HOLLYWOOD - Singer Gloria Estefan and producer husband Emilio Estefan will not attend the Latin Grammys later this month following the show's recent move to Los Angeles, The Miami Herald reported Saturday. "The only reason we were participating in the Grammys this year is because it was a dream for us that it would be in our city that we love,'' Emilio Estefan said. "It's nothing against the Grammys or the Cuban community, I just wish things would have worked out.''
Estefan's sentiments are not unpopular. According to the Los Angeles Times, Grammy chief Michael Greene feels "betrayed" by Miami's leaders over the political climate which the Latin Grammys to move the show from South Florida. The show's organizers moved the show after Miami leaders allowed Cuban exiles to hold protests closer to the American Airlines Arena than show organizers had previously agreed to.
"Everybody knew what we were trying to do there,'' Greene said. "We weren't there to cram a Cuban national performance in the face of the people of Miami. We were trying to celebrate a coming of age of tolerance.''
The second annual Latin Grammys will be held Sept. 11 at Los Angeles' Great Western Forum.