Shakira at the 1st Latin GRAMMY Awards

Shakira

Photo: Scott Gries/WireImage.com

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Remember When? Shakira Unplugs For MTV, Wins Latin GRAMMY

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Colombian's "MTV Unplugged" show resulted in a couple of notable Latin music firsts
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Sep 21, 2017 - 5:00 pm

Throughout the '90s, the "MTV Unplugged" series was a pop culture staple on par with flannel, boy bands and "Friends." The stripped-down pairing of an artist's catalog, acoustic instrumentation and intimate settings made for some truly magical music moments, including GRAMMY-winning sets from Nirvana, Tony Bennett and Eric Clapton.

Shakira Wins Best Latin Pop Album

While artists such as Maná (Mexico), Los Tres (Chile) and Luis Alberto Spinetta (Argentina) beat her to the acoustic punch, Shakira's "MTV Unplugged" was a watershed for the Latin market. Taped in 1999, right in the heart of the late '90s Latin music explosion, the Colombian's unplugged concert was the program's first episode broadcast entirely in Spanish and served as her major breakthrough in the U.S. market.

The show was released as an album in 2000, and Shakira became the first artist to win a Latin GRAMMY for an "MTV Unplugged" effort. At the inaugural Latin GRAMMY Awards, the "Hips Don't Lie" singer netted Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Ojos Así" and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "Octavo Día." The album has since been certified four-times platinum by the RIAA.

Marc Anthony

Marc Anthony

Photo: Todd Plitt/Hulton Archive

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Remember When? Marc Anthony's "I Need To Know" Nets Latin GRAMMY

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Singer/songwriter takes home the first Latin GRAMMY ever awarded for Song Of The Year
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Sep 24, 2017 - 9:00 am

Thanks to the crossover popularity of Latin artists such as Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias and Shakira in the late '90s, salsa master Marc Anthony was soon to join the Latin hot flash with his first English crossover album, which was self-titled.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony on the red carpet

The result of Marc Anthony was not only his first Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 hit, "I Need To Know," but it also landed the singer his first-ever Latin GRAMMY Award, and the distinction of earning the very first Latin GRAMMY for Song Of The Year in 2000 for the Spanish version of the catchy tune, "Dímelo."

Anthony has gone on to win an additional four Latin GRAMMYs and two GRAMMY Awards. In 2016 he was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year for his outstanding achievements as an artist and for his philanthropic work.

Juanes

Juanes

Photo: M. Caulfield/WireImage.com

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Remember When? Juanes Wins Best New Artist Latin GRAMMY

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Singer/songwriter takes home his first Latin GRAMMY Awards at the 2nd Latin GRAMMYs, including Best New Artist
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Oct 3, 2017 - 11:53 am

A name synonymous with Latin music, it's hard to imagine a time when Juanes was just a fledgling singer/songwriter working his way up the ranks. But that's where the Colombian was before the 2nd Latin GRAMMY Awards.

Juanes On Performing A Spanish Song At The GRAMMYs

On the strength of his debut solo album, Fijate Bien, Juanes racked up seven Latin GRAMMY nominations in 2001, including nods for Album Of The Year and Record and Song Of The Year for the album's title track.

The 2nd Latin GRAMMYs was slated to take place on Sept. 11, 2001, however, in light of the tragic events of the day, the show was canceled and a press conference was held at a later date where the Latin GRAMMY Awards were given out to their respective winners, including Juanes.

Juanes took home the coveted Latin GRAMMY for Best New Artist, along with Best Rock Solo Vocal Album and Best Rock Song. Since then, he has gone on to win 21 Latin GRAMMYs to date, making him one of the top Latin GRAMMY winners of all time, and two GRAMMY Awards.

Los Del Río photographed in 2014

Los Del Río

Photo: Miquel Benitez/WireImage.com

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Remember When? Los Del Río, "Macarena" Take Over The U.S.

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Revisiting the meteoric rise of "Macarena," the song that turned pop culture upside-down in 1996
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Sep 30, 2017 - 9:23 am

Rewind: August 1996 in the United States.

The Summer Olympics were in Atlanta. President Bill Clinton was preparing to run for a second term. The New York Yankees were bulldozing a path to their first World Series title in nearly 20 years. Nintendo 64 was the must-have video game console.

In music, Kiss' reunion tour was the hot ticket. Toni Braxton, Metallica, Nas, and Alanis Morissette were riding high on the charts. And out of left field, Los Del Río — a Spanish pop/dance duo comprising Antonio Romero Monge and Rafael Ruíz Perdigones — turned pop culture upside-down and inside out with "Macarena."

Even if the glorious mid-'90s predate you, chances are you've heard "Macarena" in karaoke bars, at weddings, or on streaming playlists and satellite radio. To be sure, it was a phenomenon on par with the modern-day likes of "Despacito," albeit with a unique path.

18th Latin GRAMMY Awards: See The Full List Of Nominees

"Macarena" was released originally as a rumba on Los Del Río's 1993 album, A Mí Me Gusta. A subsequent flamenco/pop-laced version made big waves in Spain, Colombia and Mexico. In Puerto Rico, "Macarena" served as an unofficial campaign theme song for then-governor Pedro Rosselló, who was seeking reelection. The song also caught fire in Europe.

In the U.S., in 1995 "Macarena" attracted the attention of Johnny Caride, a radio personality at Miami's Power 96. Caride witnessed the song bubbling up in the local clubs. Sensing something big, he recruited his friends in Miami's Bayside Boys band — Mike "In The Night" Triay and Carlos De Yarza — and singer Carla Vanessa to record a remix with English lyrics, which was later snapped up by RCA. Caride recalled in a 1996 People interview that within two hours of playing the remix on the air, "there were 200 requests for the song."

By August 1996, the resulting "Macarena (Bayside Boys Remix)" was catching fire. It No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a position it would hold for an unprecedented 14 weeks. A video for the remix version, featuring Los Del Río alongside a troupe of women doing the "Macarena" dance, helped pushed the song to unprecedented heights, even the White House.

"This is some crowd," said then-Vice President Al Gore during his 1996 Democratic Party Convention speech. "I've been watching you do that 'Macarena' on television. And if I can have your silence, I would like to demonstrate for you the Al Gore version of the 'Macarena.'"

Alas, what goes up must come down. "Macarena" madness finally subsided by 1997, but not before an amazing 40-week run on the Billboard Hot 100, sales in excess of 4 million copies and spawning a now-iconic dance move that trips your usual conga line.

With a career dating back to the '60s, music fans may not be aware that Los Del Río have released more than 30 albums and earned "more than 250" gold record certifications. In recognition of their significant career achievements, Los Del Río will be honored as a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at the Special Awards ceremony preceding the 18th Latin GRAMMY Awards in November.

Of course, in a game of word association, Los Del Río will forever be linked to the '90s pop-culture index under M for "Macarena." Or as Monge put it in 1996, "'Macarena' is our daughter. It is our most excellent endeavor."

Jenni Rivera
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Remember When? Jenni Rivera Owned Mariachi With 'La Gran Señora'

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La Diva de la Banda launched with ranchera, controversially conquered banda and 'La Gran Señora' showcased her vivacious mariachi spirit
Philip Merrill
GRAMMYs
Sep 23, 2017 - 9:00 am

As the fifth anniversary of Jenni Rivera's death approaches, her indomitable Southland Latina spirit lives on. Both commercially and with her unique human touch, La Diva de la Banda's star continues to rise and her smile continues to shine worldwide as it does from the murals of Jenni Rivera Memorial Park in her native Long Beach, Calif.

Having grown up in her father's local record store, Rivera showed a unique flair and expertise in regional styles of Latin music that thrill California Southland audiences, workplaces, parties, and quinceañeras. Bilingual, she imbued hits in English and traditional Latina classics with her own touch, offending purists and converting fans who feel connected with her to this day. Her artistic progress evolved from ranchera through banda as a woman in a man's genre, and proved itself with mariachi with the 2009 release of La Gran Señora.

A consistently wonderful performer, many have raised a glass of her Jenni Rivera La Gran Señora Reposado Tequila in her memory. La Gran Señora was nominated for a 2010 Latin GRAMMY for Best Ranchero Album and the following year La Gran Señora En Vivo was nominated in the Best Banda Album category.

"In order to record mariachi, people need to believe it," Rivera told Billboard. "And how will they believe it if you haven't lived it? So I needed to live it, I guess, first, and then express it throughout the recording."

In 2013 the GRAMMY Museum launched an exhibit dedicated to the the life and career of Rivera. Today, her image, television and film work, and love of music are celebrated and augmented by the ongoing charity work of the Jenni Rivera Love Foundation.