As a bicultural Latina, I take pride in living in two worlds, two cultures and two languages – English and Spanish. I am a huge fan of music and I am still on my Adele and Jennifer Hudson high from the Grammys five days ago.
I was looking forward to hearing the Latino voices in “Premio Lo Nuestro,” which we didn’t see at the Grammys. Instead, I got “lo mismo de siempre” (the same as always) – Gloria Trevi, Alejandra Guzman, Paulina Rubio and Espinoza Paz.
Elvis Crespo, the Puerto-Rican merengue singer, during his acceptance speech said, “I’ve been coming to ‘Premio’ since 1996 when Prince Royce was drinking milk.” This reinforcing “los mismos.” I think the only one missing was Olga Tañón.
I would have loved to see more up-and-coming Latino talent grace the stage. Pitbull is always a pleasure and brings down the house with his amazing performance and Miami vibe. Dale!
I would have also loved to see a better tribute to Don Francisco. He is an iconic figure on Univision and “Sabado Gigante” is a staple at every Latino home on Saturday nights. I think my mom hasn’t missed an episode in 30 years.
Pitbull and Chris Brown (Felipe Cuevas/Univision.com)
Don Omar’s Danza Kuduro and Taboo dominated the charts and the hearts of Latinos. He had an extraordinary year and I would have loved to see him perform. Danza Kuduro was part of the “Fast Five” soundtrack, a franchise movie that just happened to be one of the blockbuster movies of 2011.
Here are some of the lowlights or highlights of the evening:
Gloria Trevi (Felipe Cuevas/Univision.com)
By far, the worst performance award went to Elvis Crepo. A full mohawk is a trend that the majority of older man simply cannot pull off coupled with the tight skinny jeans – seriously? Was Crespo trying to channel Ricky Martin? His attempt at shaking his “bom bom” was an epic fail.
Gloria Trevi singing a new version of the 80s classic “Gloria” in Spanish.
Luis Fonsi (Felipe Cuevas/Univision.com)
Luis Fonsi singing Menudo’s song “Claridad.” Fonsi is such a great talented singer and I expected more – not recycling an 80s song. Plus the performance dance moves are better left to a teenage boy band.
Between Trevi and Fonsi, I was reliving my teenage years. What is that?
The Mexican rock singer and actress Alejandra Guzman’s a la “Cirque de Soleil” performance was an attempt to breath life and innovation that rather fell short.
Finally the hosts, Eduardo Santamarina and the beautiful Jacqueline Bracamontes, lacked “chispa,” otherwise know as wit and charisma. Not since Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosted last year’s Oscars did I see such lack of chemistry. I would have loved to see Blanca Soto or William Levy as hosts or even Kate del Castillo, “La Reina de Sur.”
Then again, we will always have next year’s show.
Don Francisco shows his Award for his 50 years with the show "Sabado Gigante" at the Premio Lo Nuestro Music Awards in Miami, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Alan Di
