Xavier Cintrón Receives Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation’s Juanes Scholarship
Latin rock icon Juanes (left) performs with Xavier Cintrón, winner of this year's Prodigy Scholarship to attend Berklee, at a special ceremony in Miami, Florida.
Image courtesy of the Latin Recording Academy/John Parra, Getty Images
The Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation awarded its Prodigy Scholarship to Xavier Cintrón in a special presentation on July 13, 2021, in Miami, Florida. The scholarship, cosponsored this year by Juanes, holds a maximum value of $200,000. The award will allow Cintrón to pursue a bachelor’s degree at Berklee College of Music in Boston, starting this fall.
Selected by the foundation's scholarship committee from among a competitive group of hundreds of applicants from around the world, Cintrón, whose main instrument is the cuatro, is the first Puerto Rican to receive the Prodigy Scholarship.
"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."
Created seven years ago, the Prodigy Scholarship assists exceptionally talented students with financial need who are interested in pursuing careers in Latin music. Previous cosponsors of the Prodigy Scholarship include Enrique Iglesias (2015), Juan Luis Guerra ’82 (2016), Miguel Bosé (2017), Carlos Vives (2018), Emilio and Gloria Estefan (2019), and Julio Iglesias (2020). This year’s scholarship was cosponsored by Latin rock icon and recent Berklee visiting artist Juanes.
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.
—Juanes
"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,” said Juanes. “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."
"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."
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 Latin music's rich 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 the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation website.
About Juanes
A global ambassador for Latin culture and champion for social change, Juanes was featured on Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Hailed by the New York Times as "Latin America’s hottest singer-songwriter…a soulful poet with electric guitar," Juanes has broken many barriers for Spanish-language artists. He has earned 12 no. 1 U.S. singles, an impressive 25 combined Grammy and Latin Grammy awards, and he 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.