2025 Latin GRAMMYs To Take Place Thursday, Nov. 13, In Las Vegas; Nominations To Be Announced Wednesday, Sept. 17 | GRAMMY.com (2025)

The Latin Recording Academy announced today that the 2025 Latin GRAMMYs, officially known as the 26th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards, will be held on Thursday, Nov. 13, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Additionally, the nominations for the 2025 Latin GRAMMYs will be announced Wednesday, Sept. 17, and streamed across the Latin Recording Academy's social channels. This marks the 15th time that the ceremony will take place in Las Vegas, bringing together music creators from across the globe for an unforgettable Latin GRAMMY Week that will set the stage for The Biggest Night in Latin Music.

The three-hour telecast will be produced by TelevisaUnivision, the leading Spanish-language media company in the world, airing across TelevisaUnivision's U.S. platforms beginning at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CT), preceded by a one-hour pre-show starting at 7 p.m. ET/PT (6 p.m. CT).

This year, the Latin Recording Academy will debut a new field and two new categories at the 2025 Latin GRAMMYs: Best Music For Visual Media, held within the new Visual Media field, and Best Roots Song, held within the previously established Traditional field.

Ahead of the 2025 Latin GRAMMYs, Latin GRAMMY Week will once again feature a full slate of special events throughout Las Vegas, including the Special Awards Ceremony, Leading Ladies of Entertainment, Latin GRAMMY In The Schools, Nominee Reception, Best New Artist Showcase, Person of the Year Gala, and Premiere Ceremony, with most events taking place in the days ahead of the telecast. More details on Latin GRAMMY Week 2025 will be announced in the coming months.

"We are proud to once again bring the passion and creativity of Latin music to Las Vegas," Latin Recording Academy CEO Manuel Abud said in a statement. "The city has welcomed the Latin GRAMMYs over the years, and we look forward to another great Latin GRAMMY Week celebrating Latin music and its creators."

"As the home of Latin music, we are excited to deliver unparalleled coverage of the 26th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards to our audience," Ignacio Meyer, President of Univision Networks Group at TelevisaUnivision, said in a statement. "This iconic night will showcase the extraordinary talent in Latin music, while shining a spotlight on the visionary artists, creators, and stories that are shaping culture in the U.S. and around the globe."

Additional key dates for this year's Awards Process in preparation for the 2025 Latin GRAMMYs include:

• Monday, July 28 — Friday, Aug. 8: First Round of Voting

• Wednesday, Sept. 17: Nominations Announcement

• Wednesday, Oct. 1 — Monday, Oct. 13: Final Round of Voting

• Thursday, Nov. 13: 2025 Latin GRAMMYs Show Date/Telecast

Learn more about the Latin GRAMMYs' current awards calendar.

For the latest news, visit the official Latin Recording Academy website and follow on Facebook, X and Instagram. Join the conversation using the official hashtag #LatinGRAMMY on all popular social media platforms.

Multiple songs on Cuco's new album Ridin' mention cars or driving.

In some cases, it's an extended metaphor, as on "My 45," featuring Jean Carter, where the singer/songwriter's girl is depicted as a "ride or die" through a series of vehicular references. Sometimes, it's in passing, as on "ICNBYH," which opens with the lines, "Go grab a coat and let's go out for a ride." But wheels play an outsized role on the album, and the 26 year-old's own 1989 Toyota Supra features on the album's cover.

Still, Cuco wouldn't quite call it a concept album — but he will cop to a recurring theme. "I'm really into the idea of every project I put out being cohesive and telling a story. But it is a lot of world building. Yeah, it has a lot to do with cars," he admits. If anything, Cuco would characterize his third full-length as a love letter to his native Los Angeles.

These new songs are inspired by driving around the city and the music he listens to on the road, especially Chicano soul, the smooth, mellow oldies by both Chicano and non-Chicano artists that have become eternally connected to Mexican American culture, especially Mexican American car culture and especially in L.A. The cars, music and place are so intertwined with each other, and with Cuco's experience growing up that he couldn't separate them even if he wanted to. Instead, he put it all together on Ridin'.

"I want this to be an essential album for people to think about when they're gonna go drive and cruise," he tells GRAMMY.com.

Appropriately, the heavily romantic album returns to his musical and thematic roots. Ridin' is characterized by a more acoustic sound made rich with brass and woodwinds, aided by top-notch instrumentalists such as the Roots' trumpet player Dave Guy and bassist Sal Samano of Thee Sacred Souls. The album was developed with the wisdom of GRAMMY-nominated guitarist and producer Thomas Brenneck, who is known for his work with the Dap-Kings, Amy Winehouse, and Mark Ronson.

The analog sound is the perfect mate for the album's wistful nostalgia, that seems born of introspection and a hard earned maturity. It reflects creative growth since the heavy modern psychedelia of 2022's Fantasy Gateway, even as he leans into the loverboy energy that characterized his early music, while centering his longstanding soul and psych influences.

Ridin' hits the streets on May 9. As an introduction to his new music, Cuco shares the inspirations that drove his third LP.

The following has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Southern California Cruising Culture

I have a big love for cars. I've been into cars since I was a kid, playing video games, watching the Fast & Furious movies, getting into the tuner culture. I love all kinds of cars. I love American cars, European cars. I love anything that has a cool story.

I like to cruise. So, obviously, cruising means I'm going to listen to music. Whenever I cruise, I drive with no destination. I just kind of get lost and L.A. has a lot of cool scenic drives. So, that's where the love letter to L.A. kind of stems from. I love my city. I love where I grew up, how I grew up, the people I grew up around, the things that the city keeps giving me.

I want this to be an essential album for people to think about when they're gonna go drive and cruise. It's good to have an album that sonically doesn't require a lot of thinking; something they can just hear and you know all the words of the songs. Maybe an album that does mean a lot to you, an album that feels like a journey. I just so happened to be making a soul record so it naturally fell into what cruising music is.

Chicano Soul

It was premeditated that I wanted to make a Chicano soul record. That was already set in stone for me. Since I can remember, that was one of my favorite genres to listen to growing up. I didn't really have a particular album that I really liked. It was more just music that was all over my playlist, like "Much Better Off" by Smokey Robinson. I love that song. It's a song that can always be on repeat.

Some music was intended with the purpose of being what it was, right? [In the '60s] when it was made, there wasn't cholo culture, the Chicano culture. It was more folks just making soul records, but obviously a lot of Chicano soul [artists] came up. The Royal Jesters is a good example of that, but then you think about Brenton Wood, who was such an essential part of the culture for so long. He was doing all these shows, even appearing at car meets and stuff like that. I have homies that have played alongside [him] and he was an influence to them.

Then, you have artists now making a movement, like Thee Sinseers from L.A. They're amazing people making amazing music. I've been a fan for a minute; I've always loved what they do. Los Yesterdays' Gabe Rowland, he played on this record.

I listen to a lot of soul music, but once it's time to get into the making of the music, I steer away from listening to anything that could be remotely a reference, so that I don't gravitate to doing something that sounds like what I was just listening to in the car.

There is one song on this album, though — on "Seems So," I thought about "Shoo-bop, shoo-bop, my baby," Barbara Lewis' "Hello Stranger." So, we have that in there as a kind of musical tag.

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Thomas Brenneck & The Team Studio Heavyweights

[Tom] produced the record. He's an insane instrumentalist. As a musician, he's just next level. It was crazy playing with someone like that. He helped me dial in a more natural sound. I'm always recording with a lot of synths, a lot of double, quadruple vocals, just layering everything. And we worked super minimal. It was cool just to be able to jam with him.

Gabe Rowland brought a sound to a few of the drum tracks. Watching him jam, and just understanding what the soul pocket with drumming is, was super inspiring to watch.

For "Troublemaker" and "I Could Never Break Your Heart," [drummer] Alex Garcia and [bassist] Sal [Samano], watching them jam, it was a cool reminder of what it looks like when somebody's just been playing for so long with somebody else. You know what's going on. You know what your homie is about to do next and it's cool watching it, because me and my band mates, for sure have that, but it's really dope seeing the touch they had.

Watch: Cuco's Favorite Synthesizer Is Also His Music Teacher And Songwriting Muse | It Goes To 11

His Own Musical Roots

I think [Ridin'] is digging into the roots of what my sound is. Old music inspired me a lot. It doesn't have to be oldies, but anything remotely old. Romanticas. Old psych music. I just want people to know that there's a place where that comes from, my sound.

All the synths — I think about the '80s. This is where my music comes from. I've touched a lot on the psych world, but there's a whole romantic vibe. To get into what makes the romance of my music really romantic, that's a lot of old music, not just oldies, but also a lot of Spanish oldies, like Los Tres Ases, Juan Gabriel, José José.

Watch:

Loved Ones He's Lost

I was going up and down in life. Just trial and error with my own love life, my own headspace, my sobriety and facing everything that has to do with my depression and my anxiety, because I have a pretty bad case of both, dealing with loss over the last couple years of a lot of family members.

Whether it's heartbreak or losing somebody in death, you get that kick of nostalgia and start remembering times that you were with those people. And the way I've always coped with that nostalgic sadness is listening to music and going outside. If it's not driving, it's being active, going skating or running or walking or whatever it is.

That was a huge part of why I wanted to make this record, and that's why "My Old Friend" is on there too. I wanted to make a song that's an ode to the people that are still alive. I wish I could have made that song for all my friends and family who passed away.

For Natalia Lafourcade, the songwriting process can easily become a mystical experience — almost like sorcery.

"Intuition is a very powerful tool," the Mexican singer/songwriter says via Zoom from her home in Veracruz. "We all have the capacity to connect with creative forces that appear seemingly out of nowhere. You just need to open up your heart, and try not to get scared — because the experience can be quite intense."

Lafourcade’s gift for expressing her innermost feelings with disarming honesty and vulnerability is one of the main reasons why she is hailed as one of the most transcendent artists in contemporary Latin music. If the songs on 2022’s GRAMMY and Latin GRAMMY-winning De Todas las Flores signaled a new chapter in her career, Lafourcade's new album — the emotional epic Cancionera — reaffirms an aesthetic of warm, acoustic songs that combine the spirit of traditional boleros with jazz and Latin folk.

Like its predecessor, the new session was recorded live on analog tape by virtuoso producer Adán Jodorowsky. For Cancionera, she was backed by an ensemble of 18 musicians.

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Lafourcade burst into the scene in 2002 with a whimsical blend of alternative pop-rock and bossa nova. Since then, she has recorded heartfelt tributes to the golden era of the Latin American songbook, while perfecting her craft as a composer of staggering sophistication.

To celebrate the release of Cancionera and its subsequent tour (U.S. dates begin May 29), GRAMMY.com asked Lafourcade to select 10 key songs from her repertoire. Below, Lafourcade traces her remarkable journey from precocious teen to her current creative apex.

"En El 2000" ('Natalia Lafourcade,' 2002)

This was the first track where people actually recognized me as a singer/songwriter. They hummed along, partied to it, made it theirs. It was my first chance to observe exactly what happens when a song stops being yours.

It also reminds me of a time when everything was moving forward. I went from being a teenage student to someone that people would recognize in the streets. I reacted in a naive way: Wait, why is this happening to me, and what do I get in exchange for it? The music industry — what is that? I didn’t know how you were supposed to talk, or navigate the business. I was clueless. But it was also an important time; the entry point to a personal path that would soon undergo many transformations.

"Hasta la Raíz" ('Hasta la Raíz,' 2015)

I love performing it, even today. It started as a song that I wrote with Leonel García, but then it transcended us. Both the title track and the album allowed me to understand the level of connection and complicity that a song can claim in the lives of people around the world.

It was an album that demanded a total connection with my own self — and every time I sing it, I’m reminded of that fact. As life moves on, and I change with it, so does my way of interpreting it. At its core, it reminds me why I do what I do. It was a before and after. I never imagined that a song of mine would become so huge. Never, not in a million of years. Having that experience is such an amazing gift.

"Nunca Es Suficiente" ('Hasta la Raíz,' 2015)

"Soledad y el Mar" ('Musas, Vol. 1,' 2017)

I feel a lot of affection for this one. It’s the first song that I wrote together with [Mexican singer] El David Aguilar, someone who has become a trusted and valuable collaborator. It’s about my relationship with silence and loneliness – the way in which I learned to love, but also to say goodbye.

This was in the past, before I found my husband. We’ve been together for many years, and I hope that our relationship will last long. Loneliness is important, because when you allow yourself to accept solitude, you realize that you’re not alone at all; you have your inner world, and the universe around you, with everything that it longs to tell you. In effect, solitude reflects the essence of that deep connection.

"Derecho de Nacimiento" ('Musas, Vol. 2,' 2018)

Tragically, the abuse of human rights is something that we witness on an everyday basis. More often than not, I feel helpless about contributing a remedy to the situation, and "Derecho de Nacimiento" hit me like a stream of cold water. I realized how powerful words can be, especially when they are joined by music and turn into a song. Then it’s not only the words of an individual, but the collective words – that has a much bigger impact.

As a songstress, I’m connected to my passion and devotion to music. But there is also the option of providing some type of service, and if I can be of use to the world, surely it’s going to be in the guise of a song.

"Pajarito Colibrí" ('De Todas las Flores,' 2022)

"María la Curandera" ('De Todas las Flores,' 2022)

It has this Pachamama energy – Mother Earth with her herbs and mud; her birds, fires and storms. We were recording, and I told Adán that I felt a deep connection with all those energies. "Don’t talk to me," I said. "I feel like Mother Nature with her super powers. I could raise a whole ocean right now." That’s what happens sometimes during the recording process. [Laughs.]

People have truly embraced this song. It reminds me of the grandmothers of the world that many of us have known. Women of infinite wisdom who can frighten us, because they possess medicinal powers. I’ve come to understand that we all have the ability to connect with that same kind of energy.

"El Lugar Correcto" ('De Todas las Flores,' 2022)

"Cancionera" ('Cancionera,' 2025)

This song arrived in my life at the precise moment when I was about to turn 40. I threw a party for an unlimited number of guests – I rented a place and invited every single person who was instrumental in my path. I wanted to express my gratitude and sum up these 40 years. It’s the kind of age where you take a deep breath and wonder: What should I do during the next 40, if I get to live that long? How do I thank these four decades for everything that transpired in them?

That same week, I wrote "Cancionera." It’s like my consciousness telling me not to feel mortified about life. Just follow your natural path, allow yourself to adopt a playful attitude towards life. I’m a cancionera – a songstress – but I’m also more than that. I’m a woman, and a human being. I should give myself permission to play the part of Natalia Lafourcade in many different ways.

"Cómo Quisiera Quererte" ('Cancionera,' 2025)

After a pandemic and two years of a partial retreat from music, GRAMMY-nominated singer J Balvin returned to U.S. stages on March 20. The opening night of his Back to the Rayo tour in Atlanta proved why the Medellín, Colombia native is one of the global icons of Latin music.

The two-hour concert centered on Balvin's story through four acts: a journey through time across his career, inspired by the movie Back to the Future. The superstar performed his greatest hits alongside a tribute to the icons of salsa and reggaeton, alongside a new generation who continue to carry Colombia’s name and music to the world.

The 27-date Back to the Rayo tour will conclude on May 17 in Portland, Oregon. The star recently announced his homecoming show, Made in Medellín – Ciudad Primavera, scheduled for Nov. 29, marking his first hometown performance since 2019.

His tour and latest album, Rayo (released in August 2024), center on the nostalgic figure of his first car. That Volkswagen Golf was the vehicle in which Balvin dreamed of sharing his music with the entire world two decades ago.

"I paved the way for reggaeton in Medellín," Balvin tells GRAMMY.com. "I would drive to different schools, clubs, and universities in that car. I would go out and sell the CDs I had in the car. I also sold clothes that I kept in the trunk. [Rayo is] a story of a boy from Medellín fighting for his dream. And symbolically, the car represents that moment."

Rayo is more than a return to Balvin's roots; the LP was the five-time Latin GRAMMY winner's first since 2021. Rayo arrived after two years of reflection and silence following a series of viral controversies, including a diss track from Residente against the Colombian star.

In Rayo, Balvin’s seventh LP, the singer shows maturity in his lyrics. Musically, the production draws on nostalgia and infuses it with a dynamic blend of his globally known reggaeton with genres such as dembow, electronic music, and even música Mexicana, resulting in one of his repertoire's most vibrant and diverse productions. Rayo was nominated for Best Música Urbana Album at the 2025 GRAMMYs.

Balvin spoke with GRAMMY.com about the inspiration behind Rayo, his brief hiatus from Latin music, and his upcoming projects.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Rayo, represents a reconnection with your inner child. How did that nostalgic concept shape your sonic choices, and were there particular sounds you selected to evoke the moment when your father gifted you your first car?

I was looking for a way to enjoy music as I did as a child. I had no expectations about numbers or anything like that, but [that] my mom, my girlfriend at the time, or my friends would like my songs. This album is very honest because I made it for myself. People connect because you stay true to what you do. That's what makes you different.

Often, as artists, we think about what people want to hear, but possibly, what they want to hear is what you want to choose as an artist. That's what happened with this album; I was indulging myself. I felt at peace when I listened to the album, enjoyed it and thought I had created my best version.

The album features a rich fusion of genres: reggaeton, dembow, and even Mexican music with Carín León. How did you achieve that cohesion with all the diverse rhythms in the album?

Collaborations have to be organic. There must be a lot of respect and admiration from both sides. I had people from the new generation [of reggaeton artists] like SAIKO or Zion, who is one of the OGs, then Carín León, who is a new star of Mexican [music], and Luar [La L], who is one of the new Colombian artists who is making waves. I made the album without thinking about the industry.

Do you feel free from the industry's influence while creating this album?

Yes, but now I feel even more liberated.

Why?

I hadn't released an album in three years, and I was still chasing numbers and sales records. At one point in my life, I got used to everything being about being number one.

I took a two-year break, a decision that also had its consequences. But in the end, I've continually reinvented myself, and this definitely won't be the exception. We're showing up with a new season and returning with a tour in the United States that we're enjoying a lot, but there's still pressure because you want to give the audience your best.

How do you adapt your sound to create space for such different voices while not losing that signature that makes you authentic?

What we do is make songs for ourselves. But we think about who might sound good on a song, so we're not working with the bias that it has to sound like a particular artist. Instead, we record, have a good time, and then see who would sound good on each track.

In Carín León's case, he sent me ideas; among them, he sent me the [song] we did, and I loved it. I listened to it and said,Wow, I see myself [collaborating on this track]. With Carín, since it's a different field, I must be more careful and respectful. I can't just apply my flavor to genres I don't master. But if I let myself be guided and know how to choose the moment and where to participate, we'll create a winning track.

The track "Doblexxo," featuring Feid, captivated global audiences and became your 37th No. 1. You are longtime collaborators and have a close relationship. Why do you think your fans enjoyed this collaboration so much?

We hadn't done a song together in about three years. Ferxxo [Feid] is at his best moment. We both come from Medellín. I've seen his process as a composer up to today. [This song is] a celebration of our movement from Colombia, his discipline, and his perseverance.

Did you sense that with Rayo, you were closing or beginning a chapter of your life?

Good question. I think I was closing one, leaving the child behind. I'll never leave it behind entirely because I'm a child forever, but leaving that nostalgia and returning to a much more mature and stronger J Balvin without losing the child's soul. There was a musical reinvention that began with "RIO," the song we released recently, and from there on, it's like a new season, a new movement, more agile, faster, stronger.

You use the lightning bolt [rayo, in Spanish] as a symbol to identify your brand. Why?

Because we are energy, all thoughts are energy. We need energy to move. You have to put energy into life. Food gives us energy. Breathing gives us energy. Water gives us energy. Dreams are energy. A person vibrates with us and provides us with energy. The universe is built of energy. [The symbol] has always been there, but sometimes you don't see it.

You took two years of silence to do what could be called shadow work. Was there any moment during that reflection period that was challenging for you?

Yes, all the time. There was a moment when I had a really bad time with various public situations; some [of these situations] were sought after, others not. That forged my character. I had a really tough time, but tests are meant to be overcome, and it's over now.

I’m embracing our vulnerability as human beings and learning from it. I continue to make mistakes, as any human does. I possibly have more flaws than others, but it wasn't easy to give myself that break then. I didn't leave social media per se, but I was doing shadow work. I was touring Europe and making music, but I stepped away from the Latin and U.S. public eye.

What did you learn about yourself in this process?

This learning is a bit complicated because, truthfully, my problem is opening my heart quickly to people who approach me, but I don't want to close it either. So, I became more selective with the people around me, who I talk to, and who I can trust. Before, I opened myself to everyone and shared my fears and worries.

I put on armor, and little by little, I'm returning to my essence. I'm neither the best nor the worst, but I have nobility. Nobility will always be part of something I can't fight against because it's part of my essence. And the moments I had, moments of diss tracks and all that, it's like I'm not good in the bad guys' field. Everyone has their field. I'm good at giving light and elevating, not at giving darkness. A good person in the world of evil people will always lose.

"Rio" is one of the most beautiful songs in your repertoire; it's also your son's name and a letter to your partner, Valentina. In the track, you express gratitude for the mistakes made. How did you approach looking inward and reflecting it in this song?

I think it's not planned. The music comes on, the beat, the instrumentation, and suddenly, a word opens up a universe, and that's where we went with the guys. It's been beautiful because it's the year's first release, and more than numbers, it has created something more important: connection.

We wanted a reggaeton that isn't usually heard, not to go against the grain, but simply because my message was genuine. That's where people connect.

How is the emotional honesty with which you now express yourself in interviews, with which you are in this new stage, reflected in the lyrics of Rayo?

I won't become a saint or the Pope because that's not what it's about. There has to be perreo, sandungueo, and everything. [I gave] what I feel I like most about reggaeton. I'm being more careful with the things I say. Some words don't come out anymore, nor do I identify with saying them...

Like what?

Well, there are a couple of swear words or words that I've said a lot, like the word bellaqueo (being horny). I've said it a thousand times. I wanted to change and thought [you can] say the same thing differently.

In 2016, the New York Times stated that your mission was to make reggaeton global. You are considered one of the artists who paved the way for Spanish to become mainstream. How do you feel when you reflect on those initial steps?

It’s the power of manifestation. It's ultimately called faith, which is believing before seeing. I always believed, felt it, and was grateful years before it happened.

Twenty or 25 years ago, I dreamed about what I live today. I became the first Latin artist most listened to on Spotify (in 2018); I performed in the Super Bowl and broke sales records, streams, radio records, and [had stellar] collaborations. So many things have happened along this path that I feel I have nothing to prove to the world. But I have to prove to myself that there are more things that I can continue to elevate.

You were the first Latino to headline Lollapalooza. How do you feel about the growing acceptance of Latinos as festival headliners since 2019?

Artists like Daddy Yankee,, and Don Omar worked hard to make this happen. It didn't just fall into our laps; if you don't put in the effort, it won't come to you. However, we stepped up. I always knew this. I’ve headlined at many festivals, some of the most important in the world, spanning Europe and Asia. I’ve been everywhere. This year, we'll go to Japan and then to India. I was just in Azerbaijan and Indonesia. I continue to explore new places.

I worked a lot, focusing on making sounds that connect on a different global level. Collaborations also allowed me to be known in other markets. My vision and strategy worked, and I was recognized practically worldwide. However, there's much more to do.

You recently teamed up with Casio for a special G-Shock edition with your iconic lightning bolt, and you're in the second season of Crunchyroll’s anime "Solo Leveling Arise from the Shadow." What did joining these two projects mean to you?

Both are very powerful because anime is a super strong worldwide culture, and I love it. I only collaborate with what I'm really passionate about. G-Shock has always been an aspirational watch [in Latin America] since we were all very young. Both collaborations we did recently touched the new generations, kids from 9 to 10 and up to those who are 50.

"Rock icon" and "legend" are often thrown around liberally when describing an artist’s stature or output. In the case of Argentine musician Fito Páez, the proof is there for anyone to see.

Páez was only 21 when he released his first solo album, Del 63; the highly influential . Giros came out just a year later and made Páez a household name in Latin American music. Released in 1994, his famed, era-defining album Circo Beat — with hits like "Mariposa Tecknicolor" — sparked undeniable hymns of the '90s and would go on to influence artists such as No Te Va A Gustar, Mon Laferte, and Nathy Peluso.

Páez is, without a doubt, one of the most important music composers, producers, and performers in South America. Throughout his four-decade career, the 11-time Latin GRAMMY winner has sold out arenas in his home country and internationally, and performed on distinguished American stages such as Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall.

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These accolades have made Páez a tireless, dynamic performer always in search of new worlds and ideas to put into song. On March 28, Páez revealed his 29th studio album, the rock opera Novela. An ambitious concept album, Novela revolves around a circus coming to a small town in Santa Fé, a province in Argentina where Páez was born. Witches, magic, freaks, mobs, and evildoers all have their place in the lyrics of Novela.

While enjoying Novela takes just over an hour, for Paez, writing the album wasn't a short term process. The work of a lifetime, the characters and plot of Novela were, in fact, 38 years in the making. The artist’s road to the album can be traced back to the end of the '80s.

"I needed to free myself from the ghost of

Released in quick succession between 1988 and 1990, Ciudad de Pobres Corazones, Ey!, and Tercer Mundo helped establish Páez as one of the leading, most eclectic lyricists and bandleaders in Latin America. Tracks like Ciudad's "Gente Sin Swing," with its bitter lines about vultures and hangers-on, glassy, baroque synth arrangements, and the Ey! Cut "Por Siete Vidas," with an intro built around Afro-Uruguayan percussion and surreal nods to LSD, gave rise to Páez’s career as a daring, counter-cultural artist.

"One of the many things in my DNA is the storyteller, or the novelist, who sneaks in," said Páez in a 2020 interview with Rosario3, regarding the making of Tercer Mundo. "I always get in or try to tell some story inside the songs, which is not a medium prepared to tolerate whole stories. Sometimes it works. It’s not a pose, but a resource for me to work with."

Páez's storytelling reached its apex in songs such as "El chico de la tapa" and "Tercer mundo" — both tales about poverty and grit, which Páez filled with delirious tidbits about soccer, anti-police sentiment, and cues to the precarious economy of Argentina in the 1990s. In larger-than-life characters such as the young vandal of "El chico de la tapa" or the innocent, star-crossed lovers of "11 y 6," Páez laid the foundations of the outcasts and rebellious protagonists of Novela — teenagers, adults, and townspeople embarking in life-altering encounters filled with desire, passion, and wonder.

With the roots of Novela starting to take shape, Páez’s success continued. His 1992 album El amor después del amor became Páez's (and Argentina’s) biggest record to date, selling over a million physical copies and continues to rack up an absurd amount of plays on streaming platforms. Timeless love songs, such as "Un vestido y un amor" and "Brillante sobre el mic," became part of the Argentine rock nacional songbook, elevating Páez's artistic stature.

Always the rule-breaker, Páez followed the immense buzz of El amor with another prelude to Novela: a 13-track euphoric joyride he named Circo Beat. "What ended up being [the song] ‘Circo Beat' was originally a song named ‘As de póker,’ and it was about the circus that lives inside Novela," Páez told Rolling Stone. "But because [back then] Novela wasn’t going anywhere, Circo Beat became its own thing." Beatlesque, ambitious, with string arrangements, funky licks, and hilarious readings on fame, Circo Beat marked the end of Páez’s affair with the flamboyant glam production that defined his output in the '80s and '90s.

Released in 2000, Rey Sol, Páez's eleventh album, was a new chapter in his career. Opener single "El diablo en tu corazón, with its video of Buenos Aires at the edge of collapse, left many speechless. It featured a violent, massive street brawl, complete with enraged cab drivers and businessmen viciously punching each other. Most memorably, it also featured a then highly polemic, long close-up of two women kissing. In a country still plagued by the watchful eyes of Catholicism, and edging into one of its worst recessions in modern history, Páez’s video added fuel to the fire.

"I want to talk about my impression of what Argentina is going through," said Páez to Página 12 in an interview from 2001. "I feel that 20 years ago, the situation was flourishing, and now there is a big spirit of hopelessness and frustration."

Always the truth-teller, Páez spent the next decade releasing a stream of records that touched on romance (and the end of it) and explored his role as a bold, oftentimes unapologetic, cultural figure. Páez made adventurous albums like 2003's visceral

Such epics would ultimately inform Novela as an album and a film. This dual format, innovated by bands like the Who, captivated Páez at a young age. "The imagery of Novela is based on a record, Quadrophenia, that my dad bought for me at a record store in Rosario, and on how I was fascinated by the Who while living in that lower-middle-class home, stuck in the heart of the city," elaborated Páez in a Rolling Stone cover story. "It takes flight with my hometown, within Rosario, with all its imagery. That becomes part of you more than the country’s culture, right?"

Watch: Fito Páez Wins Best Latin Rock Or Alternative Album For 'La Conquista Del Espacio' | 2021 GRAMMY Awards

While his youth in Rosario is one of the elements behind Novela, the album is the product of four decades in record-making. Páez’s brilliant world arrives in lyrics like "Brujas Salem de Prix," where "every moon of Pentecostes / incarnates a perfect romance," and "Universidad Prix," where characters recite "We are not afraid of power / we yearn for freedom / that which is not for everyone." Crazed disco accents, soul/funk arrangements, and Páez’s household vocal bravado glide through in an album mostly rooted in rock n’ roll. Catchy singles "Cuando el Circo Llega al Pueblo" and "Superextraño" serve as anchors to Novela’s overall script, and as reminders of Páez’s love for giants such as John Lennon, Charly García, and Luis Alberto Spinetta. Evoking "Strawberry Fields Forever," track "Cruces de Gin en Sal," with thick, diamond-like guitar riffs and heartfelt vocals by Páez, serves as a consistent reminder of Páez's innate ability to create colorful, lasting fantasies.

Through its 25-song tracklist that clocks around an hour and ten minutes, with interspersed monologues that tie Páez’s vision together,