Each year the Latin Recording Academy honors esteemed Latin music makers with their Special Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Trustees Award. On Sept. 13, The Latin Academy announced this year's class of Special Awards recipients.
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Lucecita Benítez, João Bosco, Ilan Chester, Víctor Heredia, Los Del Río (Antonio Romero Monge and Rafael Ruiz Perdigones), Guadalupe Pineda, and Cuco Valoy will receive this year's Lifetime Achievement Award. Jon Fausty and Lalo Schifrin will receive the Trustees Award.
Benítez began her career as a young Puerto Rican star of Nueva Ola pop, and later grew in international recognition for her contributions to the nueva trova movement and her classic boleros. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Bosco is an essential part of the música popular Brasileira movement in Brazil in the 1960s and '70s. A Latin GRAMMY-winning musician, Chester is a pioneering Venezuelan singer, keyboardist, arranger, and composer.
Argentine singer/songwriter Heredia is arguably best known for his symphonic work about Taki Ongoy, a movement against the Spanish conquest in South America. Los Del Río — comprising Antonio Romero Monge and Rafael Ruiz Perdigones — made their mark on Latin music with the smash crossover 1990s hit, "Macarena." Mexican singer Pineda, aka the Queen of Bolero, has released more than 30 albums in her career. A Dominican salsa, son montuno and merengue artist, Valoy is arguably best-known for his song "Juliana."
A Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY winner, Fausty is a sought-after engineer and mixer who has worked with artists such as Celia Cruz, Marc Anthony, Tito Puente, and Eddie Palmieri. Also a Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY winner, Argentine pianist/composer/arranger/conductor Schifrin is instantly recognizable through his popular themes, including the "Mission—Impossible" theme (GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, 2017) and Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry films.
Lifetime Achievement Award for performers who have made unprecedented contributions of outstanding artistic significance to Latin music and the Latin community, and the Trustees Award for individuals who have made significant contributions, other than performance, to Latin music during their careers.
"Our 2017 class represents a wide-range of artists that together have contributed to shape Latin music's iconic rhythms and lyrics throughout history," said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., Latin Recording Academy President/CEO. "Each honoree is an inspiration to our culture and community as well as a muse for new and contemporary work."
The Lifetime Achievement and Trustees Award honorees will be celebrated during a private ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas on Nov. 15 as part of the 18th Annual Latin GRAMMY Week. This ceremony will be followed by the 18th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards, which will broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Nov. 16, from 8–11 p.m. ET/PT on Univision.
Nominations for the 18th Latin GRAMMY Awards will be announced Sept. 20.
