Rita Moreno Gets Special Serenade on Her 92nd Birthday & More Uplifting Moments in Latin Music

From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

Rita Moreno Gets Special Birthday Serenade

The iconic Rita Moreno got a special serenade on her 92nd birthday. The Oscar-winning actress celebrated in London with a group of friends who sang “Happy Birthday To You” with a live piano as their canvas. Taking center stage, Moreno conducted her singing friends. See the special moment here. “Thank you everyone who helped make not only the past year but every year memorable. Here’s to the best one yet!!” the Puerto Rican star posted on Instagram.

Juanes surprises Airbnb guests in Medellin

Two lucky guests stayed in Juanes’ house in Medellin, Colombia, in a partnership with Airbnb. The pair was also surprised by the Colombian singer-songwriter who showed up with guitar in hand to perform for them. “Happy to have opened the doors of my home for an exclusive night with @airbnb for these very special guests,” the “Gris” singer posted on social media. “It was magical to share my Vida Cotidiana with you!!!”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by JUANES (@juanes)

Banda El Recodo’s Billion Streams

The legendary Banda El Recodo was recognized by Pandora for surpassing over one billion streams on the platform, which led the band to now be part of Pandora’s Billionaires’ Milestone Program. To celebrate the billion streams, Pandora will highlight its decades-long hits and new single “Al Ver Que Te Vas” in the Latin Billionaires MX station.

Maluma Records Special Performances for Vevo

As part of Vevo’s ctrl Live Session, Colombian superstar Maluma performed a live rendition of “Balance,” included in his latest album Don Juan. This live performance was the first of a series of videos that were released over the last few days, including live performances of “Los Polvos” and “Hace Un Mes.” The fourth video, “Humedad,” dropped today (Dec. 16). See all the videos here.

Sebastián Yatra’s Latin Grammy Scholarship

The Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation announced that Sebastián Yatra will sponsor the next four-year Prodigy Scholarship that will fully fund a student’s bachelor’s degree in music at Berklee School of Music starting in the fall 2024.

The foundation’s scholarship, created nine years ago, holds a maximum value of $200,000 in financial aid for music students in need. The scholarship is traditionally awarded to “exceptionally talented music students, with financial needs, to support their educational and musical aspirations,” according to the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation. 

“Joining the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation for their annual Prodigy Scholarship is beautiful because I’m part of something that I would’ve wished for as a young kid. One of my big dreams was to study music at Berklee and although my career took a different path which I’m super grateful for, I would’ve loved to have that kind of preparation and knowledge,” Yatra said in a statement. “I hope that the person who gets this opportunity takes full advantage of the scholarship and enjoys it to the max. I’ll be looking out for applicants that share a lot of heart and sincerity in their art.”