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The Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists, nationally and internationally. The award is given to solo artists or groups that first establish an identity to the public as a performer and release a Spanish or Portuguese language recording during the period of eligibility. In 2012, the Academy announced the category (in addition to Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year) would include ten nominees to reflect changes within the music industry.
The award for Best New Artist was first presented to the Cuban performer Ibrahim Ferrer in 2000. Benefiting from the release of the documentary Buena Vista Social Club, which launched him to stardom, Ferrer received the award at age seventy-three after being a performer for sixty years. The next three award recipients were Juanes, Jorge Moreno, and David Bisbal. In 2004, Brazilian singer Maria Rita became the first female winner.