We Took a Trip Down Memory Lane to Bring You the Best Moments of 20 Years of Latin Grammys

A newly blond Shakira took the stage at the first-ever Latin Grammys in 2000 to perform her single "Ojos Así," mesmerizing audiences with her famous hip moves and captivating vocals.

In May of 2000, the Latin music community mourned the loss of El Rey de los Timbales, Tito Puente. So it was only appropriate to celebrate his life and achievements during the first-ever Latin Grammys broadcast in a heartfelt tribute led by Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Andy García playing bongos, and the one and only la guarachera de Cuba, Celia Cruz. They performed Puente's most famous song, "Oye Como Va," followed by "Quimbara" and "Micaela Me Botó."

By the time the third-annual Latin Grammys had come around, Carlos Vives song "Carito," about his love of his English teacher when he was a kid, was one of the most-played songs. To celebrate it, he reenacted the music video on stage, and invited none other than Roselyn Sánchez to play the super sexyteacher. Roselyn began the performance with school-appropriate attire, and later took it all off to reveal a bright yellow sparkly dress that made a lot of jaws drop.

Back in 2003, there wasn't a man sexier than Brazilian superstar Alexandre Pires. His voice was soft as velvet and he had such an ease about him that made him feel like the hot boy next door. During the fourth-annual Latin Grammys, he was invited to perform his mega hit "Amame" — seriously, who didn't want their special someone to dedicate that song to them? — and he brought none other than the first-ever American Idol Kelly Clarkson to perform with him. The result was a beautiful mix of out-of-this-world vocals in a sexy AF song.

When Celia Cruz passed away in the Summer of 2003, Latin music lost its queen. During the fourth-annual Latin Grammys, the most notable voices of the generation gathered to send her off in the way she deserved. Marc Anthony, La India, Oscar de Leon, Olga Tañon, El General, Arturo Sandoval, Gloria Estefan, Victor Manuelle, Johnny Pacheco, and Willie Colón combined their star power in a soulful tribute to Celia Cruz.

Starting with "La Vida es un Carnaval," followed by "El Yerbero Moderno," "La Negra Tiene Tumbao," "Quimbara," "Bemba Colorá," and back to "La Vida es un Carnaval" that ended in a loud "Azúcar!" the performance was quickly followed by the loudest standing ovation you've ever heard in your life.

La Chica Dorada had a brief attempt at being a reggaetón artist in the year that Gasolina took over the music charts. And at the fifth-annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2004, she literally brought perreo on the stage by releasing a pack of dogs after she finished her performance of "Perros."

In 2005, the sixth-annual Latin Grammys gave reggaetón a platform. After the success of "Gasolina" in 2004 — which earned Daddy Yankee a nomination for record of the year — the rise of mainstream reggaetón was undeniable. And what better group to really bring this genre to the forefront than Eddie Dee's Los 12 Discípulos. This was a group of the most on-demand reggaetón performers of the time, headed by Eddie Dee, which included Gallego, Vico C, Tego Calderón, Voltio, Zion, Ivy Queen, Johnny Prez, Tito el Bambino, and Lennox. Noticeably absent from this lineup at the live performance were Daddy Yankee, Wiso G, and Nicky Jam, who were originally featured in the song.

There are certain bands that have redefined modern Latin rock, and La Ley is definitely one of them. During the sixth-annual Latin Grammys, the band, led by Beto Cuevas, proved that experience is not improvised when they put on an electrifying performance of their best hits, such as "Mentira," "Aquí," and "El Duelo."

In 2006, no one was expecting to fall in love with Calle 13. But the duo, formed by brothers René Pérez and Eduardo Cabra, made quite an impression with their approach to reggaetón and their catchy lyrics. At the seventh-annual Latin Grammys, they were nominated for best new artist, best urban music album, and best short-form music video — and they won all three. It was definitely the beginning of an era for one of the most influential artists of this generation.

Can you imagine a world without Jesse & Joy songs carrying us through a breakup? That was the case before 2007, when the world realized just how much we needed them and the Recording Academy recognized them with a best new artist Latin Grammy at the eighth-annual award ceremony. The rest is history.

Ricky Martin is perfection and he proved it — once again — during the eighth-annual Latin Grammys in 2007. He took the stage to sing his classics "Lola Lola" and "La Bomba" from his 1998 album "Vuelve" in an upbeat, colorful performance featuring Blue Man Group.

Juanes was the big winner at the ninth-annual Latin Grammys in 2008, taking home album of the year and best male pop vocal album for "La Vida . . . Es un Ratico," and song of the year, tecord of the year, and best short-form music video for "Me Enamora." He also performed "Me Enamora," as well as "Odio por Amor," followed by a Spanish version of John Legend's "If You're Out There," featuring John Legend singing in Spanish as if it were his native language.

Back in 2008, the Riveras were in their prime. El Toro del Corrido and La Diva de la Banda seemed to have the best sibling relationship, as well as a professional one, even though they both worked in the same industry. They proved to be a united front during the ninth-annual Latin Grammys, where they performed "Sufriendo a Solas," one of their most memorable performances before Jenni passed away in 2012.

You can't talk about the Latin Grammys without mentioning Juan Gabriel's 2009 performance at the 10th-annual award show. El Divo de Juárez was named "Person of the Year," and to celebrate, he treated everyone to a performance that lasted for over an hour, where he sang his greatest hits like "Costumbres," "Hasta que Te Conocí," "Por Qué Me Haces Llorar," "Perdona Si Te Hago Llorar," "El Noa Noa," "El Principio," and many, many more. Juanga was 59 at the time, and managed to keep the audience on their feet for the entire time. It remains the longest-ever Latin Grammys performance to date.

The 10th-annual Latin Grammy Awards also marked the time when Calle 13 solidified their status as true icons, as they became the night's big winners with five awards, completing at the time a total of 10 since their debut back in 2005. Their album "Los de Atrás Vienen Conmigo" won album of the year and best urban music album; their single "No Hay Nadie Como Tu" (featuring Café Tacuba) scored record of the year and best alternative song; and their single "La Perla" (featuring Rubén Blades) won for best short-form music video. Currently, they hold 22 Latin Grammy awards.

In 2010, at the 11th-annual Latin Grammys, Marc Anthony joined forces with Spanish crooner José Luis Perales to sing the latter's 1982 classic "Y Cómo es El," which Marc had rerecorded and released as part of his album "Iconos" that year. It was an emotional performance where two Latin music legends left the audience feeling a whole lot; this is a timeless tune that can have different meanings for different people, from someone who just went through a breakup to a dad who's watching his daughter get married to the love of her life. There were very few dry eyes after Marc and José Luis performed that night.

Juan Luis Guerra put on a visually stunning performance at the 11th-annual Latin Grammys in 2010. The Dominican artist brought a mix of Brazilian batucada and típico Dominicano to later burst into his hit "La Guagua," followed by "Lola's Mambo," accompanied by trumpeter Chris Botti and complete with a pool full of synchronized swimmers.

At the 12th-Annual Latin Grammys in 2011, Romeo Santos and Usher performed their hit "Promise," proving bachata doesn't have a language, and leaving people wondering if the two crooners were long-lost brothers. Way before Drake became the ultimate Dominican tío, Usher looked like that Dominican guy at the hookah bar who was definitely stealing your girl.

In 2012, Prince Royce's hit "Incondicional" received a little makeover. The song, originally a bachata, was turned into a bachata-ranchera mix when the prince of bachata performed it at the 13th-Annual Latin Grammys, featuring El Rey del Jaripeo, Joan Sebastián. Although this pairing might sound a bit unexpected, it made total sense and brought together two genres, two generations, and two countries (Dominican Republic and Mexico), proving once more that music has no limits.

In 2012, Michel Teló had everyone singing in Portuguese thanks to his hit "Ai Se Eu Te Pego." The catchy tune became a staple in every party, night club, radio station, playlist, and more, and it was no surprise when he was invited to perform it at the 13th-annual Latin Grammys. His performance was even more memorable because it featured an appearance by the Blue Man Group.

It's hard to look at this photo and not go "OMG!" because both Maluma and Becky G look so freaking adorable! They were 19 and 16 respectively at the time of the 14th-annual Latin Grammys in 2014, and this marked the beginning of a new era for Latin music. While we love our quintessential Latin acts, we needed a fresh approach, and that's exactly what Maluma and Becky G did by performing "La Temperatura," proving there was enough room for the upcoming generations to shine as bright as the veterans.

On September 26, 2014, 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College were forcibly abducted and then disappeared in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico under very unclear circumstances. This sent the country and the world into massive protests, demanding the government do something about it. René Pérez, aka Residente, no se quedó callado and used his platform at the 15th-annual Latin Grammys in 2014 to bring awareness to what was happening and demand answers. To this day, no one knows where "los 43" are.

In June 16 2015, when Trump kicked off his presidential campaign, he did so by calling Mexicans criminals and rapists. "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people," Trump said.

This, of course, didn't go unnoticed, and Mexican icons Maná and Los Tigres del Norte decided to use their performance at the 16th-annual Latin Grammys in 2015 to send a clear message asking Latinx to not vote for racists.

Marc Anthony was honored as the Latin Recording Academy's "Person of the Year" during the 17th-annual Latin Grammys in 2016. To mark the occasion, he reunited with ex-wife Jennifer Lopez to perform their version of Pimpinela's 1984 classic "Olvídame y Pega la Vuelta," which they later released as a single. After they ended the performance, J Lo proceeded to hand Marc his award, which had the whole audience yelling "Beso, beso, beso!" after she had called him her "soulmate" and her "love."

As true performers who love pleasing their audience, Marc and J Lo caved and shared a quick kiss that sent the arena into a frenzy, but had Marc's then-wife Shannon de Lima a bit mortified, although she took it with elegance as she knew it didn't mean anything. To calm things down, the next day Marc proceeded to post a slew of pictures kissing some of his famous friends like J Balvin and Enrique Santos, but people still wondered if that kiss was la gota que rebosó la copa and influenced his divorce from Shannon a few weeks later.

When you think about your 2017 playlist, some form of the song "Despacito" is in it. The song was released in January of that year, and later remixed by Justin Bieber in April, which opened its doors to a broader audience. It became a worldwide phenomenon, and the Latin Recording Academy recognized it, awarding it with four Latin Grammys: record of the year, song of the year, best urban fusion/performance, and best short-form music video.

Sebastián Yatra and Halsey were one of the most talked-about performances of the 19th-annual Latin Grammys in 2018. The two sang "My Only One, No Hay Nadie Más," blending their voices perfectly into a sweet tune that melted many hearts.