Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation® Awards Juanes Scholarship to Xavier Cintrón

In addition, the Foundation announced that 38 music students worldwide will receive scholarships to help finance their education

MIAMI--()--The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation® awarded the Juanes Scholarship to 18-year-old cuatro puertorriqueño student Xavier Cintrón during a special presentation with the artist in Miami. The Prodigy Scholarship (Juanes Scholarship) — created seven years ago to support music education and the Latin music genres — holds a maximum value of $200,000 and allows Cintrón to pursue a bachelor's degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston, starting this fall.

The Puerto Rico native was selected by the Foundation's Scholarship Committee from a highly competitive group of hundreds of applicants worldwide. Since its establishment, the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation has committed an extraordinary sum of more than $6.5 million in scholarships, grants, musical instruments, and educational events throughout the United States and Ibero-America. "We are so proud to award Xavier Cintrón with the Prodigy Scholarship for his hard work, commitment and passion for Latin music," said Tanya Ramos-Puig, President of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation. "This annual scholarship represents our investment in both education, and equality. We remain committed to providing opportunities for young musicians – no matter their background, income, or zip code – to foster future generations of Latin music creators through education."

"Just as I have spent a lot of creative time recently delving into some of Latin music’s greatest songs and artists that shaped my own musical foundations, I have always felt strongly that we have a responsibility to support music education so that the sounds of our culture continue to grow in future generations. It means a great deal to me that I have been able to partner with the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation to help a young musician fulfill his dream of pursuing a serious music education. When I saw Xavier’s performance videos, I knew immediately that he possesses an immense natural talent that will be able to reach even greater heights with this opportunity. I believe we will be hearing much more from him in years to come," said Juanes.

"As the first Puerto Rican cuatrista to receive the Prodigy Scholarship, I feel immense gratitude and responsibility," said Cintrón. "I wish to continue to develop and acquire new experiences to be able to share this knowledge and inspire young people like myself."

The Foundation also announced the recipients of its annual Gifted Tuition Scholarships and Tuition Assistance Scholarships, that will allow 38 talented students from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to pursue an education at some of the most prestigious musical institutions in the world.

Gifted Tuition Scholarship Recipients:

The following three students will each receive the Gifted Tuition Scholarship, with a maximum value of $100,000, which will support the tuition costs of four years of study at the university or college of their choice:

  • Clara Díaz, vocalist from Argentina
  • María Milano, flutist from Venezuela
  • Thiago Silva, cellist from Brazil

Tuition Assistance Scholarship Recipients:

In addition, the following 35 students will each receive the Tuition Assistance Scholarship, a one-time scholarship with a maximum value of $10,000 toward the tuition costs for the university or college of their choice:

Recipient

Principal Instrument

Country of Origin

College/University

Luis Anselmi

Cuatro Venezolano

Venezuela

Humber College, Canada

Cristian Ávila

Guitar

Ecuador

Berklee College of Music, Boston

Joaquín Bonilla

Flute

United States

Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University

Ruvit Bracho Márquez

Violin

Venezuela

Stetson University, Dilan, Florida

Gabriel Chakarji

Piano

Venezuela

Manhattan School of Music, New York

Bernat Cucarella

Vibraphone

Spain

Conservatorio Superior de Música "Joaquín Rodrigo", Valencia, Spain

Lorenzo Curik

Drum Set

Argentina

Berklee College of Music, Boston

Wellington de Souza

Saxophone

Brazil

Faculdade e Conservatório Souza Lima, Brazil

Arthur de Souza Lima Scarpini

Guitar

Brazil

Faculdade e Conservatório Souza Lima, Brazil

Maurizio Fiore

Guitar

Venezuela

Longy School of Music of Bard College, Boston

Samuel Frois

Violin

Brazil

Mannes College of Performing Arts, New York

Jhoely Garay

Guitar

Mexico

Manhattan School of Music, New York

Francisco Garrido

Guitar

Venezuela

Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Netherlands

Marco Grispo

Guitar

Argentina

The New School, New York

Alejandro Guillén

Piano

Venezuela

Montclair State University, New Jersey

Álvaro Huancahuari

Saxophone

Peru

Faculdade e Conservatório Souza Lima, Brazil

Sebastián Marino

Saxophone

Puerto Rico

Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico

Simón Martínez

Piano

Ecuador

MacEwan University, Canada

Rafael Mello

Flute

Brazil

Faculdade e Conservatório Souza Lima, Brazil

Eduardo Mendoza

Saxophone

Bolivia

Northern State University, South Dakota

Catalina Jara Muñoz

Piano

Chile

Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León, Salamanca, Spain

Marcella Nahas

Voice

Brazil

Berklee College of Music, Boston

Gabriel Nieves

Flute

Mexico

Conservatorio de las Rosas, Mexico

Marcin Patrzalek

Guitar

Poland

Berklee College of Music, Boston

Rubén Portillo

Guitar

Paraguay

Peabody Institute of the John Hopkins University, Baltimore

Ana Carmela Ramírez Contramaestre

Voice

Venezuela

The New School, New York

Kalebe Requena

Trumpet

Brazil

Faculdade e Conservatório Souza Lima, Brazil

Oscar Rojas

Piano

Mexico

Berklee College of Music

Orlando Salazar

Oboe

Venezuela

Longy School of Music of Bard College, Boston

Juan Sebastián Sánchez Duque

Percussion

Colombia

Berklee College of Music, Boston

Estefane Santos

Trumpet

Brazil

Faculdade e Conservatório Souza Lima, Brazil

João Semedo

Vibraphone

Portugal

Berklee College of Music, Boston

Cristian Tamblay

Drum Set

Chile

Berklee College of Music, Boston

Gustavo Tenes

Double Bass

Brazil

Faculdade e Conservatório Souza Lima, Brazil

Ángela Varo Moreno

Violin

Spain

Berklee College of Music, Boston

ABOUT THE LATIN GRAMMY CULTURAL FOUNDATION:

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation® is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization established by The Latin Recording Academy® in 2015 to further international awareness and appreciation of the significant contributions of Latin music and its makers to the world’s culture. The Foundation provides college scholarships, educational programs and grants for the research and preservation of its rich musical legacy and heritage, and to date has donated more than $6.5 million with the support of Latin Recording Academy members, artists, corporate sponsors and other generous donors. For additional information, or to make a donation, please visit latingrammyculturalfoundation.com, Amazon Smile or our Facebook page. And follow us @latingrammyfdn on Twitter and Instagram, and at Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation on Facebook.

ABOUT JUANES:

A global ambassador for Latin culture and champion for social change, Juanes has been heralded on TIME’s list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World," and hailed by The New York Times as "Latin America’s hottest singer-songwriter…a soulful poet with electric guitar." Across his landmark career, he has broken many barriers for Spanish-language artists, while earning 12 #1 U.S. singles, an impressive 25 combined GRAMMY® & Latin GRAMMY® awards, and was named the 2019 Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year for his artistry, support for rising artists, and philanthropic contributions to the global community.

Contacts

Porter Novelli on behalf of The Latin Recording Academy
Leopoldo Coronado Domenge
leopoldo.coronado@porternovelli.com

The Latin Recording Academy
Justin Tejada
justin.tejada@grammy.com

Juanes
John Reilly / JRPR: jreilly@jrprmusic.com (English-language Media)
Mónica Escobar / The 3 Collective: monica@the3collective.com (Spanish-language Media)

Contacts

Porter Novelli on behalf of The Latin Recording Academy
Leopoldo Coronado Domenge
leopoldo.coronado@porternovelli.com

The Latin Recording Academy
Justin Tejada
justin.tejada@grammy.com

Juanes
John Reilly / JRPR: jreilly@jrprmusic.com (English-language Media)
Mónica Escobar / The 3 Collective: monica@the3collective.com (Spanish-language Media)