Cape Verdean Dino d’Santiago wins Latin Grammy with Brazilian artists
The award went to the album "Criolo, Amaro & Dino", recorded with Brazilian rapper Criolo and pianist Amaro Freitas from Recife.
Cape Verdean musician Dino d’Santiago won a Latin Grammy on Friday, 12 November, in Las Vegas, United States. The prize was in the category of Best Brazilian Popular Music/Afro-Portuguese Brazilian Music Album for "Criolo, Amaro & Dino", which he recorded with Brazilian artists Criolo and Amaro Freitas.
Accepting the award, d’Santiago named Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe and Portugal, and thanked the Portuguese language for making them one people. Freitas, born in Recife, said the work joins Black music and the African diaspora across the world, while Criolo dedicated the win to Indigenous peoples in Brazil.
The album has 12 tracks mixing rap, Brazilian popular music, jazz, morna and funaná. The three artists split studio sessions between Rio de Janeiro, Recife, São Paulo and Lisbon. The project began with the song "Esperança", released in 2024, which earned d’Santiago his first Latin Grammy nomination that year.
Why it mattersCape Verdean and Portuguese-speaking musicians now have an award-winning collaboration to point to abroad, and the trio has more shows scheduled in 2027, including Lollapalooza in Brazil in March.