The Latin Recording Academy has announced the iconic three-time Latin GRAMMY winner/two-time GRAMMY winner Ricky Martin as the co-host of the Biggest Night in Latin music, the 20th Latin GRAMMY Awards.
The show, which celebrates 20 years of excellence in Latin music on Nov. 14 in Las Vegas, will be the first awards show the Latin pop king has ever hosted. Puerto Rican actor/singer Roselyn Sánchez and Spanish actor Paz Vega will take on co-hosting duties with the “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer.
While the 2019 Latin GRAMMYs will mark Sánchez’s fourth time hosting the Biggest Night in Latin Music, Vega will also be making her Latin GRAMMY hosting debut.
The 20th anniversary awards show will not only be a big moment for Latin music as a whole, but for Martin himself, who has a long history with the Latin GRAMMYs and performed at the inaugural show. At the first show, the 2000 Latin GRAMMY Awards, he received his first two nominations and, as the Latin Recording Academy themselves put it, “delivered one of the most memorable performances to date” alongside two other legendary artists in the Latin world: Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan.
“I was just thinking about the first time I walked on to that stage, holding hands with Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan—and oh my god, it’s been 20 years,” Martin told Entertainment Weekly remembering back to the moment. “It’s been a whirlwind of emotions ever since, but it’s been beautiful. I’m really looking forward to [hosting].”
In 2001, Martin, who earlier this year opened the 61st GRAMMY Awards with a vibrant performance along with J Balvin, Arturo Sandoval, Camila Cabello and Young Thug, took home his first Latin GRAMMY win, for Best Short Form Music Video for the Spanish-language version of “She Bangs.” In 2006, his ongoing philanthropic endeavors in his native Puerto Rico and elsewhere earned him the high honor of the Latin Recording Academy’s Person of the Year.