This photogenic Colombian singer began her recording career at the tender age of 13. It wasn't long before her eclectic brand of Latin pop became a sensation in numerous Spanish-speaking countries. In 1998, without making the concession of singing in…

Probably the biggest of the Rock en Espanol bands, Mexican group Mana has a long history. The core members started recording together under another name in the early 1980s, finally releasing the debut Mana album in 1988. Their sound mixes traditional…

One of the most gifted and accomplished -- and certainly one of the most respected -- artists in the Latin music sphere during the late 90s and into the next century Julieta Venegas enjoyed enormous acclaim during her run and though commercial succes…

b. Paulina Rubio Dosamantes, 17 June 1971, Mexico City, Mexico. The daughter of Mexican film and soap opera actress Susana Dosamantes, Rubio's music career has followed a similar course to another Latin star of the new millennium, Colombian singer Sh…

An exceptionally well-regarded Spanish poprock band La Oreja de Van Gogh are also one of the most commercially successful with each of their albums selling around a million copies worldwide Driven by electric guitar and keyboard their music is easily…

This Miami, Florida, USA-based Latin alternative pop band was formed in the mid-90s by University of Miami students Jorge Villamizar (b. Colombia; vocals/guitar), André Lopes (b. Brazil; bass), and José Javier Freire (b. Puerto Rico; percussion). Des…

Colombian pop star Carlos Vives combines the traditional acoustic sounds of cumbia and vallenato (including heavy reliance on accordion and flute) with contemporary pop and rock sounds. Though he gained fame as a soap-opera actor, he's earned a signi…

b. Elmer Figueroa de Arce, 28 June 1968, San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. Chayanne is one of the leading figures in contemporary Latin music, receiving numerous gold and platinum awards and selling millions of records around the world. He first started sing…

Blessed with a melodic touch that made them a sensation right out of the gate Sin Bandera enjoyed enormous acclaim and commercial success with their self-titled debut in 2002 and continued to record superlative romantic Latin pop in the years that fo…

b. 18 December 1968, Madrid, Spain. Balladeer and pop singer Alejandro Sanz began recording for WEA Latina in 1991 with Viviendo Deprisa. His fourth long player, 1997's Más, emerged as the success story of 1997 in Spain. Indeed, the album is widely a…

The late-'90s commercial uprising of such Latin male pop stars/sex symbols as Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias can be attributed to Marc Anthony's earlier success. By mixing salsa sounds with elements of dance and pop, Anthony scored a massive hit w…

Don Omar became one of reggaetons first international superstars thanks to his early-2000s work with Luny Tunes but even more so thanks to Reggaeton Latino his 2005 anthem that became one of the styles first genuine crossover hits Born William Landrn…

As the urban regional style of Latin music heated up in the mid-2000s spearheaded by the burgeoning reggaeton sound Daddy Yankee above all led the charge selling hundreds of thousands of CDs in the wake of his international breakthrough hit Gasolina …

Born in Mexico, Thalia Sodi started her performing career before the age of 10, and she quickly went on to become a popular teen singer and soap opera actress in her native country. In 2002, Thalia began work on crossing over to a wider American audi…

By 2004 roughly a decade after she made her recording debut at the age of 18 Laura Pausini had sold over 25 million albums worldwide quite an impressive feat for someone whod never really broken into the lucrative English-language market The Italian …

b. 19 January 1964, Antigua, Guatemala. This singer-songwriter broke into the upper regions of the Latin American charts in the late 90s with a series of well received and often controversial albums. Arjona was born and raised in rural Guatemala, and…

Getting his start as part of teenyboppers Menudo in the '80s, and staying in the public's eye as an actor on General Hospital, Ricky Martin launched his own solo career by the late-'90s. Nobody could have predicted Martin's meteoric rise, topping the…

Universally acknowledged as the "Queen of Salsa," Cuban exile Celia Cruz infused her impassioned, Spanish-language songs with nostalgia for the natural beauty of her homeland, and was often influenced by the Afro-Cuban Santeria religion. Cruz's more …

b. Luis Miguel Gallegos, 19 April 1970, Puerto Rico. Undoubtedly the most successful Latin star of the 90s, singer Luis Miguel has won four Grammys and sold over 36 million records worldwide. Born in Puerto Rico, but raised in Spain and Mexico, Migue…

Mexican rockers Cafe Tacuba are generally regarded as being at the forefront of the Rock En Espanol movement, alongside Mana, Aterciopelados, et al. However, there's considerably less of the pan-Latin rhythmic sensibility (and a greater eclecticism) …