Santo Domingo, DR – The Association of Art Journalists (Acroarte) announced this Tuesday the nominees for the 41st edition of the Soberano Awards, an award expected by the Dominican artistic class, which celebrates being considered year after year in the categories of cinema, classical music, popular music, and communication.
However, as happens every year, beyond the joy of those who achieved a nomination, the “famous tantrum” has become evident on social media, which is nothing more than the discontent of figures in the art world and the general public due to the absence of personalities who, in their opinion, did outstanding work during the evaluated year and deserved to be considered. Among the most mentioned names are the singer and composer Shadow Blow, excluded from the Concert of the Year category; the actor and comedian of Dominican descent Marcello Hernández, absent in Outstanding Actor Abroad and Outstanding Communicator Abroad; the radio show El Ritmo de la Mañana, the urban artists Arlene MC and La Más Doll, as well as several radio, television and artistic projects that were left out of the nominations, a situation that netizens and figures have cataloged as “eggs” of Acroarte.
Shadow Blow and his concert “Chapters”, out of Concert of the Year
One of the exclusions that has generated the most buzz is that of the concert “Capítulos”, offered by Shadow Blow at La Gran Arena del Cibao in Santiago de los Caballeros last December. The urban artist achieved a full house, confirming his power of convocation in one of the most important venues in the country and reaffirming his career within the Dominican music industry.
Accompanied by an eight-piece band and international DJ, DJ Lobo, Shadow Blow presented a concert lasting almost three hours, in which he performed more than 50 songs, including “Oh oh!”, “Ni virgen ni santa”, “Es una novela”, “Foke to’ 1”, “Mucho más que enamorao'”, “Tú con él y yo con ella”, “Pomposo”, “Teteo”, “Nathalie”, “Mega mami”, “Influencer” and “Desde que te conocí”.
The concert included an emotional tribute to legendary figures of the Dominican urban movement such as Monkey Black, as well as featuring special guests like Don Miguelo, Nene Amenazzy, Yailin La Más Viral, Carlos Montesquieu, Capitán Alofoke and Valka, former colleagues of Shadow Blow on the reality show La Casa de Alofoke.
Despite bringing together the characteristic elements of a high-level concert – stage production, lights, special effects, live band, dancers, surprises and guests – Acroarte decided to leave this proposal out of the Concert of the Year category, a decision that has been harshly questioned by experts and followers of the artist, who call it one of the great mistakes of the nominations.
Marcello Hernández, standard-bearer of Dominican identity, one of the most surprising absences
Another exclusion that has caused astonishment is that of Marcello Hernández, a 28-year-old actor and comedian, who during 2025 established himself as one of the figures of Dominican descent with the greatest international projection. Hernández currently represents the Dominican community on Saturday Night Live (NBC), where he is part of the regular cast, becoming the first member of Generation Z with Latin roots to achieve this.
Among his most popular characters is “Domingo”, in which he plays the son of actor Pedro Pascal and the fictional nephew of artist Bad Bunny, characters that have gained notoriety in various humorous routines of the program.
In that sense, the chemistry between Bad Bunny and Marcelo was brought to the big screen in the film “Terminagolf 2”, written by Adam Sandler, where Marcello plays Bad Bunny’s cousin.
Hernández has also served as a presenter at important awards shows such as the Grammys and is currently premiering his comedy special Marcello Hernández: American Boy on Netflix, based on his stand-up tour of the United States. Despite this journey, he was not considered in the categories of Outstanding Foreign Actor or Outstanding Foreign Communicator.
The Morning’s Rhythm, another great absence
The radio program El Ritmo de la Mañana, broadcast Monday through Friday on Ritmo 96, is among the most commented absences from Premios Soberano 2026. The proposal, led by the experienced communicator Alberto Vargas and a great team, has established itself as one of the most influential and listened-to spaces for commentary, humor, and entertainment on morning radio in the capital.
Under Vargas’ leadership, the program has managed to stay current, connect with a loyal audience, and position itself as a daily radio reference. However, its exclusion from the nominations has been pointed out by listeners and followers as one of the “eggs”, meaning the most notorious errors committed by Acroarte this year.
Jochy Santos and “El Mismo Golpe”, out of the category “Variety radio program”
Another surprise was the exclusion of El Mismo Golpe, a radio program hosted by Jochy Santos, a pioneer of interactive radio in the Dominican Republic. Despite its international broadcasts, special coverages, and constant renewal of the cast, the show was not nominated in the Variety Radio Program category, in which Esto No es Radio, Camino al Sol, El Mañanero, La Uca, and Solo para Mujeres do appear.
Arlene MC and La Más Doll, excluded from Revelation of the Year
Arlene MC, whose real name is Arlene Mota Cedano, positioned herself in 2025 as one of the most authentic female voices in the Dominican urban genre. Her song “Mamazota” surpassed 80 million views on YouTube and put her on the radar of the young public. Added to this are songs like “Bomper”, “Recoqueo”, “Ete Coco”, “Las Villanas” and “Qué Pasa”, in addition to her reinterpretation of “Celoso”, a classic by Las Chicas del Can. Although 2025 was a year of projection and consolidation for her career, Arlene MC was left out of the Revelation of the Year category.
Similarly, Dahiana Guzmán, artistically known as La Más Doll, established herself as one of the most visible emerging female figures in Dominican urban music. Her songs went viral on Dominican radio, TikTok, and other digital platforms, achieving massive success with songs like “Palo”, “El Gueso”, “Te la Parto”, “Muxaxa”, “Coketa”, “Son Rata” and “1234 Remix”. Her impact profiled her as a clear candidate for Revelation of the Year, a category in which she was ultimately not considered.
María Tavárez and Daniel Luciano, out of Comedian of the Year
Comedians María Tavárez and Daniel Luciano, members of the program La Opción 13.0, were also left out of the Comedian of the Year category. Both represent a new generation of Dominican humor and stated through an intervention on the television program that they consider it necessary for Acroarte to open space for new talents, understanding that established figures like Raymond and Miguel have already widely demonstrated their legacy.
In that same vein, La Opción 13.0, one of the highest-rated midday programs, was also not included in the Daily Entertainment Program category, where El Show del Mediodía, Extremo a Extremo, Esta Noche Mariasela, Too Much en la Noche and El Mangú de la Mañana are included.
The radio program El Ritmo de la Mañana, broadcast Monday through Friday on Ritmo 96, is among the most commented absences from Premios Soberano 2026. The proposal, led by the experienced communicator Alberto Vargas and a great team, has established itself as one of the most influential and listened-to spaces for commentary, humor, and entertainment on morning radio in the capital.
