MEXICO CITY (AP) — The third time may be the charm for Edgar Barrera, the Mexican composer and producer nominated for the third consecutive year for the Grammy in the category of songwriter of the year, non-classical.
Barrera has competed in all but one of the years since this category was introduced in 2023. He said that it fills him with pride to be nominated for the 2026 Grammys, which will be presented Sunday in Los Angeles.
If Barrera wins, he'll be the first Latino to accoladed in the category, and would add this award to an impressive career that has amassed 29 Latin Grammys and one Grammy for best tropical Latin album.
“To open the door for the new generations and the Latin composers who are making music,” he said in a video interview with The Associated Press. “It takes away that stigma that you have to write songs in English or that you have to do things a certain way to be considered.”
The songwriter of the year, non-classical, honor is part of the Grammy's general field, which also includes song, record and album of the year, best new artist and producer of the year, non-classical.
Barrera’s nomination reflects the diversity of Latin music, from contemporary Mexican music with Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera's “Me Jalo,” to Shakira’s pop “Soltera,” and Karol G’s fusion with “Milagros.” Barrera’s range is especially wide, and he attributes it to his hyperactivity.
“I get bored very quickly, sometimes when I’m making a certain rhythm or working on a sound constantly. I can’t spend more than two weeks doing the same thing,” he said. “For me, I don’t want it to become like a factory.”
His ideal, beyond musical genres or specific rhythms, is to “bring out the best they have in the artist.”
Barrera spoke from Texas, where he was working with the Colombian artist Silvestre Dangond. Just before that, he had been with Carín León in Hermosillo, Mexico, where he said they recorded about 20 songs for what will be his next album.
Grammy week is intense, especially for Barrera, who said he often takes advantage of the gatherings of music stars to do recording sessions.
“I have a lot of sessions in the middle of all this Grammy chaos,” he said.
Although his work style is usually relaxed, if he's working with friends, it is better for him. He says that when he enters the studio he wants to laugh with the musicians and have a good time.
“And in the end, when there is an hour left before the end of the session, we write the song and record,” he said. “I love that style of work.”
Among the songs composed by Barrera that were considered for the nomination, one specially represents a career milestone — “Me Retiro” by Carlos Santana with Grammy nominated Grupo Frontera.
“Carlos has been an inspiration for me for as long as I can remember,” Barrera said. “My dad introduced me to music through Santana. We were at Christmas with the family, and they showed me videos of where I am playing at 10 or 9 years old, songs by Carlos Santana.”
Santana was Barrera’s first concert. His seat was in the last row of the forum, so far away that he had to carry binoculars, he said. Everything was very different last November when he performed live with Santana on the Latin Grammys stage and even more so when he began working with the star guitarist on what will be his next album.
“I come from a town, a city, where being a composer is not a job, and it wasn’t even like it’s in my plans to be what I’m doing,” Barrera said. “I’m going with Santana to the studio to continue working on more music and for me it’s a dream, you know? I can’t believe it.”
Shakira and Karol G are two great songwriters in their own right, so delving into their universe as a collaborator was an equally pleasant experience for Barrera.
In the case of Karol G, getting an artist like Marco Antonio Solís, who does not usually perform songs that are not composed by him, to join “Coleccionando Heridas” from her Grammy-nominated album “Tropicoqueta” and with Shakira working to perfection on her hit “Soltera.”
“I really like working with artists like them, who are very passionate and who are also great representatives of Latin music,” said Barrera. “They are one of the toughest artists we have in Latin America.”
Next, for Barrera there will be collaborations with Anglo artists, whose names he could not reveal.
“I’ve learned that what they are looking for from me is like that Latin sound, that sound that I know how to do and that I like to do … To be myself in the sessions and flow with them, and not try to be maybe an American producer,” said Barrera.
He is also aiming to do country music, preferably in Nashville.
“I would like to go to work, to look for inspiration and muse, from scratch, in Nashville.”
For more coverage of this year’s Grammy Awards, visit: www.apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards
FILE - Edgar Barrera appears at the 2025 Latin Grammys in Las Vegas on Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
FILE - Edgar Barrera poses with a Grammy at the 23rd annual Latin Grammy Awards on Nov. 17, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
FILE - Edgar Barrera, winner of the awards for best tropical song and song of the year for "Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido," and award for songwriter of the year, poses in the press room during the 2025 Latin Grammys in Las Vegas on Nov. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Federal immigration officials have ceased their “enhanced operations” in Maine, the site of an enforcement surge and hundreds of arrests since last week, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Thursday.
Collins, a Republican, announced the development after saying she had spoken directly with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
“There are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here,” Collins said in a statement, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “I have been urging Secretary Noem and others in the administration to get ICE to reconsider its approach to immigration enforcement in the state.”
The announcement came after President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting there by federal immigration agents.
Collins said ICE and Border Patrol officials “will continue their normal operations that have been ongoing here for many years.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Collins’ announcement comes more than a week after ICE began an operation it dubbed “Catch of the Day.”
Federal officials said about 50 arrests were made the first day and that roughly 1,400 people were operational targets in the mostly rural state of 1.4 million residents, 4% of whom are foreign-born.
In Lewiston, one of the cities targeted by ICE, Mayor Carl Sheline called the scale-down welcome news, describing the agency's operations as “disastrous” for the community.
“ICE operations in Maine have failed to improve public safety and have caused lasting damage to our communities. We will continue working to ensure that those who were wrongfully detained by ICE are returned to us,” said Sheline, who leads a city where the mayoral position is required to be nonpartisan.
ICE has also launched immigration operations in Minnesota, Chicago and other cities. While Trump has pushed to deploy National Guard troops to crack down on both immigration and crime, as of early January, the White House said it was backing down after facing several legal roadblocks.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin last week touted that some Maine arrests were of people “convicted of horrific crimes including aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child.”
Court records painted a slightly different story: While some had felony convictions, others were detainees with unresolved immigration proceedings or who were arrested but never convicted of a crime.
Federal authorities highlighted the case of Elmara Correia, saying she was “arrested previously for endangering the welfare of a child.” However, Manuel Vemba, who has a four-year-old son with Correia, said Thursday that a neighbor called police about the boy playing outside with friends, and that he doesn’t believe any charges were brought.
“She does not have any criminal record, and she’s not the type of person they’re labeling her,” he said. “Elmara is a mother, just like many other mothers out there, who loves her child and has sacrificed for her child.”
Vemba described his former partner as trustworthy, hardworking and devoted to their son, who is on the autism spectrum and loves to play soccer and run.
“She did everything she could to guarantee that my son was safe and happy,” he said.
The boy is now staying with Vemba, who has told him, “Mommy’s traveling. Mommy will be back.” On Wednesday, a Massachusetts judge granted her request for a bail hearing.
Collins is up for reelection this year. Unlike a handful of Republican senators facing potentially tough campaigns, Collins has not called for Noem to step down or be fired. She's also avoided criticizing ICE tactics, beyond saying ICE should not target people who are in the U.S. legally.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who announced her Senate candidacy in October and could face Collins in the general election, has challenged immigration officials to provide judicial warrants, real-time arrest numbers and basic information about who is being detained in Maine. She also called on Collins to act after the House’s GOP majority defeated Democrats' efforts to curtail ICE funding.
ICE must account for its actions in Maine even if it is scaling back, Mills said Thursday.
“We still do not know critical details about the 200 individuals ICE says it has detained, many of whom appear to be here legally, who have no criminal record and who are not ‘the worst of the worst.’ The people of Maine deserve to know the identities of every person taken from here, the legal justification for doing so, where they are being held, and what the federal government’s plan for them is,” Mills said.
Meanwhile, first-time Democratic candidate Graham Platner — who is challenging Mills in the primary — has criticized both Mills' and Collins' handling of ICE and has demanded the agency be dismantled. Platner organized a protest Thursday outside Collins' office in Portland, Maine, where dozens of supporters held signs and sang along with him.
Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island, and Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writer Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.
Anti-ICE sentiment is expressed on a traffic sign, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Biddeford, Maine.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
FILE - Protesters rally against the presence of U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement in Maine, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
FILE - Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, on July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
