From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
Peso Pluma to Headline Sueños Festival
After his headlining set at Sueños was canceled this year due to thunderstorms, Mexican music star Peso Pluma will return to Sueños in 2025 to headline the Chicago festival. Set to take place in Grant Park on Memorial Day Weekend (May 24-25), Peso is the first artist announced to perform at the two-day event — produced by La Familia Presented and C3 Presents. Furthermore, Sueños announced it will be expanding festival grounds, which will include a brand new second stage and dance zone equipped for additional performances and DJ sets. The full lineup for 2025 is yet to be announced but presale goes live on Thursday, Nov. 14th at 12 p.m. CT. For more info, visit www.suenosmusicfestival.com.
Rosalia Gives Back
Rosalia has been spotted as a volunteer in Valencia following the catastrophic flash floods that killed over 200 people in Spain. Local media, as well as video and photos posted across social media, captured the Spanish singer-songwriter with no make-up, a messy bun, face mask, gloves, and black t-shirt providing meals to the community affected by the intense storm DANA. Rosalia accompanied three other women who volunteered with World Central Kitchen, a pro-bono organization that gives out food to victims of natural disasters and war devastation.
Celebrating Afro-Latino Excellence
On Tuesday (Nov. 5), Brasil hosted its fourth annual Potências Awards in São Paulo—celebrating the iconic figures and influential voices in the Black community. Ludmilla, a former Billboard Latin Artist on the Rise, was among the top honorees, celebrated for breaking boundaries in pop, funk, and pagode, while also championing visibility for the Black and LGBTQIAP+ communities.
“I never imagined receiving a tribute from people I admire and who influence me,” the Brazilian artist, who was introduced by Preta Gil at the awards, said ahead of her acceptance speech. “I work hard, I give it my all to live this life, but when it finally happens, I almost can’t believe it. It wasn’t easy to get here. I’ve been through so much—and still do. Only I know the weight of being Ludmilla, of being the biggest Black singer in Latin America.”
Ludmilla onstage at the 2024 Potências Awards.
Eduardo Martins/Brazil News
A Cross-Cultural Banger
In an effort to expand to new, global markets, Colombian urban artists Kevin Roldan and Valka have teamed up with Japanese hitmakers DJ Dr. Royo and OZworld. The cross-cultural collaboration, produced by Royo, is a hard-hitting reggaetón song fused with oriental melodies that’s sung in Spanish and Japanese. With his signature raspy vocals, Roldan chants about working hard and achieving his dreams in Japan: “KR has arrived in Tokyo and the pressure is felt,” he sings, while OZworld smoothly spits fierce rap bars in the Japonic language. Watch the music video below:
Mora’s Gonna Be a Dad!
Mora is the latest Latin urban artist to announce he will be a dad. The Puerto Rican artist-producer shared the exciting news in a joint post with his partner Paula Poletti, where they revealed three photos hugging and a photo of the sonogram. “+1” the description simply stated. In the comments, colleagues such as Justin Quiles and Sky Rompiendo wished the soon-to-be parents their best wishes. Other new music dads this year include Jay Wheeler who had a baby girl with his wife and artist Zhamira Zambrano, as well as hitmaker Tainy, who’s expecting his first child with his girlfriend. See Mora’s sweet post below:
Billboard’s Telenovela Songs List
This week, Billboard unveiled its “100 Best Telenovela Theme Songs” list, where editors rank the top songs from their favorite telenovelas produced in the U.S. and Latin America. For the next five weeks, every Monday we will publish a list of 20 telenovela theme songs, starting with this week’s list from No. 100 to No. 81. Theme songs such as Cristian Castro’s “Morelia”; Belinda’s “El Baile del Sapito”; Vicente Fernández, “Me Voy Quitar de En Medio”; and Daniela Romo, “De mi enamórate”; are among the first picks of the ranking.
We gathered all the editors and contributors of Billboard Latin and Billboard Español — 11 journalists in total, born and raised in Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela, the United States, Peru, Colombia, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic — and asked each one to select their favorite theme songs. See the first part of the ranking here.
Pablo Alboran, Veronica Castro, Thalía and Enrique Iglesias
Illustration by Selman Hoşgör
