From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
Tommy Torres receives special award
Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Tommy Torres received a special recognition from his alma mater Berklee College of Music. Torres, along with other Berklee graduates, was honored during the Alumni Achievement Awards 2023. He was recognized for his “versatility and compositions that have broken cultural barriers,” according to a press release.
“I still feel like I’m getting away with something that seems like a dream,” Torres said in a statement. “I’m very thankful with Berklee. Everything I know about music, production and engineering, I learned it here.”
Leading ladies in dembow announce special concert
Live concerts company MTW Live — founded by music executive Diana Dotel — has announced Mujeres Del Movimiento, a special show that will take place in New York on June 24 at the United Palace. The all-women lineup includes artists Yailin La Más Viral, La Insuperable, La Perversa, among others. According to a press release, this show will turn into a concert series with more dates to be announced soon.
Click here for ticket info.
Thalia, Natti Natasha & more to be honored
The first-ever Latin Women in Music, or Mujeres Latinas En La Música in Spanish, will honor Thalia, Ana Gabriel, Natti Natasha, Evaluna, Goyo and Emilia Mernes, Billboard and Telemundo announced Thursday (April 6).
The inaugural event will take place May 6 at the Watsco Center in Miami and is set to be co-hosted by reggaeton queen Ivy Queen — who received this year’s Icon Award at Billboard‘s 2023 Women in Music — and television personality Jacqueline Bracamontes. The two-hour music special, which will air May 7 on Telemundo, will celebrate Latin women artists, executives and creatives who are proactively working for positive change, inclusion and gender parity in the music industry.
More details here.
Fender Next Class of 2023
DannyLux and Yahritza Y Su Esencia have been announced as the new class of Fender Next — an artist development program designed to elevate rising musicians that are pushing guitar forward in music. “When I play my guitar, I am able to dream out loud,” Yahritza says about being part of this program. “I drift into a space that is just me, my guitar and my thoughts and it is a big part of how I roll these ideas out, when writing music.”
