Raúl 'El Gordo' De Molina Shares His Latin Grammys Experience, Tells Us What New Artists We Should Be Keeping On The Loop [EXCLUSIVE]

Las Vegas is the place to be and dance the night away on the biggest night in Latin music this year, the 2015 Latin Grammys. Some of the hottest stars in the Latino music industry are ready to walk the red carpet and have a memorable night at the MGM Grand Arena, where Jacqueline Bracamontes and Roselyn Sánchez will entertain the audience with their charming hosting skills.

Our favorite Cuban TV host, Raúl “El Gordo” de Molina, took sometime off his busy schedule today to talk to Latin Times about his experience at the Award ceremony, his favorites red carpet moments and who he thinks are the most promising young stars of the night.

After finishing taping Univision’s “El Gordo y La Flaca,” Raúl sat with us during his lunch break and revealed he has been doing this since the very beginning so he has the award routine down to the T, “I’ve been doing this since the Latin Grammys started. Usually I’m at the beginning of the red carpet and I say hello to the different celebrities that come in. Before, we used to interview people as they came in. Now we have to set it up and I will be interviewing different people. This year I think I will be interviewing Zoe Saldana, Julión Álvarez, Banda El Recodo, Los Tigres Del Norte and Roselyn Sánchez, who is the host of the event.”

Having been in the entertainment business for so long, De Molina mentions there are not a lot of people he hasn’t had the chance to interview but he would love to have the chance to sit down with a certain "Sol de México," "I have been able to interview all the celebrities that I want. The only one that doesn’t come to the Grammys that I would want to interview is Luis Miguel," he said.

When we asked Raúl to share a funny red carpet moment with our readers, he went back to 3 or 4 years ago, when him and soon-to-be Ms. Manganiello, Sofía Vergara, shared a slap and kiss at two different events, “Years ago, I was at Premios Lo Nuestro during the red carpet and Sofía Vergara that you know how big she is now, she is getting married this Sunday at The Breakers in Palm Beach and all that, and like playing she slapped me in the face and then, during the Latin Grammys here in Vegas, she kissed me in the mouth. I have the photograph! From one time slapping me, like playing, on the face in Premios Lo Nuestro, to another time after she was already, you know, the cross over that she did very well, she was in ‘Modern Family.’ A couple years ago, I think it was 3 or 4 years ago, here in Vegas she gave me a kiss in the mouth on the red carpet,” he recalled. And he was kind enough to send us the picture to prove it! Thanks Raúl!

The 56-year-old host also confessed that one of the highlights of the Latin Grammy’s, in his opinion, is not the event we get to see on television, but the night before, when the Person of the Year Award is given, “this is when they do Person of the Year Award and this year it went to Roberto Carlos, the Brazilian singer. You know, who is really one of the super stars from Latin America. And he was there and there were all these people singing to him. Gabriel Abaroa, the President of the Latin Grammys, always sets this up. I sat on the table with him, we were right in front of the stage, Alejandro Sanz, Carlos Vives, a lot of the top stars were singing to Roberto Carlos and this is one the greatest shows that people don’t get to see.” He revealed that we missed Juan Gabriel dancing on the table when he received the award years ago, should we start signing petitions for this to be televised or what?

Even though, Raúl admitted not to have any favorites tonight and stated he is rooting for all the nominees, he said that there are some very talented newcomers that we should keep our eyes on, “you know, you have all these singers that have been coming around for years, but the ones that I admire the most are now: Leslie Grace, from the Dominican Republic, I think she is doing a great job. I met her for the first time at one of the red carpets when I didn’t know who she was, and I think she is probably one that has become a really, really, great singer and you know, she is one of the young stars right now and I’m so happy for her.”

He also mentioned Sofia Carson, who has been doing movies for the most part but will be releasing her first album soon, “she was one of the stars in the Disney movie “Descendants,” “there’s another girl that I think is a great singer, her name is Sofia Carson and she speaks Spanish perfectly because her family is from Colombia and now they are going to launch her singing career. I think she is one of the young promises in the Latin American market,” he concluded.