Premios Juventud celebrated its 20th anniversary Thursday night and the big winner was Colombian superstar Shakira, who took home eight awards for music.
This was the 20th anniversary of the awards highlighting the best of Latin music, and Puerto Rico played host to some of the biggest names in the genre.
Shakira won for best female artist, best song, girl power, best urban track, best pop song, best collaboration pop/urban,tropical mix and social dance challenge. To close out the night Shakira also received the Agent of Change Award, presented to her by Puerto Rican singer Kany Garcia.
It’s clear there’s a desire for Caribbean culture in L.A., as more and more Caribbean Latines make their way to the West Coast.
The Colombian superstar was recognized for her work with poor children through her “Fundación Pies Descalzos.” Her foundation was started in 1997 with the goal of assisting disadvantaged children and their families by improving access to quality education.
“We live in an ambiguous world, filled with great music, beauty, TikTok dances, selfies with filters, but there are things that you cannot filter or paper over,” the singer said in her acceptance speech. “There are places in this world where you are born poor and you die poor because they do not get a chance to receive a quality education, places where you are discriminated against because of your sexual preference, your skin color or your social standing.”
Two other Agent of Change awards were handed out to singer Camilia Cabello and to Emmanuel Estuardo Yoque, a student from Los Angeles, for their social justice work.
Mexican regional star Peso Pluma and Colombian singer Karol G received five awards each. Neither performer was present at the awards ceremony due to their touring schedules. Peso Pluma was performing that night in the second of his shows at YouTube Theatre in Los Angeles.
Peso Pluma won for best male performance, next generation regional Mexican, best regional Mexican song, best collaboration regional Mexican and best regional Mexican album. Karol G shared three awards with Shakira for their song “TQG” — best urban track, girl power and social dance challenge. She also won for favorite streaming artist and best female urban album.
Bad Bunny, Bizarrap and Rosalia, who also did not attend the show, won four awards each.
One of the most anticipated moments of the night was a performance honoring Jenni Rivera by her three daughters Chiquis Marin, Jenicka López and Jacqie Campos. Rivera’s three daughters came out all dressed in white and sang their mother’s classic hit “Pedacito de Mi.”
As with most awards shows there was a bit of intrigue and controversy. Tekashi 6IX9INE’ was expected to perform with Yailin La Mas Viral, but failed to show citing security concerns. According to Univision, the network hosting the show, Puerto Rican officials advised them to cancel the performance after social media chatter mentioned the possibility of violence against the rapper.
The hosting duties were shared by Alejandra Espinoza, Angela Aguila, Dayanara Torres and Marcus Ornellas.
