In a disappointing day for Spanish artists at the Latin Grammy Awards, Alejandro Sanz has won two new awards, further solidifying his legacy in the annual showcase of Latin music.
Alejandro Sanz has secured one of the four major awards of the ceremony held on Thursday night in Las Vegas, the Record of the Year for Palmeras en el jardín. Aware that he was not the favorite, the Madrid-born artist said in his acceptance speech: "Benito, I have stolen it from you, forgive me," referring to Bad Bunny, who achieved a bittersweet victory in this edition of the Latin Grammy Awards.
The veteran singer also won the award for Best Contemporary Pop Album for ¿Y ahora qué?, a category in which Aitana was also a contender. Alejandro Sanz now has 24 trophies in his collection and is one of the most awarded artists in the history of the awards.
Aitana has won her first Latin Grammy Award for the design of her album Cuarto azul. "This is very powerful for me. I have never received one of these in my life, I suppose we always dream about it but never believe it could happen," said the Barcelona-born singer upon receiving the award. "I want to thank my family and my boyfriend, Dani, whom I love with all my heart," she added on stage.
Aitana receiving the Latin Grammy Award for the design of 'Cuarto azul'.MUNDO
The award may be smaller, but it provides Aitana with significant validation in her expansion into the Latin market, her current major challenge after establishing herself as the dominant pop star in Spain. In March 2026, she will perform at four festivals in Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, and Mexico, and after an extensive tour in Spain in spring and summer, she will return to Argentina and, especially, Mexico in October and November, her second largest audience country.
Leiva arrived in Las Vegas with four nominations for Gigante and leaves with a melancholic solo performance in the first part of the gala in front of over 14,000 people connected on YouTube. Even though he had two nominated songs for Best Pop-Rock Song, Ángulo muerto and Un último vals, they were surpassed by Conociendo Rusia and Jorge Drexler, a Latin Grammy champion. Additionally, Leiva lost in the Best Rock Album category to the Argentine artist Fito Páez. He now has nine nominations in his career and zero awards.
More disappointments. Judeline, who delivered a fantastic performance, did not win the awards for Best Recording Engineering for an Album, Best Alternative Song, or Best Alternative Music Album (which were won by Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso). Rusowsky was also in the running for the latter award. Yerai Cortés, who had reasons for hope, was not recognized as Best New Artist, Valeria Castro lost to Natalia Lafourcade for Best Singer-Songwriter Album, Dani Martín also did not win Best Pop-Rock Album, which went to Morat, Sílvia Pérez Cruz did not receive the award for Best Folk Album, and Guitarricadelafuente missed out on the Best Short Form Music Video award.
The limited relevance of Spanish music in this edition is somewhat overshadowed by the recognition of Raphael, who was honored with the most important honorary award of the night, the Person of the Year. Additionally, Enrique Bunbury is among the winners of the Special Award for Musical Excellence.
All of this comes just days after Manuel Abud, CEO of the Latin Recording Academy and the main person in charge of the awards, revealed in EL MUNDO that "the Latin Grammy Awards will return to Spain in the next five years". The gala has been held in the US for 25 years and has only left the country once, in 2023 when it took place in Seville. The return of the Latin Grammy Awards to Spain demonstrates the significant importance our country holds for the internationalization of Latin music.