1994 in Latin music explained

This is a list of notable events in Latin music (music from Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking areas from Latin America, Europe, and the United States) that took place in 1994.

Events

• March 1 – The 36th Annual Grammy Awards are held at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.^[1]
  • Luis Miguel wins the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album for his album Aries.
  • Gloria Estefan wins the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album for her album Mi Tierra
  • Selena wins the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American Album for her album Live!.
• March 10BMI launches its own Latin music award to honor the best performing Latin songs of the year published by the company. "Otro Día Más Sin Verte" by Jon Secada is awarded Latin song of the year while Álvaro Torres is honored Latin songwriter of the year.^[2]
• May 16 - May 19 – The fifth annual Billboard Latin Music Conference is held at the InterContinental Hotel in Florida with the conference focusing on Brazilian music and Latin jazz for the first time.^[3]
  • The inaugural Billboard Latin Music Awards also takes place with Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan being the biggest winners with three awards. Cuban singer Celia Cruz and Cuban musician Cachao are inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame.
• May 19 – The 6th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards are held at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan and American Tejano group La Mafia are the biggest winners of the ceremony with both receiving three awards.^[4]
• June 4 – National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences approves a new category for Latin jazz album. The new award category is scheduled to debut on the following Grammy Award ceremony the next year. Despite being its appearance on the jazz field, Latin music committees are eligible to cast their vote on the award.^[5]
• June 18 – Selena became the first non-crossover act to have an album (Amor Prohibido; released March 1994) to enter the Billboard 200 since Luis Miguel's Aries (1993).^[6] The album was credited with popularizing Tejano music and catapulting the genre into an "unprecedented level of mainstream success";^[7] eventually becoming the best-selling Tejano record of all-time. It holds the record for most weeks in the top ten of the Top Latin Albums chart—at 110 weeks—while the record holds the record for most weeks at number one on the Regional Mexican Albums chart at 96 weeks.^{[8] [9]}
• November 12 – Billboard updates the methodology for the Hot Latin Tracks chart to incorporate the Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS). Billboard also launches three sub-charts of the Hot Latin Tracks chart: Latin Pop Airplay, Regional Mexican Airplay, and Latin Tropical Airplay.^[10]

Bands formed

• Laura Pausini (Latin pop)
• Kairo (Latin pop)
• Mónica Naranjo
• Ana Bárbara
• Ezequiel Peña
• Giro
• Carlos Nuño

Number-ones albums and singles by country

• List of number-one albums of 1994 (Spain)
• List of number-one singles of 1994 (Spain)
• List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Albums of 1994
• List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1994

Awards

• 1994 Premio Lo Nuestro
• 1994 Billboard Latin Music Awards
• 1994 Tejano Music Awards

Albums released

First quarter

January

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
18	La Aventura	Orquesta de la Luz
25	Razones Para una Sonrisa	José Luis Rodríguez

March

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
1	Mano a Mano	Silvio Rodríguez
21	Guitar Passion	Charo
22	Amor Prohibido	Selena	Tejano, Mexican cumbia, dance-pop	"Amor Prohibido" "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" "No Me Queda Más" "Techno Cumbia" "Fotos y Recuerdos" "Si Una Vez" "El Chico del Apartamento 512"	EMI Latin
29	Vida	La Mafia	Tejano		"Vida"

Second quarter

April

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
15	Historias	Ricardo Arjona	Latin pop	"Te Conozco" "Señora de Las Cuatro Decadas" "Realmente No Estoy Tan Solo" "Historia de Taxi" "Libre"	Sony Discos
18	Zafra	Zafra Negra	Merengue	"Ajena" "Lo Que No Conviene"
19	Los Dos Plebes	Los Tigres del Norte
26	Danzón (Dance On)	Arturo Sandoval	Latin jazz
	Palmas	Eddie Palmieri
29	944 Columbus	Mario Bauza and the Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra
Unknown date	Severino	Os Paralamas do Sucesso	Rock, ska		EMI
	Da Lama ao Caos	Chico Science & Nação Zumbi	Manguebeat

June

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
14	Mónica Naranjo	Mónica Naranjo	Latin pop	"El Amor Coloca" "Sola" "Sólo se Vive Una Vez" "Óyeme!" "Fuego de Pasión" "Llorando Bajo la Lluvia"	Sony
	Piano de America, Vol. 2	Raúl di Blasio
21	Cariño De Mis Cariños	Lucero	Ranchera	"Te Acordarás de Mi" "Y Volveré" "Me Estás Quemando"	Fonovisa
27	El Pan y la Sal	Presuntos Implicados
28	Gracias Por Esperar	Juan Gabriel	Latin pop	"Pero Qué Necesidad" "Lentamente" "Vienes o Voy" "Muriendo de Amor"	BMG Ariola
	Si Te Vas	Jon Secada	Latin pop	"Si Te Vas" "Sólo Una Imagen"
	Una Mañana y un Camino	Ricardo Montaner	Latin pop	"No Te Pareces a Mi" "Quisiera" "El Mundo Gira Aunque No Estés"	EMI
29	El nervio del volcán	Caifanes	Rock en Español	"Afuera" "Aquí No Es Así" "Ayer Me Dijo Un Ave" "Miedo"	BMG Ariola
30	Desenchufado	León Gieco

Third quarter

July

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
11	Mucho Más Que Dos	Ana Belén and Víctor Manuel
12	A Dónde Me Lleva La Vida	La Renga
15	Recordando a Los Panchos	Vicente Fernández
19	Master Sessions, Vol. 1	Cachao
	Fogaraté	Juan Luis Guerra & 4.40	Merengue	"Viviré"
22	Re	Café Tacuba
26	Pasiones	Ednita Nazario

August

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
9	Crossroads	Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band
	Ya Me Cansé	David Lee Garza y Los Musicales
15	El Camino del Alma	Cristian Castro	Latin pop	"Mañana" "Con Tu Amor" "Azul Gris"	Fonovisa
16	Luis Enrique	Luis Enrique	Salsa	"Quien Eres Tu" "Así Es la Vida"	Sony Discos
23	Steel Rain	Jay Perez
	Amor Lunatico	Giro	Salsa	"Amor Lunatico"
30	Segundo Romance	Luis Miguel	Latin pop, bolero	"El Día Que Me Quieras" "La Media Vuelta" "Todo y Nada" "Delirio"	WEA Latina
	Grandeza Mexicana	José José
	Esta Boca es Mía	Joaquín Sabina

September

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
13	De Mi Alma Latina	Plácido Domingo			EMI
	Recuerdo a Javier Solís	Vikki Carr
	La Diferenzia	La Diferenzia
	Sólo Contigo	Víctor Manuelle	Salsa music	"Apiádate de Mí" "Por Ejemplo"	Sony Discos
20	Dicen Que Soy	La India	Salsa	"Nunca Voy a Olvidarte" "Ese Hombre" "Que Ganas de No Verte Más" "O Ella o Yo"	RMM
	Formidables	Los Toros Band
27	Influencias	Chayanne	Latin pop	"Querida" "Gavilán o Paloma" "Pedro Navaja"	Sony Discos

Fourth quarter

October

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
1	Sangrando	Caballeros de la Quema
4	Fina Estampa	Caetano Veloso
15	Calango	Skank
24	Gracias Mujer	Banda Machos
25	Siente el Amor...	Olga Tañón	Merengue	"Entre la Noche y el Día" "Es Mentiroso"	WEA Latina
	Lo Nuevo y lo Mejor	Jerry Rivera	Salsa	"Me Estoy Enloqueciendo Por Ti"	Sony Discos
	Enamorate	Fama
	Flaco Jiménez	Flaco Jiménez
	Irrepetible	Celia Cruz

November

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
8	Navidad en las Americas	Various artists
11	De Cara al Viento	Gilberto Santa Rosa	Salsa	"Te Propongo"	Sony Discos
	Con el Alma	Los Nocheros
15	Siempre Contigo	Lucero	Latin pop	"Siempre Contigo" "Quién Soy Yo" "Palabras" "Como Perro al Sol" "Volvamos a Empezar"	Fonovisa
	El Rey de Corazones	Manny Manuel	Merengue	"Pero Qué Necesidad" "Si Una Vez"	RMM
22	Laura Pausini	Laura Pausini	Pop	"La Soledad" "Se Fué" "Amores Extraños" "Gente"	Warner Music International
	Mi Forma de Sentir	Pedro Fernández	Ranchera	"Mi Forma de Sentir" "Vamos a Platicar"	PolyGram
	Tratar de Estar Mejor	Diego Torres
23	Yo Vendo Unos Ojos Verdes	Ezequiel Peña
29	Soundlife	Emilio Navaira
	Circo Beat	Fito Páez

December

Day	Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
2	Explotó el Bombazo	Grupo Manía
11	Antonio Brasileiro	Antônio Carlos Jobim
13	Maná en Vivo	Maná			WEA Latina
	Para Estar Contigo	Liberacion
14	Myriam Hernández IV	Myriam Hernández	"Ese Hombre"
27	Mirandote	Frankie Ruiz	"Mirandote"

Unknown

Title	Artist	Genre(s)	Singles	Label
12 de Janeiro	Nando Reis	Rock, acoustic rock		WEA
Paulo Miklos	Paulo Miklos	Rock, acoustic rock		WEA
A Mi Estilo	Tito Rojas	Salsa	"Señora de Madrugada" "Lo Que Te Queda" "Quiero Ser Tuyo"	Musical Productions
The Stonewall Celebration Concert	Renato Russo	Acoustic rock, folk rock, rock		EMI
Raimundos	Raimundos	Brazilian rock
Samba Esquema Noise	Mundo Livre S/A
Verde, Anil, Amarelo, Cor de Rosa e Carvão	Marisa Monte	Pop, baroque pop, samba, MPB

Best-selling records

Best-selling albums

The following is a list of the top 10 best-selling Latin albums in the United States in 1994, according to Billboard.^[11]

Rank	Album	Artist
1	Mi Tierra	Gloria Estefan
2	Segundo Romance	Luis Miguel
3	Love and Liberté	Gipsy Kings
4	Amor Prohibido	Selena
5	¿Dónde Jugarán los Niños?	Maná
6	Pura Sangre	Bronco
7	Gipsy Kings	Gipsy Kings
8	Romance	Luis Miguel
9	Inalcanzable	Marco Antonio Solís and Los Bukis
10	Vida	La Mafia

Best-performing songs

The following is a list of the top 10 best-performing Latin songs in the United States in 1994, according to Billboard.^[11]

Rank	Single	Artist
1	"Amor Prohibido"	Selena
2	"Vida"	La Mafia
3	"Luna"	Ana Gabriel
4	"Pero Qué Necesidad"	Juan Gabriel
5	"Si Te Vas"	Jon Secada
6	"Donde Quiera Que Estés"	The Barrio Boyzz and Selena
7	"Bidi Bidi Bom Bom"	Selena
8	"Quisiera"	Ricardo Montaner
9	"Detrás de Mi Ventana"	Yuri
10	"El Día Que Me Quieras"	Luis Miguel

Births

• January 15Myke Towers, Puerto Rican rapper
• January 28 – Maluma, Colombian reggaeton singer
• March 10Bad Bunny, Puerto Rican reggaeton and trap rapper
• March 16Camilo, Colombian pop singer
• April 25Jay Wheeler, Puerto Rican reggaeton singer
• October 15Sebastián Yatra, Colombian pop singer

Deaths

• February 8 – Amparo Ochoa, Mexican singer-songwriter
• July 17 –, Argentine tango composer
• November 21 – Santiago Chalar, Uruguayan physician traumatologist, poet, songwriter, musician, guitarist and singer
• December 8 – Antônio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian bossa nova composer

Notes

• Book: Novas. Himilce. Remembering Selena. 1995. Sagebrush Education Resources. 0613926374. 1st.
• Book: Richmond. Clint. Selena! : The Phenomenal Life and Tragic Death of the Tejano Music Queen. 1995. Pocket Books. New York, N.Y.. 0671545221. 1st. registration.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Past Winners Search. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. July 21, 2015.
2. Lannert . John . BMI Scores With Latin Music Awards . Billboard . 26 March 1994 . 106 . 13 . 111 . 23 April 2019 . Nielsen Business Media . 0006-2510.
3. Lannert. John. 21 May 1994. First Latin Music Awards Recognize Range of Talent. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 106. 21. LM-8. 12 July 2015. 0006-2510.
4. Web site: Lo Nuestro – Historia . es . . Univision Communications. March 8, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150626102925/http://i.univision.com/contentuvn/rinconlatino/plnuestro/images/index_historia.swf. June 26, 2015.
5. Lannert . John . NARAS OK's Latin Jazz Other Grammy Categories . Billboard . 4 June 1994 . 106 . 23 . 15 . Nielsen Business Media.
6. Lannert. John. Selena Grabs Top Spot on Latin 50. Billboard. June 18, 1994. 106. 25. 34. August 19, 2016.
7. News: Schone. Mark. A Postmortem Star In death, Selena is a crossover success. https://archive.today/20130131162319/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/20467875.html?dids=20467875:20467875&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+20,+1995&author=By+Mark+Schone.+Mark+Schone+is+a+free-lance+writer.&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc=A+Postmortem+Star+In+death,+Selena+is+a+crossover+success&pqatl=google. dead. January 31, 2013. November 4, 2011. Newsday. April 20, 1995.
8. Ramirez. Rauly. Joan Sebastian's Eighth No. 1. Billboard. April 2, 2011. 123. 11. 66. August 19, 2016.
9. Web site: Still In Love With Selena . Burr, Ramiro . March 3, 2005. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. July 28, 2009.
10. November 12, 1994. Latin Notas . Lannert . John. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.. 106. 46. 37.
11. The Year in Music. 106. 52. YE-78. 24 December 1994. 17 July 2014. Billboard . Prometheus Global Media. 0006-2510.