Rosalía and J Balvin Pick Up Their VMA Con Altura and Proud to Be Acknowledged in Their Language

The 2019 MTV VMAs started with flores azules y quilates and saw Rosalía, J Balvin, and El Guincho win the award for best Latin for "Con Altura." French Montana and Alison Brie presented the award and called out that most of the nominees in this category — which included Anuel AA and Karol G; Bad Bunny and Drake; Benny Blanco, Tainy, Selena Gomez, and J Balvin; Daddy Yankee and Snow; and Maluma — are immigrants.

French then went on to say he's an immigrant, too, and as an immigrant, "we are the people that make this country." He added he felt immigrants are the voice of this new generation. This set the tone for Rosalía and J Balvin, who took the stage to accept the award and couldn't have been prouder to show their Spanish and Colombian heritage, respectively.

"Thank you, because it's such an incredible honor," Rosalía said, clearly excited. "I come from Barcelona, I'm so happy to be here representing where I come from, representing my culture." She also said she was thankful to sing in Spanish at the VMAs and later thanked J Balvin, El Guincho, and Ozuna for making music with her. J Balvin added to the sentiment and said he was "super proud of being Latino" and that this was a beautiful moment because it was his first time singing in Spanish on a stage like the VMAs.