A Latin Grammy was bestowed to Dominican merengue artist Johnny Ventura on Wednesday evening, as reported in El Caribe this morning. Ventura, who is also a former mayor of Santo Domingo, won his honors in the Best Merengue Album category that forms part of the Tropical field of recognition. El Caribe reports that Ventura was not able to attend the Los Angeles ceremony for reasons related to his health.
His winning album, titled “Sin Desperdicio,” was in the running against Puerto Rican artists Limi-T 21, Giselle and Grupo Mania, and fellow Dominican Alex Bueno, whose album “20 Anos Despues” was also nominated.
Other Dominicans to earn Latin Grammy nominations this year were Frank Reyes, Andy Andy and Micky Taveras, all three in the Best Contemporary Tropical Album category, which was ultimately won by Cuban artist Albita. The evening’s biggest winner, however, was Spanish sensation Alejandro Sanz, who was honored five times in various categories, but was not on hand to accept his awards.