At 82 years old, singer Petrona Martinez won her first Latin Grammy with the album 'Ancestras' in the category Best Tropical Album, a production that is framed in Petrona's desire to remember her ancestors and in order to pay tribute to all women who in some way represent the Afro-descendant femininity.

The presentation of the award made by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences took place this Sunday at her home in the department of Bolivar, Colombia. The 'Queen of Büllerengue', as she is known, was dressed in a white skirt with some cayenas. She was also wearing a headband with the same motif and several flowers adorning her head.

Petrona could not hold back the tears of emotion after finally caressing the statuette for which she fought so hard, the Latin Grammy, which she received from the hands of the bagpiper Mayté Montero, who has toured the world with Carlos Vives.

The Queen of Bullerengue could not travel to the awards gala that took place this Thursday in Las Vegas, due to an ischemia she suffered in 2017 and affected her mobility.

"Congratulations my love, I am proud to have been with you all these years and that your family allowed me to give you this," Montero expressed to the artist from Bolivar, who burst into tears and only managed to say "thank you".

Stanley Montero, who has been her musical director, was also part of the delivery. He told the Barranquillero newspaper El Heraldo that the teacher "was very excited, she did not know that we were going to give her the award. Mayté had it in Bogota and took the opportunity to play on Friday at the coronation show of the kings of the Carnival of Barranquilla and early Sunday we went to Petrona's house and gave her the big surprise.

Since her first production in 1989, Petrona has established herself as one of the most relevant folklorists of recent times, having three Latin Grammy nominated albums out of the nine released so far.