Congratulations to Arturo Sandoval on winning a Latin Grammy on Sunday for Musical Excellence at the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards held in Seville, Spain. This is the fifth Grammy Sandoval has won since defecting from communist Cuba in 1990 and experiencing the freedom that allowed him to take his art to incredible heights.
Via CiberCuba (my translation):
Arturo Sandoval awarded with a 2023 Latin Grammy for Musical Excellence
Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval received the 2023 Latin Grammy Award for Musical Excellence in a ceremony held this Sunday at the Teatro de Capitania in Seville, Spain.
Sandoval received the award from Spanish musician Luis Cobos and American composer and drummer Harvey Mason. During the event, he appeared visibly moved by the applause and cheers from friends and colleagues in the music industry.
“It is a great honor (…) When your effort is recognized, you should always feel very proud of it because it is the sacrifice, the dedication,” he said minutes before the ceremony outside the Plaza de España in that Andalusian city.
Along with Sandoval, who is also a pianist, Spanish singers Carmen Linares and Ana Torroja, Mexican Manuel Mijares, Brazilian Simone, and the Argentine rock band Soda Stereo were also honored.
The ceremony on Sunday was one of the pre-events leading up to the 24th edition of the Latin Grammy Awards on November 16, which, for the first time, takes place outside the United States.
The Musical Excellence Award recognizes artists who have made creatively outstanding contributions to Latin music and the community throughout their careers. Other Cubans who have received it include pianist Chucho Valdés in 2018 and the Buena Vista Social Club diva Omara Portuondo in 2019.
In 2022, the trumpeter was among the nominees for the 65th edition of the Grammy Awards, an award he has been nominated for nine times.
Sandoval celebrated his 74th birthday on November 6 by playing at a charity event dedicated to medical research.