Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album

Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album
Awarded forquality vocal or instrumental tropical latin albums
CountryUnited States
Presented byNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded1984
Currently held byRubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta – Siembra: 45º Aniversario (En Vivo en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico, 14 de Mayo 2022) (2024)
Websitegrammy.com

The Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards,[1] to recording artists for releasing albums in the tropical latin music genres. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".[2]

According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide the award is intended "for albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal or instrumental tropical Latin recordings". This category includes all forms of traditional tropical music, salsa and merengue.[3]

This award has been handed out since 1984 and has had several name changes:

  • From 1984 to 1991, and then again from 1995 to 1999 the award was known as Best Tropical Latin Performance
  • From 1992 to 1994 it was awarded as Best Tropical Latin Album
  • In 2000 it was awarded as Best Traditional Tropical Latin Performance
  • From 2001 to 2010 it was awarded as Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album. From 2000 to 2003 two separate awards, the Best Salsa Album and Best Merengue Album, existed for salsa and merengue recordings respectively. Then from 2004 to 2006 the award for Best Salsa/Merengue Album existed.
  • In 2011 the name Best Tropical Latin Album returned.

Salsa Queen Celia Cruz has the record for most nominations in this category with nine. Rubén Blades has the record for most wins in this category with seven accolades. He is followed by Israel López "Cachao" (one of which was a posthumous one, in 2012) and Celia Cruz with four wins. Gloria Estefan, Eddie Palmieri, and Tito Puente all have three wins. Two-time winners include Juan Luis Guerra and Bebo Valdés. Blades holds the record for most nominations with thirteen (up to the 2022 Grammy Awards). Willie Colón holds the record for most nominations without a win, with eight.

  1. ^ "Grammy Awards at a Glance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  2. ^ "Overview". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 27, 2009. Retrieved November 11, 2010.
  3. ^ "Category Mapper". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Retrieved November 25, 2011.