Tale of Two Fetes: In Tone and Tenor, They’re Miles Apart

Clive Davis--name-dropper extraordinaire--knows how to throw a party. But the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences doesn’t seem to, at least not for the Grammys’ Latin artists.

Davis, the founder of Arista Records, has plenty of experience. From New York to L.A., his annual pre-Grammy party has been the creme de la creme of industry shindigs for years. On Tuesday, Davis and his Arista clan took over the Beverly Hills Hotel and guests were treated to opulence, bona fide stars and a room of behind-the-scenes heavies.

At the same time, at downtown’s Mayan nightclub, a party intended to be a celebration for artists nominated in the Grammys’ Latin categories as well as a kickoff event for the all-Latin Grammy Awards coming in September, was seen as more of a slap in the face by many Latin music heavy-hitters. The party was criticized by some in attendance for being poorly organized.

First stop, Beverly Hills: It’s difficult to say what was more impressive: Carlos Santana’s cosmic cool, Rob Thomas’ aw-shucks awe, Dick Clark’s timeless face or the mighty Whitney Houston. The night may have belonged to Santana, who performed with Thomas (the 28-year-old Matchbox 20 singer who co-wrote and sang on Santana’s hit, “Smooth”), but Houston damn-near stole the show. Treating guests to a medley of hits, Houston never looked better. In a slinky black dress with a few extra pounds, she’s transformed herself to a creature not of this Earth. Surely, history will play out in her favor.

As Davis rattled off the careers he’s had a hand in, listeners were reminded of such discoveries as Janis Joplin, but you only had to look around to see the faces sparking up contemporary music on hand to give their support to Davis: Sean “Puffy” Combs (with Jennifer Lopez), the gals of TLC, Kelly Price and Mary J. Blige.

As Thomas, who held hands throughout dinner with wife Marissa (the inspiration behind “Smooth”), noted: “The entire affair--from beginning to end--has been staggering.”

The only disappointment was the absence of pop’s breakthrough Latino artists. Unfortunately for the Davis affair, they were across town at the Mayan.

Many at the Grammys’ Latin party were multimillionaires accustomed to royal treatment at the finest clubs in Miami. Yet the Mayan was dirty and cold, and one of the women’s bathrooms was filthy and had a broken window. Security failed to recognize several nominees. The VIP section was tiny, and several complained about the lack of a hosted bar. The sound system crackled and failed several times during performances by top-notch acts such as Jaci Velasquez, A.B. Quintanilla y Los Kumbia Kings and Grupo Mania.

Among those in attendance were Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Gizelle D’Cole, Saul Hernandez, Jerry Rivera, the Chris Perez Band, Carlos Vives and Jennifer Pena.

While many party-goers complained privately, most did not want to attach their names to their feelings publicly, for fear of retribution from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which produces the Grammy Awards. In a year in which the academy has made much of its increased interest in Latin music, the paltry party conditions were a disappointment to many who said they had hoped they were finally being recognized.

“Overall, this was clearly not the party that they would have thrown for the mainstream music members,” said David Damian Figueroa, national manager of communications for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which says it has begun monitoring the academy’s treatment of Latino members as the academy’s interest in Latin music increases. Representatives of the academy failed to return phone calls to respond.

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Freelancer Heidi Siegmund Cuda reported from Beverly Hills and Times staff writer Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez reported from downtown L.A.