2012 in Latin music



This is a list of notable events in Latin music (i.e. Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking music from Latin America, Europe, and the United States) that took place in 2012.

Events

 * October 20 – Billboard updates their methodology for several of their charts including the Hot Latin Songs. The new methodology for the Hot Latin Songs chart includes sales of digital downloads and streaming activity of Spanish-language songs as well as airplay of Spanish-language songs on all radio stations in the United States. Billboard also imposes a linguistic rule of a song being predominantly sung in Spanish to be eligible to rank on the Hot Latin Songs. Previously, the Hot Latin Songs chart ranked the most-played songs on Spanish-language radio states regardless of language or genre. The Latin Airplay, which was also established, is based on the Hot Latin Song's former methodology.
 * November 15 — The 13th Annual Latin Grammy Awards are held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 * "¡Corre!" by Jesse & Joy wins Record the Year and Song of the Year
 * Juanes: MTV Unplugged by Juanes wins Album of the Year
 * 3Ball MTY wins Best New Artist
 * Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year
 * December 9 — A plane carrying Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera and six other passengers crashes near Iturbide, Nuevo León, killing everyone on board.

Number-ones albums and singles by country

 * List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2012 (Brazil)
 * List of number-one songs of 2012 (Colombia)
 * List of number-one albums of 2012 (Mexico)
 * List of number-one albums of 2012 (Portugal)
 * List of number-one albums of 2012 (Spain)
 * List of number-one singles of 2012 (Spain)
 * List of number-one Billboard Latin Albums from the 2010s
 * List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Songs of 2012

Awards

 * 2012 Premio Lo Nuestro
 * 2012 Billboard Latin Music Awards
 * 2012 Latin Grammy Awards
 * 2012 Tejano Music Awards

Best-selling albums
The following is a list of the top 10 best-selling Latin albums in the United States in 2012, according to Billboard.

Best-performing songs
The following is a list of the top 10 best-performing Latin songs in the United States in 2012, according to Billboard.

Deaths

 * January 9 – Ruth Fernández, 92, Puerto Rican contralto and politician, Senator (1973–1981).
 * February 8:
 * Wando, 66, Brazilian singer-songwriter
 * Luis Alberto Spinetta, 62, Argentine musician (Almendra, Pescado Rabioso, Invisible), lung cancer.
 * February 12 – Erick Garza, 56, Mexican keyboard player (Grupo Bronco)
 * February 24 – Pery Ribeiro, 74, Brazilian singer, myocardial infarction.
 * April 14 – Pedro Arroyo, Puerto Rican radio programmer, creator of "National Day of Salsa" in Puerto Rico
 * May 7 – Sergio Mihanovich, 74, Argentine jazz pianist, singer and composer
 * May 10 – Junior Gonzalez, 63, Puerto Rican salsa singer
 * May 31 – Horacio "Chivo" Borraro, 90, Argentine tenor sax and clarinet player
 * June 6 – Estela Raval, Argentine singer
 * June 12 – Adrián Otero, 53, Argentine singer
 * June 22 – Nelson Schwenke, 55, Chilean singer and songwriter (Schwenke & Nilo)
 * June 30 – Yomo Toro, 78, Puerto Rican cuatro player, kidney failure.
 * July 4 – Homero Patrón, 61, Mexican arranger, producer, musician and composer
 * July 13 – Leda Valladares, 92, Argentine singer, songwriter, musicologist and folklorist, and poet
 * July 14 – Marcel Curuchet, 40, Uruguayan musician and composer (No Te Va Gustar)
 * July 29 – Osvaldo Fattoruso, 64, Uruguayan musician (Los Shakers, Opa), cancer.
 * August 5 – Chavela Vargas, 93, Costa Rican-born Mexican singer-songwriter, respiratory arrest.
 * August 8 – Jairo Varela, 62, Founder and leader of Grupo Niche
 * August 22 – Charles Flores, 41, Cuban bass player
 * September 21 – José Curbelo, 95, Cuban-born American jazz musician and manager, heart failure.
 * September 27 – Paquito Hechavarría, 73, Cuban pianist
 * September 29:
 * Eduardo Baptista Fernandez, 39, Mexican music publisher
 * Hebe Camargo, 83, Brazilian television presenter, cardiac arrest.
 * September 30 – José Luis "Choche" Villareal, 55, Mexican drummer for Grupo Bronco.
 * October 22 – Norberto Kaminsky, Argentine producer
 * October 31 – Gustavo Sánchez, 56, Latin American Idol judge
 * November 4 – Valentin Velasco, 80, Mexican American founder of Balboa Records
 * November 5 – Leonardo Favio, 74, Argentine singer, actor and director
 * November 7 – Sylvia Cantarell, Mexican manager and producer
 * November 18 – Emilio Aragón Bermúdez, 83, Spanish clown, accordionist, and singer.
 * November 25 – Juan Carlos Calderón, 74, Spanish composer and conductor.
 * December 9:
 * Arturo Rivera, Mexican publicist
 * Jenni Rivera, 43, American banda singer (plane crash)
 * December 23 – Ema Elena Valdelamar, 87, Mexican songwriter