(EFE).- Deceased Mexican singer Juan Gabriel had never won a Latin Grammy before Thursday night, when his album “The Duo 2” was named not only Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, but also Album of the Year – the two biggest categories of the Latin Grammy Awards.

The Mexican icon’s presence first emerged when he was announced as the winner of Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category, but presenter Andres Ceballos, a member of the Spanish pop group Dvicio, was unaware it was a posthumous award and announced that “the Divo of Juarez” was absent from the event, and added that the academy would ensure he received his award.

“La Bicicleta” by Carlos Vives and Shakira took the awards of Record of the Year and Song of the Year, while Spanish artists Alejandro Sanz and Nina Pastori won the Best Long Form Music Video category with “Sirope Vivo” and the Best Flamenco Album award with “Amame Como Soy”.

As usual, the three-hour event held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was packed with several great performances, starting with a powerful duet between Pablo Lopez and Juanes in “Tu Enemigo”, a song with a deep political message.

They were followed by performances by artists including Laura Pausini, Jesse and Joy, Wisin, Joss Favela, Fonseca, Alexis and Fido, Reik, Yandel, Prince Royce, Gerardo Ortiz and Carlos Vives.

However, the most memorable moment of the evening came when Anthony sang a duet with his ex-wife, Jennifer Lopez, singing Pimpinela’s “Olvidame y Pega la Vuelta”, which ended with a kiss on the lips after pleas from the audience.

Expected references to US President-elect Donald Trump were left for the press area, and there were few mentions during the event, except some comments made by presenters Sebastian Rulli and Roselyn Sanchez, who said “the walls should only exist in our minds”.

The only artist who decided to discuss Trump was Mexican indie-pop singer Carla Morrison, who said on stage “let’s not allow some orange son of a bitch take away our mental, spiritual and emotional liberty”. EFE