The Latin Grammys made history last year when its awards ceremony, typically hosted in the United States, moved overseas to Seville, Spain. During the big event, the Latin Recording Academy President Manuel Abud took Rolling Stone behind the scenes and showed us how the organization pulled off a “magical celebration.”

In a new video, we see Abud walking through different elements of the awards show, from its red carpet to its magnificent stage. Abud stops by the outside rotunda of Seville’s Conference and Exhibition Centre (FIBES), where the awards show created “the Sevilla experience” to immerse the audience in the city.

“From the moment you land in the host city, it should feel Latin Grammys,” he says. “We wanted to make Sevilla part of the story and that it was a character in this story we were telling. And it has happened.”

Abud then offers a look into the Latin Grammy’s Person of the Year ceremony, which takes place before the awards show each year. He explained how an “open gallery” was completely transformed for a massive event attended by 2,500 people, including numerous artists, to celebrate Laura Pausini, the 2023 Person of the Year.

“I’m proud to be Italian, but I grew up traveling a lot to Spain and Latin America. Latinos are not part of me, I am part of them,” Pausini says about being honored with the award. “They taught me how to respect any kind of culture and ideas and stay by my side every day.”

Abud explains that the Latin Recording Academy focuses on honoring and being “the vehicle to support” artists, and how the “bar” measuring the success of Latin music will keep getting higher.

The video also features an interview with producer and songwriter Edgar Barrera, who says he appreciates that the Latin Grammys honor songwriters and musicians working behind the scenes: “It’s never been about myself,” he says. “It’s about the artists and the songs.”

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“We’re living the future of Latin music right now,” he adds. “The future is already here.”

Barrera was one of the artists who took home the most awards the night of the Latin Grammys, alongside Shakira, Natalia Lafourcade, Bizarrap, and Santiago Alvarado, with three each. Lafourcade won the Record of the Year award for “De Todas Las Flores,” while Karol G earned the Album of the Year trophy for Mañana Será Bonito.