Grammy Latino 2020, in the Traditional Tropical Album category for Orquesta Aragón

November 21, 2020

The 80-year-old Orquesta Aragón was awarded at the 21st edition of the Latin Grammy Awards with its album Ícono, a production by the record label Puntilla Music, in the category of Best Traditional Tropical Album, and almost all lovers of Cuban music have evoked the phrase that distinguishes this great artistic group: "Ponle el cuño, es la Aragón".

From the Ministry of Culture of Cuba (Mincult), in a joint broadcast via Streaming Cuba and Canal Caribe, the news was announced.

Rafael Lay (son), violinist and director of the group, dedicated the award to all the musicians who have been part of the Aragón and to Cuban health personnel fighting the pandemic in Cuba and the world.

In the broadcast, Lay remembered the legacy of his father and founder of the iconic orchestra defender of Cuban popular music, especially of the acclaimed Cha cha chá, and wished that it continues to live for a long time.

Founded in 1939 in the city of Cienfuegos by Orestes Aragón, this orchestra with the charanga format represents the heritage of Cubanness, the cultural wealth of this people who feel proud to be represented for more than 80 years in the melodies and rhythms that its musicians have known how to display.

Considering that the other three albums competing for the prestigious award belong to emblematic artists and groups of national sounds, it is inevitable not to agree, moreover, with the National Council of Performing Arts that, via Facebook, assured that "this award reaffirms once again how magnificent our Cuban music is at the international level".

And it is that they were nothing less than the Orquesta Failde, which competed with the album Failde con Tumbao (Egrem), along with the Changüí Guantánamo ensemble with Este es nuestro Changüí (Egrem), in the same category as the Aragón; and the great Omara Portuondo with her phonogram Mariposas (Bis Music), in the Best Contemporary/Tropical Fusion Album category.

The Diva of Buena Vista Social Club is in fact a veteran among Cuban artists recognized by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States, since after winning in 2009 with the material Gracias, and receiving a nomination in 2018 with Omara siempre, her career was praised with the Latin Grammy Excellence in Music Award at the 2019 edition.

For the Aragón the third time was the charm, as it had previously been nominated twice: with the album La charanga eterna it competed in the best traditional tropical album category in 2002, and then with the CD Con tremenda sabrosura, in the best contemporary tropical album category, in 2009.

Mario Ángel Escalona Serrano, national director of Egrem, congratulated the members of the group from the emblematic Salón del Son in the city of Santiago de Cuba, and noted that the award becomes recognition for those who make music in Cuba and those trained under its example and unmistakable sound.

The executive expressed satisfaction in having musicians like them and a leader continuing the legacy of one of the pillars of Cuba's super charanga: Rafael Lay Apesteguía (who was its director from 1948 until 1982 when he passed away), in addition to the certainty that the orchestra will always live through work with new generations.

Currently the Aragón is recording a new phonogram with Isaac Delgado and Alain Pérez under the Egrem label, the oldest record company in the country.

With the motto "Music Humanizes Us," this year the Latin Grammy Awards ceremony was held remotely and simultaneously from several cities in the United States due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Cuban artist residing in Canada Alex Cuba was the only participant for the Caribbean nation at the event, which was broadcast on its official virtual platforms.