José Cid, one of Portugal’s most successful singer/songwriters, will receive a Latin Grammy for “musical excellence” in November.
The award is given to artists who have made “contributions of exceptional artistic meaning to Latin music”.
“José Cid effortlessly adapted the influence of anglo pop music to create Portugal’s own original pop rock,” the Latin Recording Academy said in a statement. He will receive the award on November 13 during a lunch ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas.
Speaking to TSF radio, the 77-year-old artist said he was “very happy” about the announcement and that he had known about it for three months.
“I couldn’t talk about it or I would be disqualified. It is a victory for Portuguese pop rock which is so good, but it is hard to grow abroad because neither Spain nor Brazil care about us. We are a very small country with a very small market,” the artist said.
Meantime, the Minister of Culture has celebrated the news saying that the Grammy is a “deserved prize for Cid”.
Graça Fonseca told TSF: “I remember hearing José Cid when I was a child. He has a career of over 50 years in music, which is part of our national pop history, and his songs span generations. Thus, this international recognition of his long career should make us all proud.”
