La Palabra: Latin Grammys; Best Players Who Won't Be At The World Cup

The best content from around the web, told with a Latin perspective.

Author:
Luis Miguel Echegaray
Publish date:
Nov 17, 2017

Mi gente! Welcome to La Palabra, SI's new weekly column delivering the best content with a Latino perspective from around the web. Sports, pop culture, movies, TV, music, food, travel...you name it. Send tips to luis.echegaray@simail.com or mándame un Tweet.

Alright, enough chit chat. Let's check out what's been going on.

Latin Grammys

On Thursday night, the 2017 Latin Grammys took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and the main theme of the night was Puerto Rico. Residente performed a rendition of "Hijos de Cañaveral," and Luis Fonsi closed the show with a great fused version of Despacito alongside Diplo, Bomba Estéreo and salsa singer Victor Manuelle. It was the real Despacito, no Justin Bieber necessary. The song ended up winning four awards, including record of the year and song of the year.

My favorite performance, however, came from J Balvin, Bad Bunny, French Montana and Steve Aoki. Check it out.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBiz1MDcdAI]

Sports Illustrated TV is LIVE

S.I has a new channel! Award-winning documentaries, original sports programming and features, it's all there. You can also catch yours truly alongside Grant Wahl on Planet Fútbol, where we bring you the latest soccer commentary analysis from across the globe. You can start your seven-day free trial on Amazon Channels.

A Latin World Cup

The 32 teams for the World Cup are set and the Latino representation is strong. From Colombia to Costa Rica, to first timers like Panama, I hope Russia is ready for some Latinization. Shout out to Perú, who return to la Copa Mundial for the first time since 1982. Peruvians got so excited when the final whistle blew, we caused an earthquake.

Speaking of Russia 2018, here are some of the best players who won't be there.

Netflix keeps killing it with these new shows

First, a big shout out to The Punisher, which comes out today. This one is gonna be goooooood.

But also Check out Hamilton's Anthony Ramos in Netflix's new show She's Gotta Have It, which is based on Spike Lee's 1986 first film of the same name. Ramos plays the entertaining, immature, Brooklyn-lovin', Air Jordan-wearin' Mars Blackmon, played by Lee in the original film.

[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whvPjWm7ZE0]

Due to his love for Air Jordans, Blackmon and Nike teamed up for a few of commercials in the late 80's and early 90's. Here's the second one, which featured Michael himself. Show comes out on Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Hamilton...

After raising more than $2.5 million for Hurricane Maria victims, Lin-Manuel Miranda announced last week he will be bringing the Broadway sensation to Puerto Rico in 2019, with him as the title character once again.

Una Mujer Fantástica

'A Fantastic Woman,' a movie by Chilean director Sebastian Lelio comes out today in the U.S and if you know any of Lelio's work (2013's 'Gloria') it's worth a watch. The film— which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February—is part-thriller, part-drama, all mixed inside the protagonist: a trans woman and her battle for equality as well as dealing with the death of her partner. Aside from the exquisite film-making, which will most definitely elevate Lelio's reputation as one of the best directors out there, Daniela Vega, who plays the lead role of Marina, deserves global recognition and might just become the first ever transgender performer to win an Oscar.

Here's the trailer.

Eddie Guerrero's legacy as a Fronterizo

Here's a great piece by Roberto Andrade for Remezcla on one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, and what it means to live in the U.S.-Mexico border.