Rosalía on Thursday took home one of the top awards at the 2022 Latin Grammys when her LP Motomami won album of the year, but not everyone is celebrating her win.
The Spanish singer-songwriter, who collected four trophies from eight nominations on the night, was widely praised on social media for her big night. However, there were some negative comments from Bad Bunny fans who felt the Puerto Rican superstar deserved the top award for his album Un Verano Sin Ti.
Another argument that began spreading on Twitter is that Rosalía should not have been qualified for competing at the Latin Grammys in the first place since she is from Spain. As that debate goes, she is Hispanic rather than Latina/Latinx.
"I'm not saying Rosalia isn't talented cuz she is she's a musical genius BUT how in the world did she get album of the year at the Latin Grammys," read one tweet that was typical of the argument. "She's not even Latina, she's Spanish!"
The debate over Rosalía "not being Latina" has followed the singer for years, and the question of who is eligible for Latin Grammys has also been asked.
But with Rosalía being honored with album of the year in a field that included some of the top Latin American artists in music today, the outcry on social media was especially pronounced Friday.
As she's proudly discussed, Rosalía is from Sant Esteve Sesrovires, a small town on the outskirts of Barcelona in the Catalonia region of Spain. As a native Spanish speaker, her music is often classified as "Latin," though many people argue only people from Latin American countries should be considered Latino/Latinx.
Latinx describes someone who is from or has ancestry from Latin American countries like Mexico or Colombia. Brazilians are also categorized as Latinx, even though Brazil's national language is Portuguese.
The controversy of Rosalía being classified as a Latin music artist first blew up when her career took off after hits like 2018's "Malamente," which incorporated flamenco and modern pop music. In the summer of 2019, Vogue México placed Rosalía on its cover with the headline "20 Artistas Latinos," and the backlash was immediate.
Months before that story, though, Rosalía participated in Billboard's Growing Up Latino interview video series in early 2019. She pointedly referenced being from Spain multiple times during the talk, but she also noted that "I feel Latina" when visiting countries like Mexico and Panama.
"Today, all cultures are connected, and it's something beautiful and worthy of celebration. Flamenco and my country always have been connected with Latin America," Rosalía told Billboard.
An article in Refinery29 last year discussed Latinidad in relation to Rosalía, and the article touched on important points about colonization in Latin American countries by the Spanish Empire.
"It's worth asking: What do we gain by insisting Rosalía is not Latinx?" writer Michelle Santiago Cortés said in Refinery29. "The Latinx 'community' is filled with colonizers and their descendants, and excluding her from Latinidad doesn't create an oppressor-free community."
Rosalía herself has discussed being categorized as Latina.
"If Latin music is music made in Spanish, then my music is part of Latin music. But I do know that if I say I'm a Latina artist, that's not correct, is it?" she told Fader in 2019.
Defenders of Rosalía have pointed out that Christina Aguilera has been nominated for multiple Latin Grammys despite being born in New York City. (Aguilera's father is from Ecuador.) Enrique Iglesias, another native of Spain, has also won multiple Latin Grammys.
The question then falls to the criteria used by the Latin Recording Academy to decide who it nominates. Newsweek reached out to the Latin Recording Academy for clarification on its eligibility rules but did not hear back as of press time.
However, the website for the Latin Grammys does list some rules for the song of the year category.
"To be entered in this category, the song must contain at least 51% of lyrics in Spanish or Portuguese (or accepted languages or dialects) and must be a new song," the Latin Recording Academy states online.
Some Twitter users brought up this distinction.
"People still don't realize that the Latin Grammys is about music sung in a LATIN language and not about being Latino.. it's not Rosalía fault she eats the girls and boys up effortlessly," said one person.
People still don't realize that the Latin Grammys is about music sung in a LATIN language and not about being Latino.. it's not Rosalía fault she eats the girls and boys up effortlessly. https://t.co/pRjp5pfs51
— Cyber (@CyberInLuv) November 18, 2022
Newsweek reached out to Rosalía for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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