Latin Grammy Awards Abandon Miami As Potential Site
Miami is out of the running to host the first Latin Grammy Awards because of a county ordinance that would prohibit Cuban musicians from performing at the ceremony. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., under no such restrictions, is making an all-out bid to host the awards show.
A cultural capitol of Latin music, Miami had been pushing to hold next fall's Latin Grammys in its new American Airlines Arena, which is owned by Dade County.
But an ordinance forbids Dade County from doing business with anyone who conducts business with Cuba. Given the strength and originality of Cuban music, Cuban artists would probably receive award nominations. However, the ordinance and its political subtext would prevent them from performing.
That didn't make with the grade with decision-makers at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Grammys.
''The Cuban issue has cost you the Pan American Games and now it looks like it could cost you the Grammys,'' said National Academy CEO Michael Greene, as reported in the Miami Herald.
South Florida's Fort Lauderdale is still in the running, as is New York and Los Angeles, according to a National Academy spokesman. A decision is still several weeks away.
Fort Lauderdale's Convention and Visitors Bureau is offering its National Car Rental Center for the ceremony. The National Academy said that the 18-month-old venue is big enough, but other city's venues, such as New York's Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, or the Staples Center in Los Angeles, are equally adequate.
The Academy could not comment on the strengths of the competitors, only saying that the winning city had to be involved in cultural activities that support the Academy and that the business and political climate had to be appropriate to its mission.
From a national perspective, Miami is a divided city on the Cuban music issue. In September, the immensely popular Cuban group Los Van Van had to move its Knight Center show in Miami. The center told the concert's promoter that she had to obtain liability insurance to cover the venue's losses if disturbances forced it to cancel other events, so the promoter went elsewhere.
She rebooked the show at the Miami Arena. But 4,000 Cuban nationalists opposed to Fidel Castro protested the night of the concert, throwing eggs, rocks and plastic soft drink bottles at concert-goers as they left.
Then, in October, Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer and Cuban pianist Ruben Gonzalez, both affiliated with the ''Buena Vista Social Club,'' canceled their Feb. 11, 2000 performance in Miami Beach, citing the violence at the Los Van Van show.
Wherever the Latin Grammys are held, the awards will recognize a large range of contributions. The fall 2000 awards will cover 39 categories, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist and individual awards in Pop, Rock, Tropical, Regional, Traditional, Jazz, Brazilian, Children's, Classical, Production and Video. Music released between Jan. 1, 1999 and June 30, 2000 will be eligible.
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