Latin Grammys 2012: Old favorites win, some new names crash party

What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, and what happens at the Latin Grammy Awards usually happens again at the Latin Grammy Awards within the next year or two.

Now in its 13th year, the Latin Grammys ceremony, like many awards shows, tends to have its perennial favorites. The Oscars have Meryl Streep, and on Thursday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas the Latin Recording Academy bestowed trophies on two of the hemisphere’s certified musical idols and perpetual awards contenders.

Juanes, the Colombian rock superstar, deservedly won album of the year for his bestselling acoustic release “MTV Unplugged.” He also took the long form music video citation for the visual version of “MTV Unplugged,” giving him a career total of 19 Latin Grammys, more than any artist except the Puerto Rican sibling reggaeton-hip-hop duo Calle 13.

PHOTOS: Latin Grammys 2012 | Arrivals

Meanwhile, Juan Luis Guerra, the Dominican salsa-tropical-pop singer-songwriter, who helmed Juanes’ hit record, was named producer of the year, a recognition he richly merited.

But this year the Latin Grammys also made room for a pair of relative newcomers, the Mexican brother-sister pop duo Jesse y Joy, who pulled off a mild surprise by winning both record of the year and song of the year for their melancholy down-tempo lover’s lament “¡Corre!” (Run!).

Certifying their swift rise from upstarts to establishment pros, Jesse y Joy, who were voted best new artist in 2007, this year also won for contemporary pop vocal album for “¿Con Quién Se Queda El Perro?” (Who Gets the Dog?). They also won short form music video for “Me Voy.”

In contrast to last year, when Calle 13 carted off practically every award save the Nobel Peace Prize, this year’s haul was much more equitably distributed. Read more about it here.

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