Leading Ladies of Entertainment

The Leading Ladies of Entertainment is an annual event organized by the Latin Recording Academy, the same body that distributes the Latin Grammy Awards, at which awards are presented to women "excelling in the arts and sciences, and who have made indelible impressions and contributions to the Latin entertainment industry."^[1] Award recipients are honored during "Latin Grammy Week", a string of events held prior to the annual Latin Grammy Awards ceremony.^[2] The accolade was established in 2017 by the organization to acknowledge the gender gap in the Latin entertainment industry.^[3]

Gabriel Abaroa, then-president of the Latin Recording Academy, explained at the inaugural event: "Women face a myriad of difficulties in the entertainment industry, but despite those obstacles, the women we are honoring have continually demonstrated perseverance, fortitude, and grace under pressure."^[3] A portion of the sponsorships on the events are used to fund scholarships to young women studying in music.^[4] The awards were first presented to Marcella Araica, Leila Cobo, Erika Ender, Rebeca León [es], Gabriela Martinez, and Jessica Rodriguez.^[1] The event was held twice in 2019, the first as a Mexican edition in June and again during the Latin Grammy Week in November.^[5][6]

Recipients

Year[a]	Image	Recipient	Occupation(s)	Ref.
2017	—	Marcella Araica	Audio engineer, mixer, and vice president of N.A.R.S Records and Dream Asylum Studios	[1]
		Leila Cobo	Executive director of Content & Programming for Latin Music & Entertainment for Billboard
		Erika Ender	Singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, television personality
	—	Rebeca León	CEO and founder of Lionfish Entertainment
	—	Gabriela Martinez	General manager for Warner Music Latina and SVP Marketing Warner Music Latin America
	—	Jessica Rodriguez	Executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Univision Communications.
2018		Becky G	Singer, songwriter, and actress	[7]
	—	Cynthia Darr Hudson	Senior vice president and general manager of CNN en Español and Hispanic Strategy for CNN U.S.
	—	Delia Orjuela	Vice president creative for Latin music at Broadcast Music Inc.
		Pamela Silva	Journalist and co-anchor of Primer Impacto
2019 (Mexican edition)		Martha Debayle	Announcer	[5]
		Tatiana Bilbao	Architect
		Joy Huerta	Singer
		Alondra de la Parra	Orchestra director
	—	Soumaya Slim Domit	Art expert
2019	—	María Elisa Ayerbe	Audio engineer and producer	[6]
		Lila Downs	Singer-songwriter and social activist
	—	Luana Pagani	Music executive, president and partner of Seitrack US
		Dayanara Torres	Actress, model, author, and former Miss Universe
	—	Elsa Yep	Chief financial officer and executive vice president of operations for Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula
2020		Selena Gomez	Recording artist, actress, film producer, and social activist	[8]
	—	Angela N. Martinez	Entertainment attorney
		Goyo	Singer, producer and cofounder of ChocQuibTown
		María Elena Salinas	Broadcast journalist, news anchor, and author
2021	—	Mayna Nevarez	Founder & CEO of Nevarez Communications	[9]
	—	Mia Nygren	Managing director for Spotify Latin America region
		Ivy Queen	Singer-songwriter
	—	Mónica Vélez	Music composer
2022		Kany García	Singer and songwriter	[10]
	—	Rocío Guerrero	Global head of Latin at Amazon Music
	—	Rosa Lagarrigue	Founder and CEO of Spain's RLM
	—	Janina Rosado	Pianist, musical director, record producer
2023	—	Róndine Alcalá	Founder of RondenePR	[11]
		Mon Laferte	Singer and songwriter
		Simone Torres	Vocal producer
	—	Ana Villacorta López	Director of international development and marketing
2024		Vivir Quintana	Singer and songwriter	[12]
	—	Diana Rodríguez	CEO and founder of Criteria Entertainment
	—	Ana Rosa Santiago	Senior vice president of Latin Music and LatAm for Universal Music Publishing Group
		Julieta Venegas	Singer and songwriter
2025	—	Maricarmen Bou	Vice president of Sony Music Entertainment in Puerto Rico	[13]
	—	Amarilys Germán	Entertainment executive and manager
	—	Paula Kaminsky	Managing Director at Global Talent Services
		Rozalén	Singer and songwriter