Joan Manuel Serrat Named Latin Recording Academy's 2014 Person of the Year

Iconic singer songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat has been named the 2014 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year. Chosen for his artistic and social accomplishments, as well as his contributions to Latin culture, Serrat will be honored with a star-studded tribute concert on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. The celebration will feature songs from Serrat's catalog performed by an impressive array of notable artists and friends. A portion of the net proceeds from the gala will benefit the Latin GRAMMY Cultural FoundationTM - which provides scholarships, fellowships, grants, and educational programs. The prestigious event will precede the 15th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards, which will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be broadcast live on the Univision Network on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. For breaking news and exclusive content, join The Latin Academy's social networks as a follower on Twitter and as a fan on Facebook.

"As a profound and brilliant songwriter, a true poet in Spanish and Catalan and a sensational performer, Joan Manuel Serrat's lyrical style and magnificent talent make him a treasured and timeless musical figure," said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., President/CEO of The Latin Recording Academy. "Through his talent, artistry, passion, and dedication to his craft, his work has spoken to music fans all over. It is a privilege to recognize a man with such an illustrious and socially conscious career, and we look forward to celebrating his creativity and legacy."

Serrat's impressive career resonates not only with fans, but also with fellow artists in the music community.

"Joan Manuel Serrat took Miguel Hernández's beautiful little poem 'Llego Con Tres Heridas (I Come With Three Wounds)' and turned it into an even more beautiful song, haunting in its simplicity," said GRAMMY-nominated singer songwriter Joan Baez. "I fell in love with the song and recorded it in 1974. I still sing it today."

"Joan Manuel has become a true symbol for freedom, coherence, quality, and perfect use of our language, and a reference that we all have in reaching our goals," said Latin GRAMMY and GRAMMY winner Shakira, a previous Person of the Year honoree.

A native of Barcelona, Spain, Serrat began playing music as a teenager and quickly developed a desire to write and perform. In 1965, while singing on Spanish radio Program "Radioscope" Serrat secured his first record deal. Within two years he went on to release two EPs, a full-length debut album, and gave his first live stage performance at the Palau de la Música Catalana - a concert that established him as one of the pioneers of the Nova Cançó movement in Spain's Catalonian region. As part of a generation of politically outspoken artists, Serrat is known for his strong political stances. He once refused to follow dictator Francisco Franco's orders to perform a song in Spanish, instead of his native Catalan, at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968.

This led to Serrat being banned from appearing in Spanish media for five years. In the mid '70s, after speaking out against the Franco dictatorship, Serrat went into self-imposed exile in Mexico and did not return to his homeland until after Franco's death in 1975.

In 1969 Serrat released Dedicado A Antonio Machado, Poeta in honor of the Spanish poet. The album garnered both critical acclaim and massive appeal throughout Spain and Latin America. His 1971 single "Mediterráneo" established him as a widely popular artist in Spanish-speaking countries around the world.

For the past two decades, Serrat has had a prolific career writing, recording and touring. In 2006 he released Mô, his first album recorded completely in Catalan in 17 years. In 2008 he collaborated with fellow Spanish singer songwriter Joaquín Sabina to release Dos Pájaros De Un Tiro; followed by 2012's La Orquesta Del Titanic. The 2013 documentary, El Símbolo Y El Cuate, captured Serrat and Sabina's acclaimed tour throughout Spain and Latin America.

As the 2014 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year, Serrat joins a distinguished list of past recipients that includes Miguel Bosé, Plácido Domingo, Gloria Estefan, Gilberto Gil, Juan Luis Guerra, Carlos Santana, Shakira, and Caetano Veloso, among others.

For information on purchasing tickets or tables to this year's Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year gala for Joan Manuel Serrat, please contact The Latin Recording Academy ticketing office at 310.314.8281 or ticketing@grammy.com.

The Latin Recording Academy is an international, membership-based organization comprised of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking recording artists, musicians, songwriters, producers and other creative and technical recording professionals. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for Latin music and its makers. In addition to producing the Latin GRAMMY Awards to honor excellence in the recorded arts and sciences, The Latin Recording Academy provides educational and outreach programs for the Latin music community. For more information about The Latin Recording Academy, please visit http://www.latingrammy.com/en. For breaking news and exclusive content, join the organization's social networks as a Twitter follower at https://twitter.com/latingrammys, and a Facebook fan at www.facebook.com/latingrammys.

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation was established by The Latin Recording Academy to promote international awareness and appreciation of the significant contributions of Latin music and its makers to the world's culture, and to protect its rich musical legacy and heritage. The Foundation's primary charitable focus is to provide scholarships to students of Latin music with financial needs, as well as grants to scholars and organizations worldwide for research and preservation of diverse Latin music genres. For additional information, please visit us at Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation, or join us on Twitter and Facebook.

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