By Lisa Baertlein
MIAMI (Reuters) - Miami, touted as the U.S. capital of Latin culture, has lost the chance to host the first-ever Latin Grammy music awards because of its anti-Cuba politics, officials said Thursday.
Officials of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) had eyed Miami as venue for the event because the glitzy, sub-tropical city is the center of the Latin music scene.
Its residents include Hispanic recording icons Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias and Gloria Estefan. And it is home to the Latin American headquarters for Sony Music and MTV, scores of music labels and NARAS' Latin Academy offices.
NARAS was unable, however, to persuade local officials to sidestep a Miami-Dade County ordinance that prohibits them from doing business with any corporation that has dealings with Cuba.
``We were surprised. It was just a logic-free zone when it came to that issue,'' Michael Greene, NARAS chief executive, told Reuters.
The county ban is stricter than the U.S. government embargo on Cuba, which prohibits trade and economic dealings with Cuba but permits cultural exchanges.
Unable to win a waiver that would have cleared the way to hold the event at the county's new arena, Academy officials decided to hold the September event in Los Angeles.
The flap highlights a chronic lack of consensus between hardline exiles in Miami's powerful Cuban community, implacably opposed to Cuban President Fidel Castro, and leaders of the area's economically vital tourist industry, who back cultural exchange with the communist-ruled island.
``Now there is a $40 million loss on the books. There is an ordinance on the books in Dade County that is punishing the economy of South Florida rather than punishing the economy of Fidel Castro,'' said Nicki Grossman, president of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau,
who along with Miami Beach Mayor Neisen Kasdin lobbied to get the awards.
The Grammys are not the first business casualty of Miami politicians' anti-Castro stance.
During the summer, Miami officials passed up the chance to host the Pan American Games after the USA Track and Field Association could not guarantee that Cuban athletes would not be invited.
Despite their best efforts, Greene said a handful of Miami hardliners would not be the gatekeepers for Cuban culture, as the awards show would likely acquaint millions of viewers with popular Cuban bands like Los Van Van.
Despite criticism and economic losses, the controversial county ordinance is not likely to be undone soon, said Dario Moreno, a political science professor at Florida International University.
In a poll Moreno and a colleague conducted last week for a private client whose name was not disclosed, nearly 60 percent of Miami's likely Cuban American voters supported the ordinance even though it prevents Miami from hosting prestigious events.
``I don't think that we're doing anything more than expressing what we feel is offensive to this community. This is an action against a dictatorship that violates the human rights of the Cuban people,'' said Ninoska Perez, a spokeswoman for the influential Cuban American National Foundation.
Music promoter Debbie Ohanian disagreed.
``It's a twisted mentality that still believes that musicians have something to do with politics... Cuban musicians don't care about politics. They care about playing,'' said Ohanian, who last October brought Los Van Van to Miami despite Miami officials' efforts to block the show.
Concert-goers were protected by riot police who formed a wall against protesters, some of whom lobbed eggs and rocks.
Reuters/Variety
18:52 01-20-00
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