The Billboard Latin Women in Music 2023 is a wrap. Shakira, Thalia, Ana Gabriel, Evaluna Montaner, Goyo, Emilia and Maria Becerra were honored as the first class of the Billboard Latin Women in Music at a gala in on Saturday (May 6) in Miami, which aired Sunday (May 7) exclusively on Telemundo and Peacock.
A first of its kind for Latin music, Mujeres Latinas en la Música — hosted by Ivy Queen and Jacqueline Bracamontes — celebrates Latin female artists, executives and creatives who are proactively working for positive change, inclusion and gender parity in the music industry.
Shakira received the first-ever Woman of the Year award. Other honorees included Ana Gabriel (Living Legend Award), Emilia (Rising Star Award), Maria Becerra (Visionary Award), Evaluna (Tradition and Future Award), Goyo (Agent of Change Award) and Thalia (Global Powerhouse Award).
The inaugural Latin Women in Music event was announced earlier this year as an expansion of Billboard’s Women in Music franchise. Billboard and Telemundo aim to further elevate Latin music globally and celebrate the women who have made a concrete impact on Latin music through their artistic achievements, or through tangible, noteworthy actions that have brought measurable recognition and opportunity to women, affecting positive change to the industry as a whole.
The two-hour event featured epic moments, including show-stopping performances by the honorees and powerful, poignant speeches. But there was a lot happening behind the scenes and off camera.
Here are six moments from the inaugural Latin Women in Music that you didn’t see on television.
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Shakira and Thalia’s Sweet Encounter
Image Credit: Natalia Aguilera Music icons Shakira and Thalia shared a special moment at the ceremony that was captured on video. Both honorees, Shak as Woman of the Year and Thalia as Global Powerhouse, embraced each other at Shakira’s table. “Ay pero que guapa tu estas (you look beautiful),” the “Hips Don’t Lie Singer” told Thalia, who responded, “mi amor (my love).”
Later, both artists shared the moment on Instagram. The “Amor a la Mexicana” singer captioned the video, “Mi Shak, it was great to hug you again. And what an honor to celebrate with your and our colleagues on this important day. What a powerful night. I love you, beautiful friend. See you soon.”
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Shakira in the Building
After the Colombian star made her way to her seat at the Watsco Center, she made sure to sit through most of the show in support for her fellow honorees. She stood up at the end of Thalia and Ana Gabriel’s powerful acceptance speeches and danced to Maria Becerra and Goyo’s performances. When she wasn’t dancing or attentively listening to what honorees were saying, she was greeting whoever came up to her table to say hello.
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Bella Dose Meets Shakira
Bella Dose had a mission at the 2023 Billboard Latin Women in Music event: to meet Shakira (as they told Billboard at the blue carpet). Not that long ago, the Latin girl group went viral on TikTok for their signature “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” dance trend, which Shakira herself also did. At the gala, the four-member group were the first ones to approach Shakira when she arrived. The emerging artists and Shak smiled, hugged and took a photo together. Mission accomplished!
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Make a Wish Kids’ Interviews
Image Credit: Rich Polk Billboard staffers weren’t just the only ones doing red carpet interviews for Latin Women in Music. Two Make a Wish Recipients joined Billboard for special interviews with some of the artists who walked the red carpet before entering the gala. One of them was Gabriela, who candidly interviewed newlywed couple Lele Pons and Guaynaa. Watch the interview above.
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Mike Bahía Gives Greeicy the Spotlight
Image Credit: Rich Polk Colombian powercouple Mike Bahía and Greeicy arrived on the blue carpet together, but after posing for the cameras, Bahía let his significant other have her spotlight. At one point, he gave her a kiss and walked away from the step-and-repeat wall to move to the side of the carpet. While Greeicy — who presented Goyo with the Agent of Change award at the gala — struck a pose, Bahía mingled with colleagues such as Elena Rose and Keityn.
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Maria Becerra Hands Out Merch
Image Credit: Rich Polk While Billboard was interviewing honoree Maria Becerra at the blue carpet, her camp was giving merch to our editorial team for always supporting her career. La Nena de Argentina walked away with the inaugural Visionary award, and part of the Billboard team walked away with cool baseball caps.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
