Flaunting a ’60s-inspired dress and hairdo, Maria Becerra attended the inaugural Billboard Mujeres Latinas en la Música (Billboard Latin Women in Music), where she received the Visionary Award from newlyweds Lele Pons and Guaynaa.
“First of all, I want to thank Billboard for this incredible recognition as a visionary. Thank you for joining so many talented women and for thinking of awards that recognize the effort and work all of us dedicate to our job each day,” she said during her speech on Sunday (May 7). “This tribute is not only for me. This award has a lot to do with the capacity to generate ideas, of not staying still for one second but also with a big team that accompanies and empowers everything I propose. Thank for you trusting in my vision and thank you for having a big vision as well, for your ideas, for your work, and for your love, above all. And I want to send a shout-out to all my colleagues and congratulate you for all your incredible work.”
Becerra, who started as a YouTuber as an adolescent and was later nominated for a Latin Grammy for best new artist in 2021, also took center stage to perform her uptempo urban-cumbia track “Adiós” joined by a nine-member band. “Adiós” reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart.
For Becerra, receiving the Visionary Award represents having confidence in her project and being surrounded by a supportive team.
“I am a very active person, a person who shoots ideas, who wants to generate new concepts, who want to make new and different genres,” she previously told Billboard. “I think it goes more on that side, in the sense of not stagnating and always thinking about new things and looking to the future.”
The two-hour music special, hosted by Ivy Queen and Jacqueline Bracamontes, honors Latin women in music. Mujeres Latinas en la Música aired on Sunday, May 7 at 9 p.m. ET exclusively on Telemundo and Peacock.
A first of its kind for Latin music, the inaugural Latin Women in Music event is an expansion of Billboard’s Women in Music franchise and celebrates Latin female artists, executives and creatives who are proactively working for positive change, inclusion and gender parity in the music industry. Shakira will receive the first-ever Woman of the Year award. Other honorees, in addition to Becerra, include Ana Gabriel, who will receive the Living Legend Award; Emilia, who will receive the Rising Star Award; Evaluna, who will receive the Tradition and Future Award; Goyo, who will receive the Agent of Change Award, and Thalia, who will receive the Global Powerhouse Award.
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.
