Latin Academy Answers Fonovisa Charges

Organizers of the new Latin Grammy Awards said Thursday that criticism of their event by Fonovisa, the nation’s largest independent Latin label, is unfair.

Fonovisa’s general manager, Gilberto Moreno, earlier this week said Fonovisa would not support the Sept. 13 Latin Grammys ceremony in Los Angeles because he feels the event does not adequately represent Mexican regional artists and that it favors Miami-based producer and music mogul Emilio Estefan and the Sony Music labels.

Mauricio Abaroa, vice president and executive director of the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which produces the Latin Grammy Awards, said Moreno’s statements reflected a lack of understanding of the Grammy process.

For instance, Abaroa said, Fonovisa artist Marco Antonio Solis had complained to the Latin academy that his album, “Trozos de mi Alma,” had not been nominated, when in fact the album was released before the eligibility period--Jan. 1, 1999, to March 31, 2000.

Moreno disagreed Thursday, saying the Solis album was released in January 1999. He also reiterated his outrage at what he sees as a show aimed only at “an Anglo American audience.” He said that with more than 30 million Latinos in the U.S., 75% of whom, he said, are Mexican, the Latin Grammys should have a much stronger Mexican slant than it does.

The conflict between the label and the Latin academy highlights the difficulties created by lumping together many diverse cultures and ethnic groups under the umbrella terms “Latino” and “Latin,” which mean very different things to different people.

For most of the Latinos in Los Angeles, the terms refer to all things Mexican, whereas to those in Miami, they mean Cuban, etc. The Latin Grammys face enormous challenges in pleasing people in dozens of nations as they attempt to put together a show that is supposed to unite all musicians in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking worlds.

Fonovisa had also complained that the Latin Grammy telecast would not feature Mexican regional performers, yet a Latin academy source said Wednesday that the Latin academy had invited both legendary ranchera star Vicente Fernandez and his equally famous son, Alejandro, to perform on the televised show, but both turned down the offer. A representative for the singers declined comment.

Moreno’s response to the invitation of the two singers: “Of course. They’re on Sony.” Moreno is upset that the Latin Grammys have not contacted Fonovisa about any of its acts to perform on the show. He believes a group such as the label’s Los Temerarios, which he said has sold more than 1 million albums in the U.S., would be a natural.

Abaroa said he believes the elder Fernandez has been angry with the recording academy ever since opera star Placido Domingo was chosen over Fernandez for best ranchera performance in the regular 1999 Grammys.

“I wish I could have 10 minutes to sit down with Vicente and explain to him why this happened,” Abaroa said with a deep sigh. Abaroa said Domingo most likely won because the regular Grammy Awards are voted on by the 14,000 members of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, most of whom don’t speak Spanish and don’t know much about Latin music.

This type of problem, Abaroa said, is why the Latin Grammys were formed.

“Now we have a voting body who knows who the performers are,” Abaroa said. “It should be a wonderful thing for all of us.”

Abaroa said there will “definitely be a Mexican regional performance” on the inaugural Latin Grammy telecast, and he criticized Fonovisa and the media for commenting on the telecast lineup before it has been finalized.

In addition, five of the 18 selections on “Grammy Guide to Latin Music,” a recently released album, feature Mexican regional styles, including banda, norteno, tejano, grupero and ranchera. The Latin academy also will host several events in the next two weeks at Olvera Plaza featuring Mexican regional acts, including a celebration Monday and a Sept. 10 concert by Mariachi Juvenil Jalisciencse.

As for Fonovisa’s accusations that the Latin Grammys have favored Estefan--who was nominated for six awards and will be honored as the Latin academy’s person of the year on Sept. 11--Abaroa said “there was nothing corrupt about this process. The voters chose who they chose, and they chose Emilio Estefan.”

George Placensia, a spokesman at Estefan Enterprises, said Thursday that Estefan had no comment on Fonovisa’s criticisms.

Calls to EMI Latin, BMG Latin, WEA Latina and Sony Discos indicated that all labels support the Latin Grammys program. However, some employees at the labels privately expressed admiration for Fonovisa for expressing concerns about the treatment of Mexican regional music in the awards telecast.