When Bad Bunny won Album of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards on February 1 with DeBÍ Tirar Más Fotos, the victory sparked widespread debate. Many headlines claimed it was the first time a Latino artist had received the Grammys’ top honor.
The reality is more nuanced.
More than two decades earlier, Mexican guitar legend Carlos Santana had already made history. What makes Bad Bunny’s achievement different is not that he won — but how he won.
Carlos Santana: the first Latino to win Album of the Year
In 2000, Carlos Santana became the first Latino artist to win the Grammy for Album of the Year with Supernatural. The record was a cultural phenomenon, dominating global charts and redefining crossover success at the turn of the millennium.
Supernatural blended rock, blues, and Latin rhythms with high-profile collaborations, producing era-defining hits such as “Smooth” (featuring Rob Thomas), “Maria Maria,” “Put Your Lights On,” and “Corazón Espinado.”
While groundbreaking, the album was primarily in English, with only select Spanish-language tracks — a reflection of its multicultural, cross-market ambition.
Santana’s win proved, for the first time, that a Latino artist could lead the Grammys’ most prestigious category.
Bad Bunny and the first Album of the Year entirely in Spanish
Twenty-six years later, Bad Bunny crossed a different, unprecedented threshold. His win with DeBÍ Tirar Más Fotos marked the first time Album of the Year was awarded to a record sung entirely in Spanish.
The album blends introspection with Caribbean roots, personal storytelling, and contemporary urban production, resonating far beyond Spanish-speaking audiences. Standout tracks such as “Monaco,” “Nadie Sabe,” “Fina,” and “Where She Goes” helped propel the project to massive global consumption without sacrificing language or cultural identity.
This achievement shifted the conversation from crossover adaptation to cultural affirmation.
Two wins, two meanings
- Carlos Santana broke the barrier by becoming the first Latino to win Album of the Year, proving representation was possible at the highest level.
- Bad Bunny expanded that legacy by becoming the first artist to win Album of the Year with a fully Spanish-language album, showing that English is no longer a prerequisite for the industry’s top recognition.
Separated by more than two decades, these two victories trace the evolution of the Grammys — and of global music itself. Together, they illustrate how Spanish-language music moved from the margins to the center of the world’s most influential stage.
