Live Session With Tanya Ramos-Puig, President of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation

This is an exciting Live Session with Tanya Ramos-Puig, President of the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation (LGCF), who only came into the position even months ago. An integral part of the overall mission of The Latin Recording Academy,^® The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation, through scholarships, fellowships, grants, and education programs, furthers international awareness and appreciation of the significant contributions of Latin music and its makers to the world’s culture.

Recently we got some news coming out of the LGCF surrounding Disney’s newest release – Encanto, which hit theaters just before Thanksgiving. To celebrate the release, Disney is donating to the LGCF’s Scholarship Fund, which will help the nonprofit to fulfill its mission – to preserve, spotlight, and celebrate Latin music and culture through education opportunities, especially for those from underserved communities. Tanya mentioned that the contribution hit the six-figure mark!

Thank you @Disney for supporting our scholarship fund 💙 This generous investment will allow us to continue providing access to a quality education for our future Latin music creators globally. Don’t forget to watch Disney’s #Encanto with your familia only in theaters NOV 24 👏 https://t.co/DI9dqffsgH

— LatinGRAMMYFdn (@LatinGRAMMYFdn) November 19, 2021

I was able to catch a few minutes out of Tanya’s busy schedule to talk about the LGCF’s support from Disney, and the importance of that interaction as well as a couple more incredible supporters, among them Mexican American abstract artist Edgar Medina whose piece Rhythms of Imagination, created with contributions from the 22nd Latin GRAMMYs nominees, is being auctioned off now and will benefit LGCF. As we closed out we spoke of LGCF’s brand new initiative 25 Days of Giving, which is another way music fans can give back and help support future Latin music creators. This interview turned into a conversation which is one of the highest compliments a journalist can get I think, of course, we had limited time or we may have gone on for another hour or so but we stuck to the schedule…for this one! We are glad to announce we will be jumping into 2022 with another Live Session with Tanya sometime in January for which she’s promised us a rundown on the exciting things coming down the pipe for the foundation. For now, tune in below for our 2021 year-end convo!!!

Keep up with all things Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation

Website: https://www.latingrammy.com/en/cultural-foundation

Instagram: @latingrammyfdn

Twitter: @latingrammyfdn

Bonus: Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation Fact Sheet

“The Power of Music and Education”

Who We Are

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation® is a 501c3 charitable organization established by The Latin Recording Academy® in 2015. To date, we have donated more than $6 million to students, schools, music programs and researchers, from around the globe, with the support of the Latin Academy’s members, artists, corporate sponsors and other generous donors.

Our Mission

We deliver on the promise of educational equity, access and success to first-generation college-bound students from all around the world experiencing financial hardship and barriers to a quality education. Through experiential learning, research grants, and scholarships, we create a pipeline of future Latin Music creators and increase international awareness, and appreciation, of the significant contributions of Latin music, and its makers, to preserve this music for generations to come.

What We Do

Award scholarships to exceptional music students between the ages of 17-25, who demonstrate a passion for Latin music but face severe financial hardships to pursue a college education
Provide grants to support researchers, anthropologists, musicologists, scholars, organizations and institutions to foster the research and preservation of Latin music
Develop and provide educational programs to middle school, high school and college students, to increase educational opportunities and academic success

Where We Are/Reach

We are a global organization serving over 20 countries, which include United States, Europe and Ibero-America/Latin America, through our various program offerings.

Scholarship Program

The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation has awarded $6 million in scholarship in less than 6 years. We offers three tiers of college scholarships, annually, that have served 294 gifted music students, from all over the world, to attend prestigious music institutions at the university level.

Prodigy Scholarship is co-sponsored annually by a Latin music icon: Juanes (2021), Julio Iglesias (2020), Emilio and Gloria Estefan (2019), Carlos Vives (2018), Miguel Bosé (2017), Juan Luis Guerra (2016) and Enrique Iglesias (2015). The scholarship is awarded to one exceptional student for up to $200,000 toward a bachelor’s degree at The Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Gifted Tuition Scholarships awards up to $100,000 each to three talented music students to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the college or university of their choice.
Tuition Assistance Scholarships awards 35-40 talented music students, annually, with up to $10,000 each toward a Bachelor’s Degree at the college or university of their choice.

Grants

The Research and Preservation Grants program offers four grants annually, and has awarded 28 grants with a value of $135,000, to support research and preservation efforts of Latin music genres around the world.

Educational Programs*

At the Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation, we recognize that access to a quality education is not enough. We understand there are many barriers to educational access and success, so we offer transformational and comprehensive programming to provide students with the tools and resources to thrive and succeed. Our education staff offer year-round mentoring and coaching to our students. Additionally, our programs cater to students from middle school, high school, and throughout college to provide exposure, learning, and the tools and resources that will enable them to pursue a career in music and graduate from a top-tier school. We currently boast a 100% graduation rate for all of our scholarship students.

Experiential Learning

Latin GRAMMY In The Schools™* gives middle school and high school music students the opportunity to learn about the industry from talented artists and music professionals. The Foundation has donated more than $600,000 in musical instruments to schools throughout the United States and Ibero-America in support of their music education programs.
Latin GRAMMY® Emerging Latinas demonstrates our commitment to increasing access to musical education and exposure to careers in music for females. On average, the number of women in the music industry has lagged behind their male counterparts. This program provides yearlong mentoring to rising seniors along with the donation of a musical instrument, participation in a Masterclass, and donation of both a laptop, and books, for their first year of study at an accredited university.
Latin GRAMMY® Master Series offers college music students lectures and conferences with talented and experienced musicians and business professionals from all areas of the industry.
Latin GRAMMY SoundChecks™ provides music production and sound engineering students the opportunity to witness and participate in a professional sound check, offering them a unique perspective into these fields.

Digital/Social Media Programming & Initiatives

Virtual Up Close and Personal is a digital initiative where music lovers and supporters have an intimate virtual

experience with prominent artists as they share personal stories from their life and career. Alejandro Fernández kicked off the inaugural event in 2021, which included a conversation between the artist and a well-known moderator as well as an exclusive acoustic performance.

Viviendo Mi Sueño is a video series in four digital capsules, featuring short inspirational stories from our scholarship recipients highlighting their musical journey and how our scholarships fuel their educational path.
LGCF #MusicMondays is a sponsored social media initiative featuring a short message by a Latin music artist to highlight the positive impact of music education in their life.
Social Media Footprint

- Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation Channels
  - Combined audience of over 50,000 across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
  - Impressions of nearly 5 million; engagement of nearly 200k
- Cross-Collaboration with the Latin Recording Academy Social Media Channels
  - 6.2 mm across all channels
    - Facebook & Instagram— combined followers of over 3 million
    - Tik Tok & YouTube – combined audience of nearly 1.5 million
    - Twitter – an impressive 2.8 million followers

Exclusive Events

Private House Concerts are intimate high-end fundraising events where select groups of guests are invited to attend a conversation and live performance. All proceeds contribute to fund year-round philanthropic activities and programs organized by the Foundation.
The Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation also often offers exclusive opportunities, to host brand awareness events both in-person, and virtual for those who are interested in supporting its philanthropic activities.

Financial Supporters

Among the financial supporters of the Foundation are past Latin GRAMMY® and GRAMMY® winners Miguel Bosé, Emilio Estefan, Gloria Estefan, Juan Luis Guerra, Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias, Juanes, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pitbull and Carlos Vives, as well as Bettina Bulgheroni and Raúl de Molina.

Corporate sponsors include: Bank of the West, Boston Children’s Hospital, Buena Vibra Group, Ford Motor Company Fund, Gucci Timepieces and Jewelry, Hennessy, Jersey Mike’s, Loud and Live, Mass Wireless, McDonald’s, Netflix, Pepsi, Ritz Crackers, Top Stop Music, Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico and Walmart.

Team

Tanya Ramos-Puig, President, Becky Villaescusa, Vice President of Strategic Planning & Corporate Development; Nannette Vélez, Director; Coralys Julián, Executive Assistant; and Kevin Forte, Business Development Specialist.

Closing

For additional information, including scholarship and grant applications, please visit us at latingrammyculturalfoundation.com. You can also make a donation via Amazon Smile, our Facebook page and our official website. Follow us at @latingrammyfdn on Twitter and Instagram, and Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation on Facebook, for the latest news and exclusive content.

Featured Image: Tanya Ramos-Puig (Photographer David Lang)

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Tags: Disney, Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, Latin GRAMMYs

About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.