Joe Arroyo,Gal Costa, José Feliciano, Alex Lora, Les Luthiers, Ruben Rada, and Linda Ronstadt will be honored withThe Latin Recording Academy®'s Lifetime Achievement Award, and Manuel Alejandro, Jesus "Chucho" Ferrerand and Ray Santos are the recipients of the prestigious Trustees Award, it was announced today by The Latin Recording Academy. These honorees will be acknowledged at a special invitation-only ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, at the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas as part of the weeklong Latin GRAMMY® Awards celebration. For updates and breaking news, please visit The Latin Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook: www.twitter.com/latingrammys, www.facebook.com/latingrammys.
Lifetime Achievement Awards: This Special Award is presented by vote of The Latin Recording Academy's Trustees to performers who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording during their careers.
Colombian singer, songwriter and composer Joe Arroyo began his musical journey at the young age of 8, singing in one of his hometown's most popular music halls. In 1971 he joined the very successful band Fruko Y Sus Tesos (Fruko And His Buddies) and toured throughout Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and the United States, sharing the stage with legends such as Bobby Cruz, Celia Cruz, Hector Lavoe, Tito Puente, and Richie Ray. A decade later Arroyo formed his own band, La Verdad (The Truth) and was awarded the Conga De Oro Award by the acclaimed Colombian Carnival of Barranquilla. His music crosses many styles including salsa, compas, merengue, reggae, and soca and he also developed his own style, the Joesón. Today, Arroyo continues to perform throughout Latin America and the United States.
Seven-time GRAMMY® and Latin GRAMMY winner José Feliciano has recorded nearly 70 albums, earned more than 45 gold and platinum records, toured all around the world, and is the recipient of countless prestigious awards the world over. Feliciano, one of the huge crossover acts who paved the road for Latinos to follow, was born in Puerto Rico and began his musical career in the streets of New York where he taught himself how to play the accordion and guitar, earning the title "the world's greatest living guitarist" by critics around the world. Throughout his 50-year career he has given the world such compositions as "Feliz Navidad," "Rain," "Chico And The Man," "Destiny," "Ay Cariño," "Cuando El Amor Se Acaba," and "Por Qué Te Tengo Que Olvidar." A consummate philanthropist, Feliciano established the Jose M. and Susan L. Feliciano Charitable Foundation for Children and the Arts to help give back to the community.
Trustees Award: This Special Award is presented by vote of The Latin Recording Academy's Trustees to individuals who have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording during their careers.
With a career that spans more than 40 years as a songwriter, composer and producer, Manuel Alejandro has a repertoire of more than 500 songs, which have established him as one of the most popular and sought after composers of Latin love songs. Through working with such artists as Luis Miguel, Julio Iglesias, Raphael, Rocío Jurado, José José, and Emmanuel, Alejandro hasproducedand/or written some of Latin Américas most iconic songs, including hits such as "Mi Amante Amigo," "Como Yo Te Amo," "Voy A Perder La Cabeza Por Tu Amor," "Todo Se Derrumbó Dentro De Mi," and "Pobre Diablo." Today, Alejandro is working on a special project containing his favorite 100 songs (each album will contain 33 1/3 songs). Mexican arranger and musician Jesus "Chucho" Ferrer's career has seen him to arrange 8,000 musical works in various styles ranging from pop and mariachi to classical and children's music. Throughout his career he has collaborated with such artists as Marco Antonio Muñiz, Aida Cuevas, Plácido Domingo, María Félix, Vicente Fernandez, Lucero, Luis Miguel, and Joan Sebastian, among others. Aside from producing popular musical arrangements, Ferrer has directed several symphony orchestras, including the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, Fine Arts Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Ferrer was the signature musical conductor of the prestigious Ibero-American Music Festival for more than 20 years. He was also the musical director of RCA Victor in México, developing the careers of Mexican music legends. Today, at 82 years old he continues to create and enjoy his life passion: music. Heralded as "El Maestro" of the mambo sound, Ray Santos has performed, composed and arranged music for dozens of premiere Latin orchestras throughout his more than 50 year career. He has produced music for several projects, including films such as The Mambo Kings and arranged music on Linda Ronstadt's Frenesi and Paquito D'Rivera's Tropicana Nights, both GRAMMY-winning albums. For more than 25 years, Santos has been a music educator at the City College of New York and frequently lectures at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Among his many accolades, Santos has received the Chico O'Farrill Lifetime Achievement Award and Bobby Capo Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2003 he was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.The Latin Recording Academy is an International, membership-based organization comprised of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking recording artists, musicians, songwriters, producers and other creative and technical recording professionals. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for Latin music and its makers. In addition to producing the Latin GRAMMY Awards to honor excellence in the recorded arts and sciences, The Latin Recording Academy provides educational and outreach programs for the Latin music community. For more information about The Latin Recording Academy, please visit www.latingrammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, join the organization's social networks as a Twitter follower at www.twitter.com/latingrammys, and a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/latingrammys.
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