 State of the Art: (From left:) Recording Academy CEO Neil Portnow, artist Miguel Paredes and Latin Recording Academy President Gabriel Abaroa Jr. at the Latin Grammy Nominations Press Conference. (Photo John Shearer/WireImage) |
Miguel Paredes is the official artist for the 12th annual Latin Grammy awards. At the recent nominations press conference, the Miami-based painter was hanging with some of music’s biggest singers including 2011 ten-time nominees Calle 13, regional Mexican singer Pepe Aguilar, Mexican singer/songwriter Reyli Barba, Chilean singer Myriam Hernandez and Mexico’s Los Tucanes de Tijuana, among others.
Paredes’ artwork will be used as the official image of the Latin Grammys including the cover of the awards invitation, show tickets, the poster and program book.
During the press conference, Paredes showcased his official Latin Grammy poster and afterwards spoke to the media about his influences, which include nature, Japanese animation, graffiti and pop-culture. Paredes also said his was inspired by his own musician paintings.
“I did a series called ‘Salseros’ about four years ago when I painted some of the great masters like Mongo Santamaria, Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon,” Paredes said. “But initially the inspiration was (percussionist) Sammy Figueroa who is a good friend of mine back in Miami. I said, ‘Sammy, let me paint you playing the congas.’ I created that painting and from there I created a whole series.”
The Latin Grammy awards will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Nov. 10 and will air live on the Univision network at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. Central).
 View From Above: (From left:) Musicians Eduardo Cabra Martinez and Rene Perez Joglar of the band Calle 13 (L) and Giselle Blondet (4th from right) pose with Los Tucanes de Tijuana (Photo Maury Phillips/WireImage) |