Miami was heavily represented in Los Angeles this past Wednesday when the 2011 Latin Grammy Nominations were announced.
Not only did 305 resident Enrique Iglesias earn an Album of the Year nod for Euphoria, but our very own Toto "Mr. Pauer" Gonzalez snagged a Best Alternative Album nomination for his debut record, Soundtrack.
But the Miami love doesn't stop there. When Iglesias, Gonzalez, and the rest of the 2011 nominees receive their fancy Grammy invite, they'll be staring at a Miguel Paredes original because the Miami-based painter has been named the official artist of the 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards.
Paredes' work will appear on the official invitation, poster, show ticket, program, and "other important applications," and he's super excited.
"We unveiled the artwork, and then it was all press," Paredes told us during a recent phone interview. "It was great."
Through his management team, Paredes was able to catch the Recording Academy's attention. He says that artists submit work to a voting board every year and then wait to be chosen. In his case, the wait wasn't long.
"They came back automatically and said, 'This is pretty much what we're looking for.' And from there on, we kind of tweaked it a few times and the board approved it," Paredes says.
The inspiration for the this year's Grammy art came from Paredes' impressive body of work, particularly some of the music-themed pieces he created for Art Basel 2007.
"I did a series of paintings about four years ago named Salseros," he says. "Initially, it started with Sammy Figueroa in Miami. When the Latin Grammys came about it, I took all these elements from all these paintings that I'd done and kind of put it all together and presented it."
In a statement released by the Academy, Gabriel Abaroa Jr., President and CEO of The Latin Recording Academy said, "The combination of Paredes' trend-forward techniques and pop art style creates a visually stunning use of colors interwoven with a complexity of graphic imagery that culminates in a creative array centered against Latin music's most prestigious award."
Congratulations, Miguel.
Follow Crossfade on Facebook and Twitter @Crossfade_SFL.
