Academy Seeks Way to Honor Latin Acts

After abandoning plans to reschedule this year’s Latin Grammys show, the recording academy is exploring plans for a possible benefit concert by Latin artists to raise funds for terrorist-attack disaster relief. A fund-raiser could also provide the occasion to deliver Latin Grammy trophies to some of this year’s winners.

“We’re not giving up on having some sort of a recognition for our winners,” Michael Greene, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which sponsors the Latin Grammys, said Friday.

Troubles have dogged the second annual Latin Grammys show, which earlier had moved from Miami to Los Angeles to avoid planned protests by anti-communist Cuban exiles. The winners have remained unannounced since the cancellation of the Sept.11 show at the Forum following that day’s terrorist attacks

Until Friday, academy officials had held out hope that the full Latin Grammys show might be revived, perhaps in late November. But Greene announced in a statement that the academy decided that “it is simply impossible to reschedule a live, international show of this magnitude.”

In an interview with The Times, Greene cited financing as the major reason for canceling the event. He said there were still “formidable” unresolved insurance issues related to losses from the canceled show, which he estimated at between $4 million and $5 million.

The cancellation was greeted with disappointment and resignation by Latin industry representatives, who said they understood the difficulties in remounting the show.

“This is terrible news for the performers who lost the chance to show their art to the world,” said Miami-based manager Fernan Martinez, who represents Juanes, the young Colombian who topped this year’s nominations. “That’s what Juanes regrets the most. Not the awards, but the chance to perform in the biggest showcase any Latin artist could have.”

As a last resort, Grammy officials would arrange to deliver trophies to winners in various countries.

“It’s very sad, but I do appreciate the [academy’s] efforts,” said Jesus Naranjo, western region marketing manager for Universal Music Latino. “I just hope that maybe there will be some way for the artists that were nominated to get some recognition for their work.”