This is a list of notable events in

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and ) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America, which encompasses Music of Latin America, Latin America, Music of Spain, Spain, Mu ...

(i.e. music from the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking areas Latin America, Europe, and the United States) that took place in 1997.

Events

February 26 Events Pre-1600 * 747 BC – According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events. * 320 – Chandragupta ...

– The

39th Annual Grammy Awards The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface and the Beatles were the night's biggest winners, with 3 awards ...

are held at the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. **

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

wins the Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Performance for his self-titled album. **

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

wins the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Performance for his album ''La Rosa de los Vientos''. **

La Mafia La Mafia is an American five-time Grammy Award-winning musical group. It has its roots in the Northside neighborhood of Houston, Texas, and has charted a course as a Latin music band. History La Mafia was founded in 1980 in Houston, Texas. V ...

wins the Grammy Award for Best Mexican-American/Tejano Music Performance for their album '' Un Millón de Rosas''. **

Paquito D'Rivera Francisco de Jesús Rivera Figueras (born 4 June 1948), known as Paquito D'Rivera, is a Cuban-American alto saxophonist, clarinetist and composer. He was a member of the Cuban songo band Irakere and, since the 1980s, he has established him ...

wins the Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Performance for his album '' Portraits of Cuba''. *

April 28 Events Pre-1600 * 224 – The Battle of Hormozdgan is fought. Ardashir I defeats and kills Artabanus V, effectively ending the Parthian Empire. * 357 – Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victor ...

–30 – The 8th annual Billboard Latin Music Conference is held in Miami, Florida. **The 4th Annual

Billboard Latin Music Awards The ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards grew out of the ''Billboard'' Music Awards program from ''Billboard'' magazine, an industry publication charting the sales and radio airplay success of musical recordings. The ''Billboard'' awards are the La ...

are also held and Colombian singer

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

becomes the biggest winner with three wins. Mexican singer

José José José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz (17 February 1948 – 28 September 2019), known professionally as José José, was a Mexican singer. Also known as ''El Príncipe de la Canción'' (The Prince of Song), his performance and vocal style have influenced ma ...

is inducted into the

Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame The ''Billboard'' Latin Music Hall of Fame is a rarely presented honor presented by American magazine ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards. The accolade was established in 1994 ...

. *

May 8 Events Pre-1600 * 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin. * 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...

– The 9th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards are held at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida. Spanish singer

is the biggest winner with three awards. *

June 21 Events Pre-1600 * 533 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarios sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily. * 1307 – Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khagan of the Mongols and Wuzong o ...

– The

National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

(NARAS) announces the creation of the

Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc., trading as The Latin Recording Academy (; ), is a multinational membership-based association composed of Latin music industry professionals, musicians, producers, recording engineers, and ...

(LARAS). The organization was created to expand NARAS's operations in Latin America and Spain. Mauricio Abaroa is appointed as the executive director of LARAS. *

September 5 Events Pre-1600 * 917 – Liu Yan declares himself emperor, establishing the Southern Han state in southern China, at his capital of Panyu. * 1367 – Swa Saw Ke becomes king of Ava *1590 – Alexander Farnese's army forces Hen ...

– Spanish singer-songwriter

Alejandro Sanz Alejandro Sánchez Pizarro, better known as Alejandro Sanz (; born 18 December 1968), is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He has won 22 Latin Grammy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He has received the Latin Grammy for Latin Grammy Award ...

releases his fifth studio album ''

Más Mas, Más or MAS may refer to: Film and TV * Más y Menos, fictional superhero characters, from the Teen Titans animated television series * "Más" (''Breaking Bad''), a season three episode of ''Breaking Bad'' Music Albums * ''Más'' (album), ...

''. The album would go on to become the bestselling album of all-time in Spain. *

September 10 Events Pre-1600 * 506 – The bishops of Visigothic Gaul meet in the Council of Agde. * 1089 – The first synod of pope Urban II starts in Melfi, with seventy bishops and twelve abbots in attendance. The synod issues several decree ...

SESAC SESAC is a for-profit performance-rights organization in the United States. Founded in 1930 as the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, it is the second-oldest performance-rights organization in the United States.

launches its own Latin Music Awards to honor Latin songwriters signed under the publisher.

Bands formed

* Frankie Negrón (salsa) *Jordi (Latin pop)

Bands reformed

Bands disbanded

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed of horse, male or female, with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

Bands on hiatus

Number-ones albums and singles by country

List of number-one albums of 1997 (Spain) The List of number-one albums of 1997 in Spain is derived from the ''Top 100 España'' record chart published weekly by Productores de Música de España, PROMUSICAE (Productores de Música de España), a non-profit organization composed by Spain ...

* List of number-one singles of 1997 (Spain) * List of number-one ''Billboard'' Top Latin Albums of 1997 *

List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1997 This is a list containing the ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks number-ones of 1997. See also * ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks References {{DISPLAYTITLE:List of number-one ''Billboard'' Hot Latin Tracks of 1997 1997 record charts 1997 ...

Awards

* 1997 Premio Lo Nuestro * 1997 ''Billboard'' Latin Music Awards * 1997 Tejano Music Awards

Albums released

First quarter

January

February

March

Second quarter

April

May

June

Third quarter

July

August

September

Fourth quarter

October

November

December

Unknown

Best-selling records

Best-selling albums

The following is a list of the top 10 best-selling Latin albums in the United States in 1997, according to ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''.

Best-performing songs

The following is a list of the top 10 best-performing Latin songs in the United States in 1997, according to ''Billboard''.

Births

March 2 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his '' bucellarii'' are almost ...

Becky G Rebbeca Marie Gomez (born March 2, 1997), known professionally as Becky G, is an American singer and actress. Born and raised in Inglewood, California, she first gained recognition in 2011 for her cover version, cover versions of popular song ...

, American Latin pop singer *

March 21 Events Pre-1600 * 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the '' Vivarium'', by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas ...

–

Martina Stoessel Martina Stoessel (; born 21 March 1997), known professionally as Tini, is an Argentine singer, actress, dancer and model. She began her career as a child actress, by appearing on the Argentine children's television series '' Patito Feo'' (2007 ...

, Argentine actress, model, singer, and dancer *

August 7 Events Pre-1600 * 461 – Roman Emperor Majorian is beheaded near the river Iria in north-west Italy following his arrest and deposition by the ''magister militum'' Ricimer. * 626 – The Avar and Slav armies leave the siege of ...

Evaluna Montaner, Venezuelan entertainer and singer

Deaths

January 22 Events Pre-1600 * 613 – Eight-month-old Heraclius Constantine is crowned as co-emperor ('' Caesar'') by his father Heraclius at Constantinople. * 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated b ...

—

Cornelio Reyna Cornelio Reyna Cisneros (September 16, 1940 – January 22, 1997) was a Mexican singer, composer, bajo sextist and actor. He made over 60 recordings of Norteño and Mariachi music. He was the lead vocalist for the group "Los Relámpagos del Nor ...

, 56, Mexican norteño singer *

February 2 Events Pre-1600 * 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths, promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (''Breviarium Alaricianum'' or ''Lex Romana Visigothorum''), a collection of " Roman law". * 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: ...

—

Chico Science Chico () means ''small'', ''boy'' or ''child'' in the Spanish language. It is also the nickname for Francisco in the Portuguese language (). Chico may refer to: Places *Chico, California, a city * Chico, Montana, an unincorporated community * Ch ...

, 30, Brazilian singer and composer and one of the founders of the manguebeat cultural movement *

August 17 Events Pre-1600 * 310 – Pope Eusebius dies, possibly from a hunger strike, shortly after being banished by the Emperor Maxentius to Sicilia (Roman province), Sicily. * 682 – Pope Leo II begins his pontificate. * 986 – Byzanti ...

—

Alberto Morán Alberto Morán (born Remo Andrea Domenico Recagno, Strevi, Alessandria, Italy, 15 March 1922 – Buenos Aires, 16 August 1997) was an Argentine tango musician. His works at Osvaldo Pugliese's Orchestras were notable, including songs 'Pasional', ' ...

, 75, Argentine tango musician *

October 24 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69 – In the Second Battle of Bedriacum, troops loyal to Vespasian defeat those of Emperor Vitellius. * 1260 – Chartres Cathedral is dedicated in the presence of King Louis IX of France. * 1260 – Afte ...

— Luis Aguilar, 79, Mexican film and television actor and singer of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema *

October 25 Events Pre-1600 * 285 or 286 – Execution of Crispin and Crispinian, Saints Crispin and Crispinian during the reign of Diocletian, now the patron saints of leather workers, curriers, and shoemakers. * 473 – Emperor Leo I (emperor), ...

— , 73, Argentine tango composer and pianist

References

{{reflist, 30em Latin music by year