For Latin Grammy Nominee Edgar Barrera, Mistakes Can Be Perfection

At his home and studio in Miami, the Mexican American songwriter and producer Edgar Barrera doesn’t flaunt his 18 Latin Grammy Awards, or the Grammy he won in 2015, or the plaques for his dozens of gold and platinum singles.

“I try not to focus on awards and stuff like that,” he said in a video interview. “On my walls are just pictures of people that inspired me to become who I am.”

Behind him and down the hall, he pointed out Amy Winehouse, U2, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Dr. Dre, Miles Davis, Queen and AC/DC. He’s still searching galleries for original photographs of Latin musicians he admires, like Juan Gabriel, José Alfredo Jiménez, Thalia and Luis Miguel.

Barrera, 32, is likely to gather even more trophies on Thursday night, when the 24th annual Latin Grammys are broadcast from Seville, Spain. He is the most-nominated musician this year, with 13 citations including producer and songwriter of the year. In some categories, Barrera is competing against himself. Two songs he co-wrote are nominated for song of the year, while three each are nominated as best tropical song and best regional Mexican song.