2008 in Latin music

This is a list of notable events in Latin music (i.e. Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking music from Latin America, Latin Europe, and the United States) that took place in 2008.

Events

 * January 1 – Due to declining sales of Latin albums in the United States, the RIAA lowers the threshold for its Latin certifications: 50,000 for disco de oro, 100,000 for disco de platino, and 200,000 or more for disco de multi-platino. All albums previously certified under the RIAA's Latin program were amended to match the current threshold.
 * November 13 – The 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards are held at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
 * Colombian singer-songwriter Juanes is the most awarded artist of the song with his "Me Enamora" winning the awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year as well as Album of the Year for the La Vida... Es Un Ratico.
 * Kany García wins Best New Artist.
 * Gloria Estefan is honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year.

Number-ones albums and singles by country

 * List of number-one singles of 2008 (Spain)
 * List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Albums of 2008
 * List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Songs of 2008

Awards

 * 2008 Premio Lo Nuestro
 * 2008 Billboard Latin Music Awards
 * 2008 Latin Grammy Awards
 * 2008 Tejano Music Awards

Best-selling albums
The following is a list of the top 10 best-selling Latin albums in the United States in 2008, according to Billboard.

Best-performing songs
The following is a list of the top 10 best-performing Latin songs in the United States in 2008, according to Billboard.

Deaths

 * January 8 – Irvan Perez, 85, American Isleño décima singer and woodcarver, heart attack.
 * January 12 – Gabriel "Gabo" Manelli, Argentine bass player (Babasónicos)
 * February 4 – Tata Güines, 77, Cuban percussionist, kidney infection.
 * March 22 – Cachao, 89, Cuban musician credited with creating mambo, renal failure.
 * March 29 – Gerardo "Toto" Rotblat, 38, Argentine percussionist (Los Fabulosos Cadillacs)
 * April 21 – Monna Bell, 70, Chilean singer
 * June 11 – Pablo Raul Alarcon, 82, founder of Spanish Broadcasting System
 * June 25 – Sylvinha Araújo, 56, Brazilian singer and songwriter
 * June 30 – Ángel Tavira, 83, Mexican musician and actor, kidney complications.
 * July (unknown day) – Daniel García Blanco, marimba player and music professor
 * August 16 – Dorival Caymmi, 94, Brazilian singer and songwriter
 * August 19 – Marta Pérez, Cuban mezzo-soprano
 * September 18 – Mauricio Kagel, 76, Argentine-born German composer.
 * September 24 – Ramón Calduch, 79, Spanish singer
 * October 22 – Luis Silva
 * November 16 – Lupita Palomera, 94, Mexican singer
 * November 30 – Joan Baptista Humet, 58, Spanish singer and songwriter
 * December 16 – Harold Gramatges, 90, Cuban composer and pianist.