BY Led Black (@Led_Black)
Marc Anthony performs at the 14th annual Latin Grammy Awards at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, November 21, 2013. Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
First of all, I have to thank the good people at Ford for hooking a brother up with simply killer seats for the 14th Annual Latin Grammys. Secondly and more importantly, I have to say that I was completely and utterly blown away by the sheer awesomeness of the Latin Grammys. The Latin Grammys is the Super Bowl of Latin Music. According to Nielsen ratings, the 14th Annual Latin Grammys reached 9.8 million viewers and @LatinGRAMMYs was the most mentioned program account across all of Twitter TV. Personally, it was not just that it was a perfectly executed show with some of the biggest stars in the world but it is actually something much bigger than that. Transcendent even…
(Photo: Billboard.com)
My favorite performance of the night was by superstar crooner, Marc Anthony. He also happened to walk away with the recording of the year for the superb Vivir Mi Vida. Not far behind was Mr. Worldwide himself, Pitbull, who put on a spectacular show that was all glitz and glory, even bringing out Enrique Iglesias and El Cata. Not to mention, the simply sublime and high tech duet by Natalie Cole and her father Nat King Cole. Also, a big shout out goes to Leslie Grace for a standout presentation alongside the acrobats and players from Cirque du Soleil’s Zarkana. The last segment of the night was an apt ending to a stellar night, it was a rousing Salsa tribute featuring such giants as Oscar D’Leon, Willy Chirino, Jose Alberto “El Canario”, Sergio George, Ismael Miranda and Tito Nieves.
I left those killer seats in the Mandalay Bay Events Center, floored by the depth, diversity and power of Latinos. Here we were: both on stage, and in the audience, as well as in the homes watching the festivities, united as one and reveling in the utter splendidness of who we are as a people. That night we were not just Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Colombians and so on and so forth… No, we were Latinos. For me, it was an epiphany. There is strength in numbers. If we can now go forth and take that same unity back to our communities and the ballot box, we can transform this country as well as our home countries and ultimately the world.
Latino Power is real… Let’s harness it!
Pa’Lante Siempre Pa’Lante!
Related: The UC Goes to Vegas to Cover the Latin Grammys
Check out some of my pics and Instagram videos from the evening. For more: http://instagram.com/Led_Black
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