Billboard inaugural ‘Mujeres Latinas en la Música’ is almost here! The big celebration will take place next May 6 at the Watsco Center in Miami and will air exclusively on May 7 on Telemundo. The two hour music special will be cohosted by reggaeton icon Ivy Queen and the TV personality Jacqueline Bracamontes, honoring some of the biggest Latin female artists in the industry, such as Shakira, Emilia, Evaluna, Goyo and Thalia.
However, behind this great celebration are some realities exist that need to be made visible, and others that should be, of course, celebrated!
Why a ‘Mujeres Latinas en la Música’ Event?
This first ever Mujeres Latinas en la Música pretends, on the one hand, to show the incredible rise that Latin music has experienced in the last years; between 2020 and 2022, this genre grew 55.29% in album consumption in the United States, greatly surpassing R&B/hip hop (12,17%), rock (22.28%) and pop (20,64%). Latin music streaming growth even increased by 33% in 2022. Moreover, we can see our latin female stars breaking the scene and giving the best performances everywhere, such as at Coachella, at the Latin American Music Awards or simply being the queens of the urban genre worldwide.
But, on the other hand, this event also plans to raise awareness about a big reality in the industry: the demographic imbalance between women Latin artists compared with their male counterparts. Latin Female artists are still underrepresented, as Billboard has also affirmed: male artists make up 70% of the top 100 artists overall in Latin America by total streams, while women make up %, according to Luminate’s data from 8 Latin countries.
Karol G, Shakira and other Latin Women Artists Changing the Game
Karol G is one of the Latin female stars that is breaking all the barriers: she’s one of the only two women whose albums got to the no. 1 position of Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart between 2020 and 2023 with KG0516 (2021) and Mañana Será Bonito (2023). The other one was Selena Gomez with Revelación (2021). Not a single woman achieved the top spot with an album in 2018, 2019, 2020 or 2022.
The number of singles released by women compared to men that entered in the Hot Latin Songs chart is even quite inferior. From 2010 to 2019 – a period where reggaeton, a genre that has been led mainly by male artists, dominated the charts- only 14 of all the singles that entered in the No.1 position belonged to women artists. The other 80 were released by male singers.
Karol G performs on the Main Stage at Coachella. Scott Dudelson / Getty Images for Coachella
Since 2020, men have had 16 No. 1 hits on Hot Latin Songs, while women have placed only eight. Among these is the great ‘Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53’, which is also the first Spanish song by a woman to debut in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. This was followed later in the same year by ‘TQG’, also by Shakira, but featuring Karol G, which reached No. 7 in the chart. While this achievement is significant, it also highlights the lack of female-led songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart.
On the other hand, only two women have reached No. 1 on the Latin Songwriters chart: up-and-coming Mexican-American singer-songwriter Yahritza Martinez and Karol G. Meanwhile, no women have appeared on the Latin Producers chart, which ranks the top 10 producers of the week.
Bizarrap and Shakira perform on Jimmy Fallon Show. / Todd Owyoung / NBC via Getty Images
The Female Artists Honored at ‘Mujeres Latinas En la Música’
The event will count on the great latin female stars that have made an important impact in the Latin music industry. Shakira will be honored with the 2023 Women of the Year Award at the ceremony, and she’ll join a powerful lineup of honorees including Emilia (Rising Star Award), Ana Gabriel (Living Legend Award), Goyo (Agent of Change Award), Evaluna (Tradition and Future Award) and Thalía (Global Powerhouse Award), who will also perform during the ceremony.
Emilia performs during Live Las Ventas in Madrid, Spain. Aldara Zarraoa / Redferns
Billboard has focused all its attention on the details, understanding the industry as a whole and also honoring those women that used to be behind the stages: the women executives in the Latin Music industry such as María Fernández, Elsa Yep, Mia Nygren, Camille Soto, Desiree Perez and Rocío Guerrero, among others.
Where to Buy Tickets to ‘Mujeres Latinas en la Música’?
You can purchase your Tickets to Mujeres Latinas en la Música and get all the details in the official webpage of the event.
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