Talent, merit prevail

One surprise winner emerged in the key Latin music categories this year: the credibility of Grammy voters.

In the past, Recording Academy members have tended to favor acts familiar to non-Latin audiences, giving victories to big-name stars even in their painfully obvious off years. This time, however, name recognition and artistic merit often coincided.

Celebrated Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz won for best Latin pop album with “No Es Lo Mismo,” his smart, flamenco-inflected reflection on love and war. Well deserved for a star who took chances and reached a new creative peak.

Cafe Tacuba, the revered Mexican band, edged out strong competition in the Latin rock field with “Cuatro Caminos,” an occasionally stirring but uneven album. Not the band’s best work, but its high points make the win respectable.

The late Celia Cruz won best salsa album for “Regalo del Alma,” an excellent production sadly marred by the singer’s ailing vocals recorded in the weeks before her death. And in the most deserving win for a member of the Buena Vista Social Club, singer Ibrahim Ferrer won for traditional tropical album for his spirited and seasoned “Buenos Hermanos.”

Name recognition probably helped guitarist and Buena Vista producer Ry Cooder win for “Mambo Sinuendo,” his lackluster, self-involved duet with Cuban colleague Manuel Galban. But in this case, blame the voters in the pop instrumental category.

-- Agustin Gurza