LOS ANGELES — The gringos want to know: Who was that dreamboat breathily crooning in Spanish at this year’s Oscars?
That would be the Latin Grammy-nominated pop singer and songwriter, Sebastián Yatra.
Born in Medellín, Colombia, and raised in Miami, the 27-year-old made his Academy Awards debut on Sunday night with a heartrending performance of “Dos Oruguitas,” or “Two Caterpillars,” the Oscar-nominated original song from the 2021 Disney animated film, “Encanto.”
Accompanied by a duo of Colombian folk dancers, Yatra evoked the warmth and the fervor of the song, which follows the love and hardship survived by the Madrigal family’s matriarch.
Written by “Hamilton” and “In the Heights” playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Dos Oruguitas” rose to the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart — Yatra’s first American top 40 hit.
“Encanto” — a magical realist smash about a supernaturally gifted but fractured family in Colombia — won this year’s Academy Award for animated feature.
Yatra first made his breakthrough in 2017, when he recorded “Robarte un Beso” with fellow countryman Carlos Vives. That same year, he was nominated for best new artist at the Latin Grammys.
Yatra’s star has remained steadily on the rise in recent years. Before recording “Dos Oruguitas,” he opened for Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias on their 2021 world tour. Released in January of 2022, Yatra’s latest album, “Dharma,” has ranked No. 2 on the Billboard Latin Pop Albums chart, and features Rauw Alejandro, Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha and the Jonas Brothers. Earlier this month, Yatra performed “Tacones Rojos,” his Latin indie pop single, on the Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
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