGLISH].” With Spanish being the second most listened-to language in music across America, this was a moment – however accidental – that set a worrying precedent for our community.
Although there have been many steps taken by the Recording Academy to address their lack of recognition for Latine artists and communities of color, we strongly encourage them to reexamine their mission as a prestigious academy dedicated to “ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage.”
Latine artists are intertwined with our shared cultural heritage as Americans, and we deserve recognition.
The National Hispanic Media Coalition is an organization dedicated to not just advocacy, but building bridges. We welcome a conversation with the Recording Academy to discuss this history, our history as Latine artists, and how we can move forward together – making sure these recent missteps do not turn into a larger trend.
Yours in Movement,
Brenda Victoria Castillo
President & CEO
National Hispanic Media Coalition
