25 Defining Moments for Latin Music

It was a milestone for Latin jazz when on September 29, 1947, Cuban conga virtuoso and composer Chano Pozo joined Dizzy Gillespie’s band onstage at Carnegie Hall.

Damaso Perez Prado’s “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White,” which was used as the theme to the Jane Russell film Underwater!. spent an astounding 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts — a few years before the creation of Billboard‘s eventual flagship songs chart, the Billboard Hot 100 — making it one of the biggest instrumental hits of its era.

West Side Story, the first Broadway show to focus on New York’s Puerto Rican immigrants, debuts on Broadway. The musical, movie and Latin-tinged soundtrack would eventually go on to become an iconic American work.

Elvis Presley’s film Acapulco premieres, where he takes on the role of Mike Windgren — a lifeguard and singer at a Mexican resort.

The first U.S. bossa nova concert takes place at Carnegie Hall.

Scarface premieres. Directed by Brian De Palma and starring Al Pacino, the film about a Cuban drug dealer will influence multiple generations of hip-hop artists in the United States.

Linda Ronstadt releases Canciones de Mi Padre, the biggest-selling non-English album in U.S. history at that time.

Billboard premieres the first-ever Latin Music Awards with Univision.

The Latin Music Seminar, sponsored by Billboard, starts as a one-day event in Miami. It ultimately evolves to become Billboard Latin Music Week, the longest-running and most prestigious annual gathering in the Latin music world.

Los del Rio’s “Macarena” becomes an unprecedented hit, thanks in large part to an accompanying global dance craze. The song ranks at No. 9 on Billboard‘s latest Greatest of All Time Hot 100 chart update (released in 2021).

Also in 1995, Tejano singer Selena is tragically killed by the president of her fan club. Nearly 30 years later, her singular legacy lives on, in Latin music and beyond.

The Latin Grammys have their debut on a mainstream TV channel.

Daddy Yankee releases “Gasolina,” reaching the top 40 of the Hot 100 and helping reggaetón make its global breakthrough.

Regional Mexican star Jenni Rivera dies in a plane crash over Mexico, when she was on the brink of producing and starring in a pilot for an ABC series loosely based on her life story.

“Despacito” — originally recorded by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, and then remixed with Justin Bieber — becomes the biggest song on the planet, and tops the Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record-tying 16 weeks.

Also in 2017, Beyoncé jumps on the remix of J Balvin and Willy William’s “Mi Gente.” The track becomes the second bilingual track to reach the top five of the Hot 100 in a single year, further demonstrating the expanding stateside reach of Spanish-language music.

Shakira and Jennifer Lopez make history in an all-Latina Super Bowl halftime show, sharing the Miami stage for a well-received co-headlining set at Super Bowl LIV.

Also in 2020, Bad Bunny lands a historic debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart as the Puerto Rican artist’s El Último Tour del Mundo becomes the first all-Spanish-language album to top the all-genre tally. It followed the Puerto Rican artist’s YHLQMDLG No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200 earlier that year.

Still in 2020, J Balvin becomes the first Latino artist to get his own McDonald’s meal, with the “J Balvin Meal” including a Big Mac, medium fries with ketchup and an Oreo McFlurry.

Bad Bunny’s upcoming 2022 tour, to be known as the World’s Hottest Tour, becomes the fastest-selling tour since 2018.

Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti is 2022’s year-end No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Released in May 2022, the set debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, becoming the second all-Spanish-language album to reach No. 1 on the weekly Billboard 200, following Bad Bunny’s own El Ultimo Tour del Mundo in 2020. Un Verano Sin Ti spent 13 nonconsecutive weeks atop the list in 2022 – the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since 2016. Un Verano Sin Ti also never left the top two positions on the Billboard 200 for its first 24 weeks on the chart – the first time any album had spent its first six months in the top two.

Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito debuts atop the Billboard 200, making it the first entirely Spanish-language album by a female artist ever to reach the chart’s apex. 

Also in 2023, Latin music revenues in the United States hit an all-time high, exceeding the $1 billion mark on the wings of 24% growth, outpacing the overall market. “Latin music revenues in 2022 exceeded $1 billion for the first time and grew significantly faster than the broader industry. That sustained expansion speaks to an openness to new artists, music and ways of listening,” RIAA senior VP, state public policy & industry relations Rafael Fernandez Jr. says in a statement released April 2023.

Still in 2023, Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” becomes the first regional Mexican song to reach the Hot 100’s top five. It also becomes the first regional Mexican song to dominate the Billboard Global 200 (holding the top slot for six weeks) and lands at No. 1 on the Year-End Hot Latin Songs chart.

In July, Karol G wrapped her Mañana Será Bonito World Tour and it grossed more than $313 million. The stint is now the highest-grossing Latin tour by a woman in Boxscore history, topping her own $trip Love Tour from 2022. On average, her per-show gross grew from $2.2 million on that trek, to $4.8 million on this trek.