Lin-Manuel Miranda Receives President's Merit Award at LATIN GRAMMYS

At last night's LATIN GRAMY AWARDS, Lin-Manuel Miranda received the President's Merit Award for his outstanding and numerous contributions to the Latin community. Giving his acceptance speech in both English and Spanish, the Tony winner dedicated the honor to Puerto Rico, and described himself as "the weird theater kid here with the half-gringo accent."

Miranda also thanked his wife, parents and all those who helped him in his effort to provide relief to the island of Puerto Rico, which was recently devastated by Hurricane Maria. While paying tribute to his Puerto Rican heritage, he also shared that he will continue to remind the U.S. government that the residents of its island territory "are human beings, too."

The President's Merit Award is an exceptional honor that has been presented to only a very exclusive and limited group of individuals. Upon announcing Miranda as this year's recipient, Gabriel Abaroa Jr., President/CEO of The Latin Recording Academy commented, "We are honored to present Mr. Lin-Manuel Miranda with the prestigious President's Merit Award at this year's 18th Annual LATIN GRAMMY AWARDS in recognition of his artistry, vision and the masterful ways he uses his craft to empower and highlight Latin-related issues in the United States. Lin-Manuel's urban and social poetry have provided strength and encouragement to every Latino motivated to get ahead. He has brought pride to our community by reminding us of the resilience and FORTITUDE we demonstrate on a daily basis."

Mr. Miranda recently unveiled the bilingual single "Almost Like Praying". In a little over a week the single jolted to #1 on the digital songs chart and debuted at #20 on Billboard's Hot 100 with over 111k downloads. All proceeds and streams of the charity single have gone towards The Hispanic Federation's UNIDOS Disaster Relief Fund in an effort to aid in Puerto Rico's recovery efforts.

Check out the official music video for "Almost Like Praying" by Artists for Puerto Rico below!

Source: Billboard

Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter-Keddy