Berta Rojas’ La Huella de las Cuerdas Earns Three 2026 Latin Grammy Nominations

Album from Acclaimed Paraguayan Classical Guitarist Received

Nominations from The Latin Recording Academy for Best Instrumental Album, Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Recording Package

“We are thrilled and grateful to the members of The Latin Recording Academy for their vote of confidence in our work. La Huella de las Cuerdas celebrates unity through diversity, bringing together the voices of Latin America through the stringed instruments that have long expressed our sorrows and joys,” said an appreciative Berta Rojas following the nomination announcement on Wednesday, September 16. The ceremony for the 27th annual Latin Grammy Awards will take place November 12, 2026, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A Latin Grammy winner in 2022, Rojas has now earned nominations for the fifth time in her career, this year for La Huella de las Cuerdas, a milestone album celebrating the wide range of Latin America’s stringed instruments, musical relatives of the guitar. The multifaceted project weaves together music, history, and technology as Rojas travels through 10 countries, collaborating with 17 renowned artists to reveal the extraordinary musical richness of communities throughout the continent.

Among the most esteemed classical guitarists of our time and long a champion of Latin America’s music and culture, Rojas considers La Huella de las Cuerdas her most ambitious undertaking, requiring more than two years of research and production. This in addition to an already demanding schedule of performing, teaching at the Berklee College of Music and advocating for youth education and cross-cultural understanding.

The project brought together an exceptional international team led by acclaimed producers Sebastián Henríquez and Popi Spatocco, both longtime collaborators of the Paraguayan guitarist. La Huella de las Cuerdas combines musical recordings, videos, documentary narratives, photographs, musicological essays, a vinyl record, and an augmented-reality book to create an immersive experience that allows audiences to see, hear, and explore each of the featured instruments in remarkable detail.

The performance videos—on La Huella de las Cuerdas website, YouTube and streaming platforms—include notes that reveal the stories of the instruments, their impact on local culture and behind-the-recordings interviews.

While string instruments can be traced as far back as 3200 BC, this journey begins with the 15^th century arrival in Latin America of the double-stringed, flat-backed Spanish vihuela. “Smaller than today’s guitar, the vihuela provides the foundational DNA for so many of the instruments we're spotlighting in the album,” says Rojas. “Their evolution reflects the interplay of the different inhabitants of the Americas at the time, the Spaniards and Portuguese, the Indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans forcibly transported to bolster labor in the colonies.”

2026 Latin Grammy Nominations for La Huella de las Cuerdas

Best Instrumental Album recognizes albums containing at least 51% instrumental recordings. For the project, Rojas traveled approximately 13,000 kilometers (8,100 miles) to explore and celebrate the diversity and richness of Latin America’s talented string musicians.

Best Contemporary Classical Composition goes to composers of recent original works that incorporate contemporary techniques and principles of art music. Élodie Bouny wrote the nominated composition, Tríptico sudamericano (South American Triptych), distinguished by its virtuosic architecture for guitar and chamber orchestra. The work creates a musical dialogue among the classical guitar, charango (Federico Tarazona), Venezuelan cuatro (Jorge Glem), and mandolin (Pedro Franco).

Best Recording Package recognizes La Huella de las Cuerdas’ innovative art-book format, conceived by renowned Paraguayan designer Celeste Prieto--the first time a Paraguayan designer has received such a prestigious music industry nomination--with texts by Santiago Giordano. The collectible edition includes a 180-gram vinyl record and integrates 3D augmented-reality technology, allowing audiences to explore the appearance and sound of each featured instrument.

About Berta Rojas

Widely regarded as one of the world's leading classical guitarists, Berta Rojas has performed on some of the most prestigious stages around the globe, earning international recognition for her virtuosity and dedication to promoting Latin American music.

A five-time Latin Grammy nominee, Rojas won the 2022 Latin Grammy for Best Classical Album for Legado. The album also received the award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Anido's Portrait, composed by Sergio Assad.

In 2023, Rojas was appointed to the Board of Trustees of The Latin Recording Academy, a distinction recognizing her leadership and contributions to the promotion of Latin American culture.

She currently serves as an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts--home to the world’s largest guitar department--where she became the first Latina guitarist to join the faculty.

Website and Social Media

Website: https://www.bertarojas.com/cuerdas/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bertarojas.guitarrista

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bertarojasb/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@bertarojasb

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@bertarojasb