Tributes, performances galore at 'Premio Lo Nuestro' awards
Edwin Cazares, left, of Grupo Firme, and Chesca perform at Premio Lo Nuestro at American Airlines Arena on Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Jim Rassol)MIAMI – Bad Bunny topped Univision's “Premio Lo Nuestro” awards with seven wins on a night that included a tribute to late Mexican singer-composer Armando Mazanero and performances by some of the biggest names in Latin music. Among the winners at Thursday's show were pop singer Camilo and the Mexican band Grupo Firme, which took home five awards apiece. Bad Bunny’s awards included the night’s top honor, artist of the year, as well as album of the year and best urban artist of the year. A total of 147 artists were nominated in 34 categories honoring various musical styles, including pop, urban, tropical and regional Mexican.
Johnny Pacheco, an idol in world of salsa, dies at age 85
(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)NEW YORK – Salsa idol Johnny Pacheco, who was a co-founder of Fania Records, Eddie Palmieri’s bandmate and backer of music stars such as Rubén Bladés, Willie Colón and Celia Cruz, died Monday. He had been hospitalized in New York a few days earlier for pneumonia, his wife, Maria Elena “Cuqui” Pacheco, said on the artist’s Facebook account. Fania Records tweeted that the musician was “the man most responsible for the genre of salsa music. He received the Latin Recording Academy Music Excellence Award in 2005 and was nominated for multiple Grammys and Latin Grammys. ___Associated Press writer Sigal Ratner-Arias reported this story in New York and AP writer Berenice Bautista reported from Mexico City.