"You don't see those spikes that you do in the general market," said Cookman, whose company's nominated artists this year include Chocquibtown, Hello Seahorse! and Los Amigos Invisibles. "If Norah Jones comes out and wins five Grammys, the next week you'll see sales spike."

One reason for the absence of such an effect, Cookman said, is that over the years the number of Latino music awards shows has proliferated, both in the U.S. and in Latin American countries, competing for television audiences' attentions. Also, he suggested, the sheer number of musical styles can seem daunting. "There's categories in the Brazilian [music] that I hadn't even heard of," he said.

Cookman thinks that the Latin Grammys might be most useful in bestowing a seal of approval to a Latino artist within the non-Latino market. As an example of how the Latin Grammys isn't always in step with the music world it represents, he pointed to Aventura, a Dominican American Bachata(music) quartet from the Bronx.

"They're selling out concerts at Madison Square Garden and hanging out with Obama," Cookman said. "They didn't get one nomination. When you see some of the artists that got nominated over them, you scratch your head and go, 'What?!' "

But for artists in lesser-known, lower-sales categories, winning a Latin Grammy can be a blessing, literally, said Paulina Aguirre, a nominee for the second time in the category of best album of Christian music for her "Esperando Tu Voz."

Aguirre immigrated to Los Angeles six years ago after putting herself through music conservatory by teaching and working as a Hilton hotel hostess in her hometown of Quito, Ecuador. She said that she supported herself by doing vocal session work for such artists as Luis Miguel and Gloria Trevi, and dubbing and voice-overs for TV shows such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy."

Now she and her husband, Pablo Aguirre, operate their own Northridge-based recording label, Mucho Fruto. She believes that she is the first artist from Ecuador to be nominated for a Latin Grammy.

"I didn't watch [the Latin Grammys] for a long time because it made me sad," she said. "One day I was praying and said, 'God, if you want me to be a teacher or whatever you want me to be, just give me the passion.' "

She stuck with singing and won her first Latin Grammy in 2007 for her recording "Mujer de Fe" (Woman of Faith).

"God answered my prayers," Aguirre said. "It's important, because all things that elevate the culture of a country and a language can help Latinos to achieve more."

reed.johnson@latimes.com