Music & Variety
Television has celebrated the vibrant culture of Hispanic entertainers and musicians throughout its history. From early appearances by icons like Xavier Cugat, to the sensation of Sábado Gigante and the annual spectacle of the Latin Grammys Specials, some of TV's most memorable moments and performances have involved Hispanic music and variety. In 2020, the Super Bowl Halftime Show, perhaps television's most talked about performance, features Hispanic icons Jennifer Lopez and Shakira in an epic duet watched by over 100 million people.
- In the summer of 1949, the DuMont network runs The Delora Bueno Show (Flight to Rhythm), a music variety series spotlighting the Brazilian vocalist along with the Miguelito Valdés Orchestra.
- Sábado Gigante, hosted by Don Francisco, debuts on Univision in 1962. It would run an unprecedented fifty-three years, making it the longest running television variety series in history.
- On May 22, 1970, Vikki Carr becomes the first ever Latinx guest host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
- After "Conga" became a worldwide hit in the summer of 1985, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine are invited to perform the tune on the January 4, 1986, episode of Dick Clark's American Bandstand. That same month, the song, along with their two other Billboard Top 10 chart hits from their album Primitive Love, "Words Get in the Way" and "Bad Boy," could be heard as part of the soundtrack of the TV movie Club Med.
- A year after being critically injured in a tour bus accident, Gloria Estefan returns to the stage, performing "Coming Out of the Dark" at the American Music Awards in 1991.
- The sketch series In Living Color's (1990–94) dance ensemble, The Fly Girls, is choreographed by future Oscar-nominee Rosie Perez and featured future music superstar Jennifer Lopez.
- In 1994, Selena Quintanilla attends the 36th Annual Grammy Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York. After this appearance, the Queen of Texas Music, and one of the most famous Mexican-American artists of the late twentieth century, performs an unprecedented concert that sold out the Houston Astrodome.
- Cuban pianist and composer Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (1997) and Chilean songwriter and singer Myriam Hernández (2015) are among those inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
- Ricky Martin creates a sensation on the 41st Annual Grammy Awards with his sizzling rendition of his hit 1998 single "La Copa de la Vida/The Cup of Life," which also serves as the official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
- In 2000, Santana wins eight Grammy Awards, tying Michael Jackson's record for most awards won in a single night.
- The first Latin Grammy Awards are broadcast on September 13, 2000. Luis Miguel wins album of the year for Amarte Es Un Placer; Marc Anthony's "Dimelo" is named Song of the Year.
- Juanes makes a splash at the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards, winning three of the trophies, including Best New Artist, Best Rock Solo Vocal Album for his debut recording Fijate Bien, and Best Rock Song for the title track.
- In 2002, future stars Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato both launch their careers, appearing as cast regulars on the children's show Barney & Friends.
- Legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz is honored with an all-star tribute on Telemundo, Celia Cruz: Azúcar!, in 2003. It marks her final public appearance.
- At the time of her tragic death in a plane crash in December 2012, Jenni Rivera has completed two seasons of a reality show spotlighting herself and her family, I Love Jenni. As a tribute to the late star, a third season is filmed, showing how her family coped with their loss.
- In 2013, Ryan Seacrest produces the music reality competition series Duelo Musical: Super Estrella.
- In 2014, Lin-Manuel Miranda wins the Emmy Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for "Bigger!" the opening number at the 67th Annual Tony Awards.
- In 2020, The Walking Dead star Christian Serratos portrays legendary Tejano singer Selena the critically acclaimed Netflix bio series Selena.
- Tito Puente not only does a guest voice as a murder suspect on the 1995 two-part The Simpsons episode "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" but he and his Latin Jazz Ensemble perform the series theme song during the end credits of the follow-up episode "Part Two."
- Following their successful appearances on The X Factor USA, Camila Cabello and Fifth Harmony show up on a 2014 episode of the sitcom Faking It to sing their version of the New Kids on the Block hit "You Got It (The Right Stuff)."
- Juan Gabriel becomes the subject of the TNT Latin America series Hasta que te conoci, which was named after his 1986 hit song and aired between April and June of 2016, shortly before the performer's death. In the series, he is portrayed as an adult by Julián Román.
- The live matchmaking reality show Enamorándonos debuts on Univision’s UniMás in 2019 and lets viewers not only watch the suspense and fun unfold as relationships develop, but to participate as well.
- In 2020, Just Sam (Samantha Diaz) is named the winner of the most recent season of American Idol.
- Bad Bunny wins his first Grammy at the 2021 Awards for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album, while also performing a futuristic "Dákiti" with Jhay Cortez.
- At the 2021 GLAAD Awards Demi Lovato leads a salute to the late Glee star Naya Rivera, who played half of the show's beloved queer couple, Santana Lopez (Rivera) and Britney Pierce (Heather Morris). Lovato noted that the character was "ground-breaking for closeted queer girls, like I was at the time, and her ambition and accomplishments inspire Latina women all over the world."