Latin Grammy 2017 Winners: ‘Despacito’ Takes Most Awards, Vicente García Surprises [LIST]

Luis Fonsi, Erika Ender — Luis Fonsi and Erika Ender, co-writers of "Despacito," accepting one of the four awards the song won at the Latin Grammys on Nov. 16. Getty

The biggest night in Latin music, the Latin Grammys, took place on Thursday, Nov 16 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, where la crème de la crème of the industry gathered to celebrate the excellence of our music. The three-hour special aired on the Univision Network, and was hosted by Jaime Camil and Roselyn Sánchez.

Leading the nominations were Residente with nine nominations, Maluma with seven, Shakira with six, and Kevin Jiménez ADG , Juanes, and Mon Laferte with five each. In addition to the top nominees, several artists and technical professionals received four nominations each: Rafa Arcaute (producer and engineer), Tom Coyne (engineer), Luis Fonsi, Vicente García, Nicky Jam, Natalia Lafourcade, Danay Suarez, and Daddy Yankee.

As expected, the big winner of the night was “Despacito” with four awards including record and song of the year. Luis Fonsi, who co-wrote the song and sings it, dedicated his award to his native Puerto Rico, still suffering the consequences of hurricane Maria. "I'm here because of Puerto Rico, and this song is a hymn to Puerto Rico," Fonsi said backstage, according to AP.

"Everything I do, and everything I will do, now more than ever, is to continue celebrating my island, my culture, my homeland and my music, and to make sure the public knows that Puerto Rico needs help."

Residente, who was leading the nominations with nine, won two awards: Urban Album for his self-titled solo debut and Urban Song for “Somos Anormales.” Meanwhile, Rubén Blades won Album of the Year for “Salsa Big Band,” and seemed shocked when his name was announced. Blades emphasized the importance of surrounding yourself with people who “know more than you” to create and collaborate, and shared the award with all the people who made the album possible.

Other winners included Shakira, who won for Contemporary Pop Album, but couldn’t be there because she’s on vocal rest after damaging her vocal chords during her El Dorado Tour rehearsals; Juanes, who claimed the Pop-Rock Album prize, and Vicente Garcia, who was named Best New Artist and also won Best Tropical Song and Best Singer-Songwriter Album.

Alejandro Sanz was named Person of the Year, and his award was handed to him by Juan Luis Guerra, who described him as "one of the most important composers in the Spanish-speaking world." Sanz dedicated his award to the "dreamers" affected by President Donald Trump's suspension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. "These are our children," Sanz said, "the children of our community."

He also brought a group of them on stage while he performed some of his best hits after his recognition, and shared a emotional group hug at the end of the performance.

Following is a list of the winners in some of the 48 categories. They feature an array of musical genres, as well as some of the most prominent names and brightest newcomers in Latin music. For the complete list of winners, visit LatinGRAMMY.com.

Album Of The Year

Salsa Big Band — Rubén Blades and Roberto Delgado & Orquesta

Record Of The Year

"Despacito" — Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee

Song Of The Year (A Songwriter's Award)

"Despacito" — Daddy Yankee, Erika Ender and Luis Fonsi, songwriters (Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee)

Best New Artist

Vicente García

Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album

El Dorado — Shakira

Best Urban Fusion / Performance

" Despacito " (Remix) — Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featuring Justin Bieber