The Latino Takeover of the Grammys

The 68th Annual Grammy Awards just happened this past weekend and it was a big win for the Latino community worldwide. In this edition of the award ceremony, several latino artists gained recognition for their incredible role in music and popular culture in 2025. Furthermore, several award winners decided to raise awareness to the mistreatment of the community in their speeches. 

One of the artists who gained special recognition is Lefty Gunplay, who, along with Kendrick Lamar, won the best rap song of the year award with their hit song TV Off. He became the  first Latino artist to win a grammy in this category. This is a historic feat, especially to the Latinx community, that surely will happily celebrate this award this week. After winning the award, the Grammy winner stated in his speech “to all the latino kids in the hood watching, anything is possible,” giving hope to a community going through so many struggles in America today. 

Another Latino artist to be celebrated is Bad Bunny, who won three different awards on February 1. He won  the categories of best global music performance, best música urbana album, and album of the year, becoming  one of the most celebrated artists in a single edition of the Grammys. Though he accomplished the incredible feat of winning 3 separate categories, perhaps his most talked about contribution to the ceremony was his heartfelt speech, where he expressed his discontent with the ICE operations in the US, stating, 

  “Before I say thank you to God […] I'm going to say: ICE out. We are not savage. We are not animals. We are not aliens. We’re humans and we are Americans […] The only thing more powerful than hate is love”. His strong words represent the resistance of the Latinx culture that is being persecuted in the US, bringing attention to the inhumane treatment of ICE to the people they apprehend. 

Although his speech was the most heartfelt one regarding the situation of the latino people in the US, he was not the only winner to speak out. Popular singers like Billie Eilish, Olivia Dean, and Jelly Roll all spoke out against ICE and its rhetoric. 

The winner of the song of the year category, Billie Eilish, said the popular phrase in defense of immigrants “No one is illegal on stolen land,” empowering the immigrants throughout the US. This form of protest is similar to that of Olivia Dean. 

The aforementioned winner of breakout artist of the year Olivia Dean said, “I'm up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant,” alluding to the great things immigrants and their families are able to do, mostly in the US. Her story serves as an example of how great of an impact immigrants can have on the country, especially culturally wise, once again strengthening and giving hope to the immigrant communities who have been persecuted in the US. 

The rhetoric used by ICE and their supporters was also criticized in the award ceremony by the winner of the best contemporary country album, Jelly Roll who stated “Jesus is not owned by one political party,” criticizing the religiously charged arguments in favor of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, showcasing how Jesus and Christianity is not exclusive for those in favor of ICE. 

Overall, the 68th edition of the Grammys this February first was a very important one for Latino culture not only in Latin America but also in the US. With the celebration of Latino artists and the protests in favor of the immigrants and latinx communities, the award ceremony was marked by the presence of this ethnic group, highlighting the resistance and fight against oppression faced by the culture.