Omara Portuondo, Leoni Torres, Dayhan Díaz, Alex Cuba, Yeisy Rojas, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Yainer Horta and Tania León Are Among the Candidates
14ymedio, Havana, September 16, 2026 / Cuban music will have eight representatives among the nominees for the 27th Latin Grammy Awards, announced this Wednesday by the Latin Recording Academy. Omara Portuondo, Leoni Torres, Dayhan Díaz, Alex Cuba, Yeisy Rojas, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Yainer Horta and Tania León will compete in categories ranging from tropical music to jazz, instrumental and classical.
The largest Cuban concentration is in Best Traditional Tropical Album, where three of the five candidates are from the island. Omara Portuondo is aiming for the award with Eternamente Omara, Leoni Torres is competing with Cualquiera se enamora, and trumpeter Dayhan Díaz is in the running with Algo nuevo de ayer.
For Torres this will be his third Latin Grammy nomination and, once again, in the same category. The singer had previously been nominated for Alma Cubana and Canten, without winning the gramophone so far. His new album, Cualquiera se enamora, once again places him in one of the categories where Cuban presence has historically been strongest.
Dayhan Díaz arrives with an eight-track album released in May that revisits the tradition of popular Cuban music from a contemporary perspective.
The album dedicated to Benny Moré and Nat King Cole also comes with an important endorsement: it already won the US Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in February
Gonzalo Rubalcaba is the Cuban with the most presence on the list, with two nominations. The Havana-born pianist appears in Best Instrumental Album for A Tribute to Benny Moré and Nat King Cole, alongside Yainer Horta and Joey Calveiro, and also in Best Latin Jazz/Jazz Album for Gonzalo Plays Pino. Horta, a saxophonist and arranger born in Cuba, thus adds his own nomination thanks to the first of those works.
The album dedicated to Benny Moré and Nat King Cole also comes with an important endorsement: it already won the US Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album in February, before now entering the race for the Latin Grammy.
Another well-known name from the diaspora, Alex Cuba, born Alexis Puentes in Artemisa and based in Canada for years, is nominated for Best Contemporary Tropical Album for Índole.
In Best Tropical Song, Yeisy Rojas appears as songwriter of Latino, performed together with Manolito Simonet and Ricardo Amaray. In this latter case, the nomination formally corresponds to Rojas as the song’s author.
Outside Cuba, Edgar Barrera once again leads the overall tally with ten nominations
Composer and conductor Tania León completes the Cuban representation. Born in Havana and winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Music for Stride, she is among the candidates for Best Classical Composition for Raíces (Origins) – Live.
Outside Cuba, Edgar Barrera once again leads the overall tally with ten nominations. He is followed, with seven each, by Karol G, Rosalía, Jorge Drexler and the Argentine duo CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso. Silvana Estrada and Mon Laferte each received six nominations, confirming the strong weight of Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Uruguay and Argentina in the main categories.
Competing for Record of the Year are, among others, Ha Ha, by CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso; ¿Cómo se ama?, by Drexler; Dime, by Silvana Estrada; Coleccionando heridas, by Karol G with Marco Antonio Solís; Femme Fatale, by Mon Laferte; Desde que te tengo, by Carín León; Niño, by Milo J; and La perla, by Rosalía with Yahritza y Su Esencia. Rounding out the category are O Amor Nos Encontrou, by Loulu Gilberto, and Alma, by Elena Rose.
The Academy chose Daddy Yankee as 2026 Person of the Year, and he will be honored on 11 November, on the eve of the gala
Rosalía is also once again competing for Album of the Year with LUX (Complete Works), while Karol G is in the running with Tropicoqueta. Also appearing are Anitta with EQUILIBRIVM, CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso, Jorge Drexler, Silvana Estrada, Mon Laferte, Carín León, Milo J and Rawayana. No Cuban appears this year in the four general categories of Album, Record, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.
The ceremony will be held on 12 November at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be broadcast live by Univision. The Academy brings together some 7,000 voting members from 62 countries, and this edition also comes with changes to eligibility rules and to some categories.
One of the most recognizable names in urban music, Daddy Yankee, will this time have a different role from that of the competitors. The Academy chose him as 2026 Person of the Year, and he will be honored on 11 November, on the eve of the gala. He also becomes the first artist from Latin urban music to receive that distinction.
Translated by GH.
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