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.
A Celia Cruz Tribute
Celia Cruz will be honored and celebrated at the 2025 Billboard Latin Women in Music Awards to air April 24 on Telemundo. The late Cuban star, who was born in 1925 and passed away in 2003, will be recognized with the Legend Award, and will also be honored with a centennial tribute performance by Puerto Rican powerhouses Ivy Queen, La India, and Olga Tañón. The latter of the three will receive this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
In addition to Cruz and Tañón, other 2025 honorees include Anitta (Vanguard Award), Belinda (Evolution Award), Chiquis (Impact Award), Ha*Ash (Unbreakable Award) and Natti Natasha (Unstoppable Award). Mexican star Ana Bárbara will host the two-hour ceremony. The third annual Billboard Latin Women in Music special will air live April 24 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. Central exclusively on Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean onTelemundo Internacional.
Nacho’s New Era
Venezuelan singer-songwriter Nacho surprised fans with a new studio album called Sobre La Roca out via Bakno Music and Be Global Music. Home to 11 tracks, with titles such as “Gracias,” “Mi Testimonio,” and “Amén,” the ultra-personal album is charged with powerful and motivational lyrics about faith, hope and peace. The songs are backed by urban, tropical, and pop melodies — genres very familiar to Nacho’s commercial sound. “I hope the songs on this album help us strengthen our relationship with God,” the artist born Miguel Ignacio Mendoza Donatti and known for being part of the famed duo Chyno y Nacho, expressed on Instagram. Stream and listen to Sobre La Roca below:
Periko & Jessi León Rebrand
After a trajectory that spans more than 10 years and includes a best new artist Latin Grammy nomination in 2014, Periko & Jessi León are making a comeback — and rebranding themselves. The Latin pop duo, composed by the Argentine and Peruvian artists and musicians, is returning from a five-year hiatus with a new project called PJ Kids, for which their 4-year-old son Milo is joining as their official drummer. “We had to pause our music, our songs, our dreams, because life called us to become parents,” the duo expressed on Instagram. “After many years, we return to the studio not only as artists, but as parents,” they noted, adding that their new songs are inspired by their son. “Dreams never die, they only transform.”
A Kelly Clarkson Show Debut
Three months after dropping their collaborative effort, “Querida Yo,” Yami Safdie and Camilo officially performed it on The Kelly Clarkson Show this week. “It’s gone viral in 20 different countries,” Clarkson said ahead of their heartwarming national TV performance. The soft pop ballad is a tribute to personal empowerment and the hope of releasing the vulnerabilities we face by choosing to become our greatest strength and version, conveying the true message of the meaning of faith. “What a dream being able to present this song alongside Camilo, thank you for having us,” the Argentine newcomer and former Billboard Latin Artist on the Radar, shared on Instagram.
A Chicas del Can Film
Famed ’90s all-girl merengue group Las Chicas del Can is getting the film treatment through a documentary focused on its lead singer, Miriam Cruz. The announcement was shared on social media via a trailer of the forthcoming film called La Historia de una Diva directed by Giancarlo Beras-Goico. Based on Cruz’s career challenges and successes, and narrated in her own words, the documentary will “trace back to her beginnings in Las Chicas del Can, her solo career, and her current impact as a symbol of empowerment and perseverance in the music industry,” according to the caption on Instagram. Watch the trailer of La Historia de una Diva below.
