Two days before the twenty-fourth ceremony of the Latin Grammy at the Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions in Seville, the Latin Recording Academy has held three press conferences: one with Laura Pausini -who will be honored this November 15 with the Person of the Year award-, another with the gala presenters (Sebastián Yatra, Danna Paola, Roselyn Sánchez and Paz Vega) and one with the American of Mexican origin Edgar Barrerathe highest nominee of this edition, with 13 nominations, in such outstanding categories as Producer of the year and Composer of the year.
“I’m nervous, because had never given a press conference. I am always producing for other artists and they are the ones who give these conferences, not me. But I am delighted to be able to address you on an occasion such as the one on which we are summoned. It is an honor to be nominated, again, for the Latin Grammy… And this makes this round a special moment… And new! “He commented, visibly, trembling.
“I composed my first complete song when I was 15 years old.. It was for a rock band that I had with some friends, my cousin and my brother. But now I don’t like to listen to it. “It makes me a little embarrassed,” he mentioned, laughing. However, now he couldn’t be more proud of everything he has accomplished. “I see myself as a person who helps many artists develop their careers. I am not the protagonist. I’m not used to having the ego of singers, because I don’t perform in big venues. “I don’t believe anything, but I know that I have contributed,” he said.
According to Barrera, the greatest contribution of his music has been open the doors to emerging talents and position genres that were forgotten. Like the mariachi. “There was a time when the Latin Grammys thought about eliminating the Mariachi category, because they had no one to nominate. And now the category is oversaturated, because some composers have decided to bring back the tradition. This is no longer the music that parents listen to or grandparents, it is the music that we can all listen to,” he explained.
“I started with this, because I felt that urban music lacked a human touch. That there was a lack of percussions, accordions… For example, I was sad to go into music stores and not see children playing with the instruments. When I was little, I spent hours trying pianos, dreaming of buying a guitar… And when I realized this scenario, I thought it was time to bring all that back. That’s why I composed songs like La bachataby Manuel Turizo, and The bossby Shakira…And now we once again have little kids who aspire to be musicians again,” he said.