The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation® announces winners of its Research and Preservation Grant Program

Talented musicologists and educational institutions will receive a total of $20,000
for research and preservation of Latin music 

MIAMI (JAN. 23, 2020)—The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation® announced today the winners of its Research and Preservation Grant program. This program provides grants to music institutions, nonprofit organizations, musicologists, and researchers around the world who are enhancing and preserving Latin music heritage. This year, an eclectic group of institutions and scholars will receive this support. The four grants, with a maximum value of $5,000 USD each, support diverse initiatives: The Preservation Grants fund the archiving and preservation of Latin music and its unique customs, while the Research Grants support projects that emphasize historical and anthropological research, in addition to documenting traditions and Latin folklore.

"Our Research and Preservation Grant program continues to grow, and we are very proud to provide assistance to a very diverse group of recipients throughout Latin America," said Manolo Díaz, Sr. Vice President, Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation. "This year the diversity of the projects is very interesting, and I am sure they will contribute to the international cultural legacy of Latin music."

Awarded preservation grants:

• Javier Pérez Sandoval, Universidad del Bosque, Bogota, Colombia – The objective of the project "Pasantías de la maestría en músicas colombianas; un recorrido por la diversidad del caribe colombiano"  is to preserve, publish and distribute approximately 100 hours of unpublished fieldwork video from 2018 and 2019 in six locations on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. They reflect the unique aspects of a variety of musical practices in the oral tradition, including bullerengue, cumbia, gaita negra, complejo de tambora, flauta de millo tradition and band music in the traditional pelayero format.  The cataloging, publishing and distribution of the material will aid the management of the bibliographic and documentary patrimony relating to Colombian musical forms.

• Oluwafemi Agbayewa, Uruguay – The "Hugo "Cheché" Santos: La última llamada" project consists of a series of podcasts based on the life and musical career of candombe star Hugo "Cheché" Santos. The series will reflect the challenges, difficulties and successes in his professional career, and will contribute to the preservation of Afro-Uruguayan culture, as well as research. The podcasts seek to connect candombe with a regional and global audience, and they discuss the actions and challenges of this musical movement.

Awarded research grants:

• Dr. Katrin Lengwinat, Caracas, Venezuela – Her project "Aporte a la recuperación de la diversidad del joropo llanero" will explore, record and distribute approximately 50 golpes, two thirds of which are very rarely practiced today, and will create an easily accessed web source containing educational videos with instrumental music and texts about historic aspects. Access to the results of the research and the performances will be completely public as well as free of charge to guarantee the widest possible distribution at the national and international levels. In addition, this plurality will be propagated among advanced cuatristas through musical workshops in Caracas that will seek to encourage the broadening of the repertoire through the diffusion of six "golpes raros."

• Néstor Lencenella, Mexico City, Mexico – His project, "AbuelasCDMX" is a work of research, rescue, preservation and dissemination of songs in indigenous languages (Nahuatl, Mixtec, Otomi, Mazatec, Zapotec and Mazahua) of Mexico City. It will focus on audio and video recordings of traditional songs by senior women at assorted places in Mexico City. Later, a series of audiovisual works will be produced with traditional versions of the songs, as well as versions modernized with new technology.

A committee of experts from Latin America, the Iberian Peninsula, and the United States selected the recipients among numerous qualified candidates. Since its inception in 2015 to date, the program has awarded more than $120,000 USD in grants to support projects, one of which received a Latin GRAMMY® and GRAMMY® Award.

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ABOUT THE LATIN GRAMMY CULTURAL FOUNDATION:

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation was established by The Latin Recording Academy® to promote international awareness and appreciation of the significant contributions of Latin music and its makers to the world’s culture, and to protect its rich musical legacy and heritage. The Foundation's primary charitable focus is to provide scholarships to students interested in Latin music, as well as grants to scholars and organizations worldwide for research and preservation of diverse Latin music genres. Take action in supporting our mission by donating today via our Facebook page. For additional information, please visit us at www.latingrammyculturalfoundation.com. For the latest news and exclusive content, follow us at @latingrammyfdn on Twitter and Instagram, and Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation on Facebook.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Iveliesse Malavé

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation

ive@grammy.com

305.576.0036