Colombian singer Carlos Vives leads Latin Grammy nominations with six

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) _ Colombian folk singer Carlos Vives collected a leading six Latin Grammy nominations Wednesday, including album, record and song of the year. <br><br>Vives, who won a mainstream

Wednesday, July 24th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) _ Colombian folk singer Carlos Vives collected a leading six Latin Grammy nominations Wednesday, including album, record and song of the year.

Vives, who won a mainstream Grammy this year for best traditional tropical Latin album, was recognized again by the separate Latin Recording Academy for his album and song ``Dejame Entrar,'' which translates to ``Let Me In.''

He also had nominations for contemporary tropical album, tropical song and music video. Vives, a former television actor, performs in the style of Vallenato, the traditional music of Colombia's northern plains, which is known for simple lyrics about village life.

Salsa singer Celia Cruz, a two-time Latin Grammy winner, had four nominations, for album and record of the year, best salsa album and best music video for her album and song ``La Negra Tiene Tumbao.''

Other top album nominees were ``Sereno'' by Miguel Bose, ``Jobiniando'' by Ivan Lins and ``MTV Unplugged'' by Alejandro Sanz. Record of the year nominees included Sanz's ``Y Solo Se Me Ocurre Amarte,'' La Ley's ``Mentira'' and ``Se Me Olvido'' by Gian Marco.

The third annual Latin Grammys are planned for Sept. 18 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, which is also the new home of the Academy Awards. It is to be televised live on CBS.

The nearly 4,000-member Latin Recording Academy added two new categories this year _ best contemporary tropical album and best Christian album _ bringing the total to 40.

The Latin Grammys' sophomore ceremony, scheduled for last Sept. 11, was canceled because of the terrorist attacks. The awards were later announced at a small news conference.

The awards ceremony last year had been scheduled in Miami, but organizers switched that to Los Angeles less than a month before the ceremony. The move occurred after academy and local officials could not agree on where anti-Castro protesters would be permitted to picket the show.