Omara Portuondo One of Presenters of the Grammy Latino Awards

By Redaction AHORA / redaccion@ahora.cu / Tuesday, 03 November 2009 10:21

Renowned Cuban singer Omara Portuondo will be one of the presenters during the Grammy Latino Awards which will be broadcasted from Las Vegas across the US by Univision.

Former member of the D’Aida Quartet and only women of the Buena Vista Social Club, is one of the nominees to the Grammy Latino Award with her CD “Gracias” competing in the category of best Contemporary Tropical Album.

Omara is the first Cuban born artist that lives on the island that will appear in the Grammy Latinos.

For years the most renowned Cuban artists that have been nominated for the award were not given entry visas to attend the ceremony, despite have visited the US in the past.

Among the nominees to the Grammy Latino in the past has been the Van Van orchestra, Charanga Habanera, Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer and Eliades Ochoa, Orishas, Munequitos de Matanzas, Chucho Valdes and Polo Montanez among others.

On September 3rd, 2003, when the Grammy Latinos were hosted by Miami, none of the Cuban nominees received a letter of invitation to attend the event and despite the visa requests presented before the US Interests Section in Havana, they were always rejected.

Although the Cuban musicians continue being nominated for Grammy Latino awards, the tightening of Washington’s economic blockade against Cuba has impeded the Cuban artists to get an entry visa.

Gabriel Abaroa, President of the Grammy Latina Academy, was quoted by the Miami Herald saying that she saw the opportunity of including Omara Portuondo in the televised program when she heard that Omara would be in the United States.

She assured that Univision did not protest. “We have a specific contract and says that all candidates have the right to appear on the event”, said Abaroa.

“We cannot forget that Omara is the Goddess of music, a legend and she has a visa: God, we needed to count on her”, said Abaroa. “I would not be surprised if she won a Grammy Latina”, she concluded. / RHC

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