Related Articles
When the Latin Grammys announced its nominees last week, the corridos tumbados of Rancho Humilde’s top acts were notably missing from its list. Not a single project from the likes of Fuerza Régida, Natanael Cano, or Junior H made the cut.
On Monday, Jimmy Humilde — the head of Rancho Humilde and an early champion for the urban-leaning música Mexicana subgenre — lashed out against the Latin Recording Academy for snubbing his label’s acts, describing the leaders of the Academy as out of touch with the culture and music.
“What do I think about it? I think they’re full of shit. That’s what I think,” Humilde told Brown Bag Podcast. “I think whoever is involved and helping it, and all the Academy leaders, I think they’re all full of shit.”
“And plus those are all older people,” he continued. “Those are all people over 50s and 60s. They have no idea what’s going on. And plus remember, we’re Mexican. They ain’t never gave us love.”
A representative for the Latin Recording Academy declined to comment toRolling Stoneon Humilde’s statement, but said there are “a limited number of slots for nominees.”
“Our voting membership of professional music creators come from all different genres and disciplines, and their experiences are so varied, it’s never easy to tell who will be nominated,” the rep told Rolling Stone in response to criticism about the lack of musica Mexicana nods. “Every year there is incredible Latin music released, and this year was no different… Unfortunately there will always be someone who feels deserving that does not get nominated.”
Despite the corrido genre’s massive year with the likes of Peso Pluma climbing charts, only Eslabón Armado and Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” and Grupo Frontera’s song with Bad Bunny “Un x100to” earned nods in the main Song of the Year category.
Numerous projects for Rancho Humilde artists were eligible for awards this year, including Fuerza Régida’s double album Pa Que Hablen and Sigan Hablando, which featured cumbia “Bebé Dame” with Grupo Frontera and “Ch y la Pizza” with Natanael Cano. Junior H also dropped LP Contingente within the eligibility period.
“But we don’t live off of Grammys. We don’t live off awards,” Humilde said in his Brown Bag interview. “Remember that.”
When nominations were announced, Rancho Humilde’s publicist Monica Escobar similarly noted the lack of “urban Mexican” acts nominated for awards, noting the cultural impact the music has had on the U.S. and on the music industry in general.
“These artists are filling stadiums, performing at Coachella,” Escobar wrote in an Instagram Story. “To see that there’s no presence at this important and polarizing awards show makes me think that we need to educate the Academy.”
The Latin Grammys have long been criticized for leaving out massive genres from its nominations list, including being accused of whitewashing the show. In 2019, acts such as Daddy Yankee and J Balvin protested the awards show for snubbing urbano acts, sharing posts with the slogan “Without reggaetón, there are no Latin Grammys.”
Though not signed to Rancho Humilde, Peso Pluma’s song with Rancho Humilde’s Cano, “PRC,” was also award-eligible. Pluma, notably, didn’t receive a single nomination either. Eslabón Aramdo’s “Ella Baila Sola” is up for two awards for songwriting, though not Pluma’s work.
LA Times‘ De Los columnist Suzy Exposito described each year’s Latin Grammy ceremony as “more polarizing than the last,” noting the snubs for the Rancho Humilde artists who “helped propel this influential new wave in Mexican music,” along with the awards show’s move from the U.S. to Sevilla, Spain this year.
