'The De Los Podcast': editors talk best Latin music of 2026, so far

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Set us as preferred As 2026 reaches its halfway point, the editors of De Los are eager to talk about Latin artists to watch — and share their hottest music takes.Over the years, award-winning music journalist Suzy Exposito and Director of Latino Initiatives Fidel Martinez have documented the rise of genres like reggaeton and música Mexicana in mainstream culture.In her work for Vogue, The Times and Rolling Stone, Exposito has interviewed influential artists like Shakira, Cardi B and Bad Bunny (the last of which made history as the first Rolling Stone cover story written by a Latina journalist).

Martinez has an impressive roster of his own, having interviewed many stars in the Mexican and Chicano music scenes, from Fuerza Regida to Natalia Lafourcade.Los Angeles Times journalist Christopher Goffard explores criminal cases that have left a mark on California history.On this week’s episode of “The De Los Podcast,” they weigh in on the explosive impact of 2025 on the genre: between Bad Bunny‘s Super Bowl halftime show and Karol G‘s Coachella headlining performance, last year was nothing short of a groundbreaking for Latin music.“Being there, you could feel barriers coming down,” Martinez, who reported live from the Super Bowl in February, said.“It wasn’t Bad Bunny trying to validate us in front of others.

It was him saying, ‘This is who we are, and we are proud of who we are.’”According to the RIAA, 2025 was the first year that Latin music sales in the U.S.reached $1 billion, in its 10th consecutive year of growth.

In 2016, American Latin music sales were at just below $150 million.“It highlights how quickly and with what speed the genre has been taking off,” Martinez said.However, as Exposito notes, at times, it came at the cost of originality.“Our generation is too married to the past,” Expos...