Anitta's Latin Grammy Speech Named the Erasure of Black Culture in Brazil

Since 2014, Anitta has been nominated for Latin Grammys. At the 2026 Latin Grammys held in Las Vegas, Nevada she finally won one, and she did not spend the moment with a list of thank-yous but took advantage of the moment and her platform to bring up Latinidad, Black culture and Latin America's languages.

What Did Anitta Win At The 2026 Latin Grammys?

Best Portuguese Language Contemporary Pop Album, for Equilibrivm, at the 27th Latin Grammy Awards on November 12. Equilibrivm is the seventh studio album of the Brazilian icon. it was the first time a Portuguese-language award was handed out during the televised ceremony rather than at the afternoon Premiere, where most categories are decided.

She was also nominated for Album of the Year however the win went to Rosalía's LUX.

What did Anitta say about Black culture in Brazil?

"For many years Black culture was erased in Brazil," she said, according to AP. "This album comes to help with that, so that Black culture in Brazil is strong forever."

Anitta on stage gave a short history lesson on Black Brazilians' religion, their faith, could not be spoken publicly and said artists have been working to "bring and keep this culture alive." Her album, she said, is "one more voice in that."

She closed with "Laroyê, Exu!", a greeting to Exu, an orixá honored in Candomblé. Candomblé grew out of West African spiritual traditions carried to Brazil by enslaved people, and its practitioners have faced stigma and attacks for generations.

What Did She Say About Latin America?

Switching to Spanish, Anitta reminded viewers that Brazil is part of Latin America, acknowledged that language can create distance inside the region, and called for unity.

In Latin America, Multiple Languages Are Spoken

Latin America is not a Spanish-speaking continent. It is Portuguese and Spanish and French, plus hundreds of Indigenous languages and creoles that predate all three. But "Latino" in the United States has largely been built around Spanish, in census categories, in marketing, AND in award shows. Brazilian-Americans routinely say they do not know which box applies to them.

Put a Portuguese-language award on the main telecast for the first time in 27 years and you have not fixed that. You have admitted it exists.

Afro-Latinas have been making the other half of this argument for years: that a Latinidad which quietly edits out Blackness is not whole either. Anitta's speech connected both. Black erasure inside and outside of Latin America, and erasure of part of Latin America.