Ruben Blades Gets His Due

That the Grammys in the Latin field have little to do with the quality of the music is old news, but if you thought there was no chance of surprises, check this item: Ruben Blades wins a third Grammy.

That’s right--the man seen by many as one of the most influential singer-songwriters in the history of Latin pop, and by others as a has-been more interested in acting and politics than in matching the power of such past works as “Pedro Navaja”--silenced his detractors with this year’s biggest upset.

Not that “La rosa de los vientos,” the first album he recorded in his native Panama with mostly Panamanian songs and musicians, wasn’t a deserving candidate. But it’s not nearly as consistent as many of his other jewels that were ignored in the past. Albita will have to wait, while picky salseros will have to admit that Grammy voters were not that deaf after all.

The other categories were resolved as expected: Enrique Iglesias’ self-titled debut album won in Latin pop, making it official that, at least commercially and for the time being, Luis Miguel has met his match. La Mafia’s insufferable “Un millon de rosas” managed to beat Vicente Fernandez’s rancheras (let’s not even talk about that lousy match), and Paquito D’Rivera’s Latin jazz victory earned a deserved recognition for one of the founders of the legendary Irakere.