# 1996 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 1996.

## Events

* February 28 – The 38th Annual Grammy Awards are held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
** Jon Secada wins the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance for his album Amor.
** Gloria Estefan wins the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance for her album Abriendo Puertas.
** Flaco Jiménez wins the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American/Tejano Performance for his album Flaco Jiménez.
** Antônio Carlos Jobim posthumously wins the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for his album Antonio Brasileiro.
* March 2 – A Learjet 25 carrying members of Brazilian comedy rock band Mamonas Assassinas crashes into the Cantareira mountain range killing everyone on board.
* April 29-May 1: The seventh annual Billboard Latin Music conference took place.
** The third annual Billboard Latin Music Awards are also held on May. Selena becomes the most awarded artist of the award ceremony, receiving four award posthumously including Hot Latin Tracks Artist of the Year. Mexican singer Juan Gabriel is inducted into the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame.
* May 9 – The 8th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards are held at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan is the biggest winner with four awards.

## Bands formed

* Luis Damón
* Dark Latin Groove
* Grupo Límite
* Letty Guval (Tejano)
* La Makina
* Matanza
* Noemy (Tejano)
* Nydia Rojas (Tejano)
* Fey

## Number-ones albums and singles by country

* List of number-one albums of 1996 (Spain)
* List of number-one singles of 1996 (Spain)
* List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Albums of 1996
* List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1996

## Awards

* 1996 Premio Lo Nuestro
* 1996 Billboard Latin Music Awards
* 1996 Tejano Music Awards

## Albums released
### First quarter
#### January

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 9 | Hora de Bailar | Sandy & Papo | Merengue | | Parcha |
| 19 | Victor Manuelle | Víctor Manuelle | Salsa | "Hay Que Poner el Alma" "Pensamineto y Palabra" "Volverás" "Como una Estrella" | Sony Discos |
| 23 | El Deseo de Oír Tu Voz | Cristian Castro | Latin pop | "Amor" "Amarte a Tí" "No Puedo Arrancarte de Mi" "Esperándote" "Una y Mil Veces" | Fonovisa |
| 30 | Un Millón de Rosas | La Mafia | | | |
| 30 | El Sonero del Mundo | Oscar D'León | | | |
| 30 | Mi Meta | Domingo Quiñones | Salsa | "Tú Cómo Estás" "Si Tú Te Vas" | RMM |

#### February

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 6 | The Heart Speaks | Terence Blanchard and Ivan Lins | | | |
| 6 | En Esta Noche | Soraya | Latin pop | "De Repente" | |
| 27 | Fue Mucho Mas Que Amor | La Diferenzia | | | |
| 27 | Tropical Tribute to the Beatles | Various artists | Salsa, tropical | | RMM |
| 28 | El Poder de New York | Raul Acosta y Oro Solido | | | |

#### March

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 5 | Un Tipo Común | Tito Nieves | Salsa | "Un Tipo Común" "No Me Queda Más" | RMM |
| 12 | Opium | Ottmar Liebert | | | |

### Second quarter
#### April

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 16 | Nuevos Senderos | Olga Tañón | Latin pop | "¡Basta Ya!" "Mi Eterno Amor Secreto" "Me Subes, Me Bajas, Me Subes" | WEA Latina |
| 16 | Dark Latin Groove | Dark Latin Groove | Salsa | "No Morirá" "Todo Mi Corazón" "Me Va a Extrañar" | Sony Discos |
| 16 | My Summertime | Ray Barretto | | | |
| 23 | Vida | Marcos Llunas | Latin pop | "Vida" | |
| 30 | Dulzura | Jennifer y los Jetz | | | |
| 30 | Llévame Contigo | Intocable | | | |
| 30 | Tony Vega | Tony Vega | Salsa | "Esperaré a Que Te Decidas" | RMM |
| 30 | En Busca Del Amor | Álvaro Torres | | | |

#### May

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles |
| 10 | Arráncame el Corazón | Ramón Ayala y sus Bravos del Norte | | |
| 10 | Vicente Fernández y sus Canciones | Vicente Fernández | | |
| 10 | Yo vengo aquí | Compay Segundo | | |
| 14 | Portraits of Cuba | Paquito D'Rivera | | |
| 17 | En Vivo... Puro Party Live! | Jaime y los Chamacos | | |
| 21 | Donde Hay Música | Eros Ramazzotti | Pop rock | "La Cosa Mas Bella" "Estrella Gemala" "La Aurora" "Donde Hay Música" |
| 21 | Tranquilo | Frankie Ruiz | Salsa | "Ironía" |
| 22 | Alfagamabetizado | Carlinhos Brown | MPB | |

#### June

| Day | Title | Artist |
| 11 | And Then Some! | Steve Berrios and Son Bacheche |
| 18 | Vagabundo | Draco Rosa |
| 25 | Esclava De Tu Piel | Azúcar Moreno |
| 26 | Ay Amor | Ana Bárbara |

### Third quarter
#### July

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 2 | Jazzin' | Tito Puente and La India | | | |
| 5 | O Samba Poconé | Skank | | | |
| 9 | La Makina...A Mil | La Makina | Merengue | "Mi Reina" | |
| 11 | Voces Unidas | Various artists | | "Puedes Llegar" | |
| 16 | La Rosa de los Vientos | Rubén Blades | | | |
| 18 | Macarena Non Stop | Los del Río | | | |
| 23 | Unidos Para Siempre | Los Tigres del Norte | | | |
| 23 | Fuera de Este Mundo | Franco De Vita | Latin pop | | |
| 24 | En Pleno Vuelo | Marco Antonio Solís | Regional Mexican | "Que Pena Me Das" "Recuerdos, Tristezas y Soledad" "Así Como Te Conocí" | Fonovisa |

#### August

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 6 | Mazz Mariachi Y Tradicion | Mazz | | | |
| 16 | Si El Norte Fuera El Sur | Ricardo Arjona | Latin pop | "Si El Norte Fuera El Sur" "Tu Reputación" "Me Enseñaste" "Ella Y El" | Sony Discos |
| 20 | Nada Es Igual... | Luis Miguel | Latin pop | "Dame" "Cómo Es Posible Que a Mi Lado" "Que Tú Te Vas" | WEA Latina |
| 20 | Fresco | Jerry Rivera | Salsa | "Suave" "Loco de Amor" "Una y Mil Veces" "Lloraré" "Te Recordaré" | Sony Discos |
| 20 | Ámame una Vez Más | Amanda Miguel | Latin pop | "Ámame una Vez Más (La Última Luna)" | |
| 26 | Afrociberdelia | Chico Science & Nação Zumbi | | | |
| Unknown date | Cidades e Lendas | Zé Ramalho | Música popular brasileira, forró | | BMG, RCA |

#### September

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 3 | Espíritu Libre | Ednita Nazario | | | |
| 3 | Planeta Paulina | Paulina Rubio | | | |
| 4 | Homenaje a Los Grandes Grupos | Bronco | | | |
| 13 | Vivencias | Ana Gabriel | | | |
| 17 | 10th Anniversary | Fandango USA | | | |
| 17 | Juntos Para Siempre | Los Mismos | | | |
| 17 | Las Cosas Que Vives | Laura Pausini | Pop, Latin pop | "Inolvidable" "Las cosas que vives" "Escucha a tu corazón" "Dos enamorados" | CGD East West |
| 17 | Volver a Nacer | Chayanne | Latin pop | "Solamente Tu Amor" "Volver a Nacer" | Sony Discos |
| 17 | Enséñame | Bobby Pulido | | | |
| 17 | El Equilibrio de los Jaguares | Jaguares | | | |
| 18 | Sueño y Realidad | Grupo Mojado | | | |
| 20 | A Tempestade, ou O Livro dos Dias | Legião Urbana | Rock, Post-punk | | EMI-Odeon |
| 24 | Americano | José Feliciano | | | |
| 24 | Amor Total | Emmanuel | Latin pop | "Amor Total" | |
| 25 | Un Nuevo Amor | Daniela Romo | | | |

### Fourth quarter
#### October

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 1 | Mi Corazón es Tuyo | Graciela Beltrán | | | |
| 1 | Dicen Que... | Albita Rodríguez | | | |
| 1 | Inolvidables | Los Ángeles Azules | Cumbia | | |
| 8 | Emociones | Vikki Carr | | | |
| 15 | The Latin Side of John Coltrane | Conrad Herwig | | | |
| 15 | Quedate | Emilio Navaira | | | |
| 15 | Partiendome El Alma | Grupo Límite | | | |
| 22 | Auténtico | Manny Manuel | Merengue | "Y Sé Que Vas a Llorar" | RMM |
| 25 | Viviendo del Futuro | Sentidos Opuestos | | | |
| 29 | A Que Vuelve | Gisselle | Merengue | "A Que Vuelve" | |
| 29 | Destino | Lizza Lamb | | | |
| 29 | De Buenas Raices | Michael Salgado | | | |

#### November

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 5 | Avalancha de Éxitos | Café Tacuba | | | |
| 6 | Sentimientos | Charlie Zaa | | | |
| 19 | Esencia | Gilberto Santa Rosa | Salsa | "No Quiero Na' Regal'o" "Yo No Te Pido" | Sony Discos |
| 13 | En Concierto, Vol. 1 | Los Temerarios | | | |
| 19 | Tango | Julio Iglesias | | | |
| 19 | Humildemente | Tito Rojas | | | |

#### December

| Day | Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Singles | Label |
| 3 | Mœnia | Mœnia | | | |
| 6 | Muy Dentro de Mi Corazón | Alejandro Fernández | Ranchera | "Nube Viajera" | Sony Discos |
| 10 | Está de Moda | Grupo Manía | Merengue | "A Que Te Pego Mi Mania" "Linda Eh | Sony Discos |
| 17 | Luna Nueva | Diego Torres | Latin pop | "Sé Que Ya No Volverás" | |

### Unknown date

| Title | Artist | Genre(s) | Label |
| 9 Luas | Os Paralamas do Sucesso | Rock, ska | EMI |
| Nativa Geranio | Nativa Geranio [es] | Rock | |
| Poncho al viento [es] | Soledad Pastorutti | Folk | |
| El Fuego de la Noche | La Barranca | Rock | |
| Mucho barato [es] | Control Machete | Mexican hip hop | |
| Mil palabras con sus dientes | Bohemia Suburbana | Rock | |
| Babel | Santa Sabina | Rock | |
| ¿Quién mató a Gaete? | Mauricio Redolés | | |

## Best-selling records
### Best-selling albums

The following is a list of the top 10 best-selling Latin albums in the United States in 1996, according to Billboard.
| Rank | Album | Artist |
| 1 | Dreaming of You | Selena |
| 2 | Macarena Mix | Various artists |
| 3 | Enrique Iglesias | Enrique Iglesias |
| 4 | The Best of the Gipsy Kings | Gipsy Kings |
| 5 | Macarena Non Stop | Los del Río |
| 6 | Abriendo Puertas | Gloria Estefan |
| 7 | El Concierto | Luis Miguel |
| 8 | Nada Es Igual... | Luis Miguel |
| 9 | Amor Prohibido | Selena |
| 10 | Tierra Gitana | Gipsy Kings |

### Best-performing songs

The following is a list of the top 10 best-performing Latin songs in the United States in 1996, according to Billboard.
| Rank | Single | Artist |
| 1 | "Un Millón de Rosas" | La Mafia |
| 2 | "Amor" | Cristian Castro |
| 3 | "Por Amarte" | Enrique Iglesias |
| 4 | "Que Pena Me Das" | Marco Antonio Solís |
| 5 | "Como Te Extraño" | Pete Astudillo |
| 6 | "Si Tú Te Vas" | Enrique Iglesias |
| 7 | "No Te Vayas" | Intocable |
| 8 | "Amarte a Tí" | Cristian Castro |
| 9 | "No Llores Por Mí" | Enrique Iglesias |
| 10 | "Te Aprovechas" | Grupo Limite |

## Births

* February 3 – Luis Coronel, Mexican-American banda singer
* June 24 – Duki, Argentine rapper
* June 25 – Lele Pons, Venezuelan-American pop singer

## Deaths

* February 13 – Rosamel Araya [es], Chilean bolero singer
* March 24 – Lola Beltrán, Mexican ranchera singer and actress
* September 7 – Gilda, Argentine cumbia singer
* October 11 – Renato Russo, founder and former lead singer of Brazilian rock band Legião Urbana