Although the COVID-19 pandemic dictated a different format to other years, the 21st Latin Grammy Awards were held in late November 2020. For the safety of both artists and the production team, the remote live show was broadcast by Univision from the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. Breakout performances were streamed from other cities throughout Latin America.
Despite the lack of a live audience, this year’s performances were no less glamorous than usual. The stellar line up included the likes of Bad Bunny, Camilo, Kany García, J Balvin, Jesse & Joy, Natalia Lafourcade, Ricky Martin, Fito Páez and Carlos Vives all competing for Album Of The Year.
The show’s lighting designer and director, Tom Kenny, operating from the Miami base, chose to enhance the appearance of the artists with Robert Juliat Dalis 860 LED fixtures. Nine of the eight-colour LED battens were arranged at ground level in a horseshoe configuration bordering the front of the performing area, from where they were used as footlights and for low-level front lighting.
With ‘Music Makes Us Human’ as the evening’s theme, Kenny used the Dalis fixtures to bring a warmth and depth to the performers’ faces.
Ricky Martin’s set included a duet with Carla Morrison, with whom he performed Recuerdo. This was followed by his own solo performance of the award-nominated song, Tiburones.
“The Latin Grammys draws a massive TV and online presence so every artist is on top form and really looking for the high standards the production brings every year,” says Kenny. “Ricky Martin has always been passionate about his performance and puts a lot of energy and rehearsal into his songs. We introduced the Robert Juliats Dalis 860 to him on previous shows, so I had them ready for him at this year’s mega show in Miami on 19 November.
“The warmth, shape and colour temperature that these units produce not only softened and gave him a beautiful glow, but the ‘old-world-meets-new’ look of each fixture added to the theatrics of the song. He loved them so much he didn’t want to stray too far from their beautiful aura!”
The Robert Juliat Dalis 860 fixtures were supplied to the Latin Grammy Awards by PRG.
