Latin Grammys 2014: Rubén Blades wins Best Tango Album Blades, who has also won four main Grammys, believes re-creating his salsa songs as tangos works, even though he had to use completely different phrasing and increase the tempo on songs such as Pedro Navaja. Blades, whose successful acting career includes appearances in he Milagro Beanfield War (1988), The Two Jakes (1990) and Mo' Better Blues (1990), has had a varied musical career that has seen him work with Little Steven and Paul Simon. Asked about the change of musical direction, Blades said: "I felt that the instrumentation and the atmosphere that tango creates would make the lyrics more relevant and stronger. Salsa is action music, whereas in the tango you have space for reflection. There is something about tango that is very emotional. The instruments - the violin, the bandoneon - evoke nostalgia, sadness, opportunities lost and/or found. I always felt that some of my lyrics were shortchanged by the salsa format, with its strong rhythms that got in the way. Blades and his collaborator, arranger Carlos Franzetti, began discussing the tangos project more than a decade ago, but Blades put his entertainment career on hold to serve as Panama's Minister of Tourism from 2004-2009. Franzetti told AP reporter Charles J Gans: "Tangos reflects a genre-blending approach to music that Blades has dubbed 'mixtura'." Blades will soon be going into the studio to do a "rock en espanol" album, also including some English-language songs he wrote with Lou Reed, with his new Paraiso Road Gang band that he formed with his wife, singer Luba Mason, which he says will play a mix from tango and salsa to jazz and bluegrass. He will also appeared in the film Hands of Stone, a biopic about his friend, Panamanian boxing legend Roberto Duran, starring Venezuelan Edgar Ramirez and Robert De Niro. He's embarking on his final world salsa tour next year and plans to quit performing salsa except in Panama by the end of 2016 and is considering running for president as an independent candidate in 2019 if he feels healthy. At the Latin Grammy's ceremony at GM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, he performed Pedro Navaja, which was inspired by Mack the Knife, his song about the life and death of a violent street hustler. Calle 13 won best urban album for Multiviral and best alternative song for El Aguante (To Tolerate). The awards were delayed about 17 minutes because of President Barack Obama's speech on immigration, which aired lived on Univision. Marc Anthony's 3.0 won the first television award for best salsa album. Enrique Iglesias beat Calle 13 and others for best urban performance and song for his pop hit Bailando. Singers Downs, Niña Pastori and Soledad won for Best Folk Album for Raíz. Downs dedicated her trophy to the 43 Mexican students killed in recent months "These are difficult moments for us," Downs said. But we will come out ahead and we will find justice. Placido Domingo won Best Classical Album for his work on Verdi. The Best Brazilian Contemporary Pop Album went to Ivete Sangalo for Multishow Ao Vivo. Best Flamenco Album went to Canción Andaluza from Spanish flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia, who died in February at age 66. His wife, Gabriela Carrasco, and her children, received the award. "This was his last album and he left us an immense gift," Carrasco said. This is the gift of sensibility and a new bridge for music in Spain. Enrique Iglesias picked up three awards including song of the year for his platinum hit, Bailando. Panamanian singer and actor Rubén Blades performs at the 2011 Hay Festival Cartagena For a list of winners see latingrammy.com/es