Dominican music legend Johnny Ventura was honored by the Latin Recording Academy in New York for his “Excellence in Music” yesterday. Ventura thanked his friend Sergio Jimenez, who got him into singing, and also thanked his family for his support. Ventura is the second Dominican musician to receive the honor, the first being Johnny Pacheco. He said he was very happy about it. The event was held at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan. Ventura will be in New York today celebrating the Latin Grammys, where five other Dominicans are hoping to win awards in their categories.