New faces and old favorites: Mexico’s 2026 Latin Grammy wins

Mexican and Mexican American artists won in at least 10 categories at the Latin Grammys in Las Vegas on Thursday — from 22-year-old Xavi collecting his first two trophies to hitmaker Edgar Barrera becoming the awards’ most decorated winner ever.

Nominated in six categories, Silvana Estrada won one award with her song “Dime,” while Texan Bobby Pulido followed his election to Congress last week with his third Latin Grammy — then announced his retirement from music.

The 27th annual ceremony at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena also featured a first win for Guadalajara-born mariachi singer Camila Fernández and a big centennial tribute to the late Mexican singer-songwriter and ranchera legend José Alfredo Jiménez.

Barrera, born in McAllen, Texas, to a Mexican family, converted a leading 10 nominations into two awards: producer of the year and best regional song for “No Capea.” The two wins brought his career total to 31, breaking the all-time Latin Grammy record he had shared with Puerto Rican rapper Residente.

Xavi, Grupo Frontera – No Capea (Official Video)

Barrera, 36, shared the songwriting award with five co-writers, including Xavi and Grupo Frontera singer Adelaido “Payo” Solís III. The prize recognizes the writers, not every member of the performing group.

Xavi won both his nominations, also taking best contemporary Mexican music album for “Dosis.” Born Joshua Xavier Gutiérrez Alonso in Arizona, Xavi was raised largely by his grandparents in Nogales, Sonora, before moving to Phoenix at age 15 with his father.

Grupo Frontera, a Mexican-American band that formed in Texas in 2022, won best norteño album for “Lo Que Me Falta Por Llorar.” 

Fernández won best ranchero/mariachi album for “La Fernández.” The 28-year-old is the daughter of ranchero star Alejandro Fernández and the granddaughter of the late Vicente Fernández, one of Mexico’s most famous entertainers of all time.

Edén Muñoz, 36, the former Calibre 50 frontman from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, won best banda album for “Piedras a la Luna.” He was also nominated for best regional song as the writer of “Osadía,” his duet with Cristian Castro.

Estrada, 29, recently named the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s first creative chair for Latin music, received six nominations, including album of the year for “Vendrán Suaves Lluvias” and record and song of the year for “Dime.”

Silvana Estrada — Dime (Video Oficial)

The ballad about heartbreak and the liberating power of anger didn’t win in those two categories, but it did garner best singer-songwriter song. The native of Coatepec, Veracruz, now has two Latin Grammys, following her best new artist award in 2022.

Alejandra, Daniela and Paulina Villarreal — three sisters from Monterrey, Nuevo León, who make up the hard-rock trio The Warning — shared best rock song honors for “Ego” with three co-writers.

Mexico City singer Marco Barrientos shared best Spanish-language Christian album for “Eterno” with two others.

Pulido, who has Mexican heritage, won his third Latin Grammy, taking best Tejano album for “Bobby Pulido & Friends: Una Tuya y Una Mía (Vol.2/En Vivo).”

“I want to tell you that I’m retiring from music, and I’m leaving with so much gratitude,” Pulido said in Spanish while accepting the award. He missed the traditional group photo for incoming House members while traveling to Las Vegas, according to The Hill.

Afterward, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries congratulated his fellow Democrat in a social media post: “Felicidades and what a month for Congressman-Elect Pulido.”

Chilean Mexican singer Mon Laferte, who has a house in Tepoztlán, Morelos, performed “Femme Fatale” — a week after a concertgoer threw a cellphone that struck her in the face — but went winless in six categories.

Carín León lost both his nominations, for record and album of the year.

Arath Herce from the city of Veracruz went winless in four categories: best new artist, singer-songwriter album, singer-songwriter song and pop/rock song.

Spanish singer Rosalía won five awards, including album of the year for “LUX (Complete Works)” and song of the year for “La Perla.” Argentine singer Milo J took four, including record of the year for “Niño.” 

Colombian singer Aria Vega won best new artist, besting a field that included Mexicans Herce, Macario Martínez and Sofía Monroy.

In all, Mexican and Mexican American artists won across all six regional Mexican categories, an umbrella grouping for styles including mariachi, banda and norteño. For the full list of winners, see Billboard.

With reports from Billboard, Uno TV, Infobae and Hola!

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