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--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.