The 2025 Latin GRAMMY Premiere kicked off in historic fashion, crowning the first-ever winner for Best Music For Visual Media: Camilo Sanabria.
The Colombian composer won the newly minted category for his score for the Netflix series "Cien Años De Soledad." The category is part of the new Visual Media field that was introduced for the 2025 Latin GRAMMYS, designed to recognize composers of original works created to accompany films, series, documentaries, or video games.
Sanabria, whose work has appeared in series such as "El Libertador" and "Niñas Mal" as well as international productions like "Ugly Betty" and the film Pride and Glory (starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell), collaborated on the project with musician and researcher Juancho Valencia, who was in charge of the folkloric arrangements.
Though Sanabria didn't make an acceptance speech on stage, he took to Instagram to celebrate his victory — which marked his first Latin GRAMMY win — and offer a series of thank yous to Netflix Latinoamérica, Valencia and others.
Made up of 36 tracks, the soundtrack for "Cien Años de Soledad" was the result of extensive research into Colombian history in the 19th century, the period in which the episodes of the mythical and fictional town of Macondo take place. The first season of the series, which debuted in December 2024, features eight episodes in which Sanabria captures the essence of magical realism and the cultural and emotional contrasts of the country. His score highlights traditional rhythms such as cumbia, vallenato and Afro-Caribbean percussion.
In an interview with Billboard Colombia, Sanabria said that the process of research and creation took a full year of work. Recording sessions took place in Bogotá, with the collaboration of musicians from various Caribbean regions, as well as remote recordings conducted in Hungary.
Along with Valencia’s contributions, the soundtrack also features accordionist Luis Javier Hernández, who sings and plays the accordion on "Compadre Santana"; actor/musician Víctor José Navarro, who also lent his talent on the accordion to various pieces; Carlos Mendiola, an actor from the series who performs "Canta en Silencio"; and Eddy Álvarez on "Oye Morenita."
The other nominees in the first-time category were: Pedro Osuna for the soundtrack to the series "Cada Minuto Cuenta," Federico Jusid for the soundtrack to the series "El Eternauta," Eduardo Cabra for the soundtrack to the film In The Summers, and Gustavo Santaolalla for the soundtrack to the series "Pedro Páramo."