We Speak Latin
Elena Rose Joins Gente de Zona on “Nadie Se Murió” Ahead of Her Latin Grammy Night
Elena Rose keeps collecting the kind of moments songwriters dream about. On October 16, the Venezuelan singer and songwriter stepped out front with Cuban duo Gente de Zona on “Nadie Se Murió,” a joyful, roots-deep collaboration that serves as the second single from the duo’s upcoming album Isla Viva, due in 2027. The song was built from scratch in the studio with producer Angel “Pututi” Arce, and it moves like a short history of Cuban music, opening in the warmth of son montuno, building through salsa and timba, and finishing in the full rush of a conga santiaguera.
The pairing has history behind it. This is the first time Elena and Gente de Zona have sung together on a record, but she already helped write one of their biggest: she is a songwriter behind the duo’s global hit “Muchacha.” Randy of Gente de Zona did not hide his admiration, saying the session was the moment they realized Elena can sing whatever she wants. Her own words were simpler: when she first came to the United States, Gente de Zona’s music was part of her life while she worked nights and chased the dream she is now living.
The single arrives in the middle of the biggest awards season of her career. Elena Rose is a 2026 Latin Grammy nominee for Record of the Year with “Alma,” placing her in the night’s top category alongside names like Rosalía, Karol G and Mon Laferte. The 27th annual Latin Grammy Awards air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on November 12.
Before she was a nominee, Elena built her name as one of Latin pop’s most trusted pens, writing for major stars while developing her own voice as an artist. “Nadie Se Murió” shows both sides at once: the craft of a writer who understands tradition, and the presence of a singer who belongs at the center of the record. Its message matches her story, too. Fall down, get back up, and keep believing. Nobody died of a broken heart.
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Thirty years into his career, Jorge Drexler went home, and home answered. The Uruguayan singer-songwriter has earned seven nominations at the 27th Annual Latin Grammy Awards for Taracá, the album he recorded in Uruguay for the first time in two decades. He is also set to perform when the ceremony airs live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on November 12.
Taracá competes for Album of the Year and Best Singer-Songwriter Album, while “¿Cómo Se Ama?” is nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. “Las Palabras” is up for Best Singer-Songwriter Song, and “El Tambor Chico,” recorded with Rueda de Candombe, is in the Best Roots Song field, alongside a Best Alternative Song nomination that rounds out the seven.
The album, released March 13 on Sony Music Spain, is built on candombe, the Afro-Uruguayan drumming tradition carried by three drums: piano, chico and repique. Its title is the sound of the smallest of them, the tambor chico, and a play on “estar acá,” to be here. Drexler, who has lived in Spain for three decades, made the record after losing his parents, working with young producers and with Rueda de Candombe, who appear on three tracks. Young Miko sings with him on the ballad “Te Llevo Tatuada,” and the album closes with “Las Palabras,” a murga farewell featuring Murga Falta y Resto that Drexler dedicated to his father.
The Taracá tour has carried the experiment around the world this year, from Buenos Aires’ Movistar Arena in April to Costa Rica in September, with Drexler performing the candombe-rooted songs alongside the catalog that made him one of Latin music’s most decorated writers: an Academy Award winner for “Al Otro Lado del Río” and a thirteen-time Latin Grammy winner before this year’s nominations were even announced.
His last album, Tinta y Tiempo, won seven Latin Grammys. Taracá now has the chance to match it. Whatever happens on November 12, the homecoming already ranks as one of the year’s great stories: a master songwriter, a drum pattern from the streets of Montevideo, and seven nominations to show for listening to both.
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