The Lucas Awards 2026 introduced a new category this year in the Cuban music video competition: the award for "Best AI Video," aimed at works that incorporate artificial intelligence either partially or fully in their creation. This announcement was made during the nominations gala held at the Café Cantante of the National Theater of Cuba in Havana, and was reported by journalist Lied Lorain in OnCuba.
According to OnCuba's coverage, the number of videos received this year that incorporate artificial intelligence either partially or fully in their production prompted the creation of the award for "Best AI Video."
Along with this new feature, the competition added a second new category: "Makeup and Hairdressing," which for the first time recognizes this specialty within the Lucas Awards.
In total, the 29th edition of the Premios Lucas includes 31 categories. The program received 342 clips this year, of which 251 were shortlisted and submitted for review by a jury of approximately a dozen specialists: non-competing directors, art critics, musicologists, experts in editing and visual effects, and cultural journalists.
The campaign for this edition is titled "1pá 30" and, according to the organizers, aims to highlight the perseverance of Cuban filmmakers and artists in creating amidst the complex socioeconomic context of the country.
The music video with the most nominations among the contenders is "Aset," by the Franco-Cuban duo Ibeyi, with seven nominations: alternative fusion, performance —by Naomi Díaz—, art direction, cinematography, editing, direction, and video of the year.
Following closely with six nominations each are "Habana" by Raúl Paz; "Delirando" by Vicente Trigo; "Son y go" by Rafa Tena alongside Alain Pérez; and "Dándote tó" by Jarulay.
Also nominated for the "Video of the Year" award are the clips "Dreaming of Snakes" by X Alfonso and Silvio Rodríguez, and "Firefly" by Milo J and Silvio Rodríguez. The collaborations of the historic troubadour in three music videos—also including "Leave Me Alone," alongside Alejo Stivel—make him the artist with the most nominations, totaling ten nominations.
Among the directors, Felo leads the total with 17 nominations distributed across six videos, followed by Freddy Loons with 15 nominations in another six works.
Another new feature of this edition affects the Popularity Award: for the first time, the public will vote on a closed list of ten nominated music videos—rather than being able to choose from all those received—through social media, SMS, and TransferMóvil. This measure aims to recognize the clips that topped the Lucasnómetro throughout the year, the weekly impact tracker of the television program.
Among the nominees for the new category of "Best AI Video" are "I Dream of Snakes" by X Alfonso and Silvio Rodríguez, and "Leave Me Alone" by Alejo Stivel featuring Silvio Rodríguez himself.
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