On the 26th of April, thousands gathered to watch the Latin Billboard Awards either live at the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami, or on the television on Telemundo. But why does this even matter? For a few main reasons. One of the main reasons i can think of right from the start is that all artists, regardless of ethnicity deserve to be recognized for the work they do. There are several award shows for the Hispanic community out there but not one as big as this one. With artists from all ranges of talent and countries, from Miami’s own Pitbull to Brazilian worldwide star, Michel Telo.
The Latin Billboards Awards are a great springboard for those artists that have great talent but it is also very hard to be chosen to perform at the awards. An example of this is Brazilian Michel Telo, who I personally had never heard of before the awards. Telo, whose is known internationally for his hit song “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” or “Oh, if I catch you” has been on the top charts of several countries including the U.S. and the U.K. The night was filled with performances by many artists. One of the artist that performed at the award ceremony is an artist that most, if not everyone, on campus knows. Pitbull, who is nominated for thirteen awards, twice in some categories. Other internationally known artists that performed were Akon, Juanes, Mana, and many more. Artists from all over Latin America are becoming more and more known all around the world.
A main reason that these awards are important is to give honor to the artists from the hispanic community that have shown that they deserve the recognition. The hispanic community in the United States has been growing exponentially in recent years. Knowing this, its understandable that recently there has been more programming in english and in spanish. The Latino community is having a great influence on the music you listen to, even if you are not aware of it. The Latin billboards are of importance because everyone deserves to be recognized one way or another for what they do, regardless of language, ethnicity, or background.