The International Latin Music Hall of Fame (ILMHF) was an annual event established in 1999 and held in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to honor artists who have largely contributed to the Latin music genre. In addition to the induction into the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

, the award ceremonies include Special Recognition Awards and Beny Moré Memorial Award. The last awards were held in 2003.

1999

The first Induction and Award ceremony was held on April 7, 1999. It honored the following inductees and recipients of the Special Recognition Awards:

1999 inductees

Tito Puente,

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...

Eddie Palmieri Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936) is an American Grammy Award-winning pianist, bandleader, musician, and composer of Puerto Rican ancestry. He is the founder of the bands La Perfecta, La Perfecta II, and Harlem River Drive. Early life Pal ...

, Johnny Pacheco,

Joe Cuba Joe Cuba (April 22, 1931 – February 15, 2009), was an American conga drummer of Puerto Rican descent widely regarded as the "Father of Latin Boogaloo". Early years Joe Cuba (birth name: Gilberto Miguel Calderón) was born in Harlem, New York ...

Israel "Cachao" López Israel López Valdés (September 14, 1918 – March 22, 2008), better known as Cachao ( ), was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the descarga (improvised jam sessions). T ...

, Johnny Ventura,

Orquesta Aragón Orquesta Aragón is a Cuban musical band formed on 30 September 1939, by Orestes Aragón Cantero in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The band originally had the name ''Ritmica 39'', then ''Ritmica Aragón'' before settling on its final form. Though they did not ...

, José Fajardo, Marco Antonio Muñiz,

Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...

, La Sonora Matancera.

1999 posthumous inductees

Miguel Faílde Miguel Faílde Pérez (23 December 1852, in Guacamaro, Matanzas – 26 December 1921) was a Cuban musician and bandleader. He was the official originator of the danzón, composer of the first danzón, Las alturas de Simpson, and the founder of the ...

Ignacio Piñeiro Ignacio Piñeiro Martínez (May 21, 1888 – March 12, 1969) was a Cuban musician, bandleader and composer whose career started in rumba and flowered in the rise of the son. He was one of the most important composers of son music; in total he w ...

, Rafael Hernández,

Ernesto Lecuona Ernesto Lecuona y Casado (; August 7, 1896 – November 29, 1963) was a Cuban composer and pianist, many of whose works have become standards of the Latin, jazz and classical repertoires. His over 600 compositions include songs and zarzuelas as ...

Arsenio Rodríguez Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; 31 August 1911 – 30 December 1970)Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana, v. 4 p. 45 et seq. was a Cuban musician, composer and bandleader ...

Chano Pozo Luciano Pozo González (January 7, 1915 – December 3, 1948), known professionally as Chano Pozo, was a Cuban jazz percussionist, singer, dancer, and composer. Despite only living to age 33, he played a major role in the founding of Latin jazz. ...

Beny Moré Beny or Bény may refer to: Given name * Beny Alagem (born 1953), Israeli-American businessman * Beny Parnes (born 1959), Brazilian economist * Beny Primm (1928–2015), American physician and HIV/AIDS researcher * Beny Steinmetz (born 1956), Is ...

, Perez Prado,

Mario Bauza is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

Machito Machito (born Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, December 3, 1909 – April 15, 1984) was a Latin jazz musician who helped refine Afro-Cuban jazz and create both Cubop and salsa music. Ginell, Richard S. ''Biography''. Allmusic, 2011/ref> He wa ...

, Tito Rodríguez,

Miguelito Valdés Miguelito Valdés (September 6, 1912 – November 9, 1978), also known as Mr. Babalú, was a renowned Cuban singer. His performances were characterized by a strong voice and a particular sense of ''cubanismo''. Life Miguelito Valdés was born ...

Enrique Jorrín Enrique Jorrín ( Candelaria, Pinar del Río, December 25, 1926 - Havana, December 12, 1987) was a Cuban charanga violinist, composer and music director. He is considered the inventor of the '' cha-cha-chá'', a popular style of ballroom music der ...

, Agustín Lara.

1999 Special Recognition Awards

*record promoter Ralph Mercado *former Fania president Jerry Masucci *musical director of the

East Harlem School of Music East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

Johnny Colon Johnny Colon is an American salsa musician, leader of the Johnny Colon Orchestra and founder of the East Harlem Music School, also known as a major contributor to the boogaloo sound of the 1960s. Colon was born in New York City to parents of Puer ...

*pianist-composer-conductor for the ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning six seasons. The show starred Lucille Ball, her husband, Desi Arnaz, along with ...

'' show, Marco Rizo.

2000

The second Induction and Award ceremony was held on April 5, 2000. It honored the following inductees and recipients of the Special Recognition Awards:

2000 inductees

José Feliciano, Willie Colón, Mongo Santamaría,

, Cheo Feliciano,

Hector Lavoe In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, Charlie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, La Lupe, Yomo Toro,

Johnny Albino Johnny Albino (December 9, 1919 – May 7, 2011) was a Puerto Rican bolero singer, born in Yauco, Puerto Rico but lived most of his life in Guayama, Puerto Rico. Biography Johnny Albino played and sang through his youth years. It was not un ...

Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros (4 April 1928 – 6 January 2016) was a Cuban trumpeter. He played with artists such as Arsenio Rodríguez, Generoso Jiménez, Chico O'Farrill, Orchestra Harlow, Eddie Palmieri, Cachao and Sonora Matancera. Due to ...

Oscar D'León Oscar Emilio León Somoza (born July 11, 1943), known as Oscar D'León, and affectionately called ''The Pharaoh of Salsa'', ''The Lion of Salsa'', and the ''World's Sonero'', is a Venezuelan musician best known for his work with salsa music. He ...

, Armando Manzanero,

Myrta Silva Myrta Silva (September 11, 1927 – December 2, 1987) was a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and television producer who was known affectionately as "La Gorda de Oro". She rose to fame in 1949 as the lead vocalist for the Cuban ensemble Sonora ...

, Bobby Capó, Daniel Santos,

Luis Kalaff Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

Vicentico Valdés Gabriel Julio Fernández Capello (born July 24, 1964 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a musician and composer better known by his stage name Vicentico. Co-founder and vocalist of the band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs along with Flavio Cianciarulo. He was ...

, Rafael Ithier and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Miguel Matamoros,

Rafael Cepeda Rafael Cepeda Atiles (July 10, 1910 – July 21, 1996), recognized as "The Patriarch of the Bomba and Plena", was the patriarch of the Cepeda family, known internationally as ambassadors of Black history in Puerto Rico, Afro-Puerto Rican folk musi ...

, Julio Gutiérrez, Felipe Rodríguez, Rafael Cortijo, Ismael Rivera,

Maria Teresa Vera Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

Chalía Herrera Chalía Herrera, born ''Rosalía Gertrudis de la Concepción Díaz de Herrera y de Fonseca'' (17 November 1864, in Havana – 16 November 1948), was a Cuban soprano. She had the distinction of being the first Cuban musical artist to be record ...

Antonio Arcaño Antonio Arcaño Betancourt (Atarés, Havana 29 December 1911 – 1994) was a Cuban flautist, bandleader and founder of Arcaño y sus Maravillas, one of Cuba's most successful charangas. He retired from playing in 1945, but continued as director o ...

Joseíto Mateo José Iglesias Fernández (23 December 1926 – 12 July 2007), nicknamed Joseíto, was a Spanish football outside right and manager. He amassed La Liga totals of 134 games and 54 goals over the course of nine seasons, namely in representation ...

Los Muñequitos de Matanzas Los Muñequitos de Matanzas is a Cuban rumba ensemble from the city of Matanzas. The group was established in 1952 as Conjunto Guaguancó Matancero and released their first LP in 1956 through Puchito. Since then, Los Muñequitos have continued to p ...

Orestes Lopez In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...

, and Pedro Flores.

2000 Special Recognition Awards

*Performer

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

*Latin music historian

Max Salazar Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...

*TV producer Willie Sanchez *Latin music radio host Joe Gaines *Journalist Miguel Perez *Artist and publisher Izzy Sanabria

2000 Lifetime Achievement Award winners

Israel "Cachao" Lopez Israel López Valdés (September 14, 1918 – March 22, 2008), better known as Cachao ( ), was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the descarga (improvised jam sessions). T ...

* Chico O'Farrill

2001

The third annual ceremony and concert took place on April 4, 2001 at the

Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture Hostos is a town in the Duarte Province of the Dominican Republic. It was named after Eugenio María de Hostos Eugenio María de Hostos (January 11, 1839 – August 11, 1903), known as "''El Gran Ciudadano de las Américas''" ("The Great Citi ...

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York.

2001 inductees

* Rubén Blades, Buena Vista Social Club, Andy Montañez, Olga Guillot,

Lucho Gatica Luis Enrique Gatica Silva (11 August 1928 – 13 November 2018),
''The New York Times''. Retriev ...

, João Gilberto,

Astor Piazolla Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed ''nuevo tango'', incorporating elements fro ...

Hector Casanova In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

Ruth Fernandez Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Arka ...

Candido Camero Candido is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Candido Amantini (1914–1992), Italian Roman Catholic priest * Candido Camero known simply as "Candido" (1921-2020), Cuban percussionist * Candido Jacu ...

, Patato Valdes,

Wilfrido Vargas Wilfrido Radamés Vargas Martínez (; born April 24, 1949 in Altamira, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) is a band leader, trumpeter, vocalist, arranger, composer and producer who was instrumental in making the merengue style a worldwide pheno ...

Armando Peraza Armando Peraza (May 30, 1924 – April 14, 2014) was a Latin jazz percussionist and a member of the rock band Santana. Peraza played congas, bongos, and timbales. Biography Early life Born in Lawton Batista, Havana, Cuba in 1924 (although the b ...

Francisco Aguabella Francisco Aguabella (October 10, 1925 – May 7, 2010) was an Afro-Cuban percussionist whose career spanned folk, jazz, and dance bands. He was a prolific session musician and recorded seven albums as a leader. Biography In Cuba Aguabella wa ...

Tata Guines Tata or TATA may refer to: Places * Jamshedpur, a city in Jharkhand, India also known as Tatanagar or Tata * Tata, Hungary, a town in Hungary * Tata Islands, a pair of small islands off the coast of New Zealand * Tata, Morocco, a city in Tata ...

Tite Curet Alonso Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso (February 26, 1926 – August 5, 2003) was a Puerto Rican composer of over 2,000 salsa songs. Early years Curet Alonso (birth name: Catalino Curet Alonso) was born in Guayama, a town located in the southern region o ...

Vitín Avilés Vitín Avilés (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico September 30, 1930 – New York, New York, January 1, 2004) was a Puerto Rican singer, Born in the Barrio San Silvestre of Mayagüez. He learned from his father the Barber job, while he was singing his first g ...

, Ray Romero,

Maso Rivera Maso may refer to: * Maso (goddess) * ''Maso'' (spider), a genus of spiders in the family Linyphiidae * La Masó, municipality in Spain * Bartolomé Masó, Cuba, a municipality * An informal term to describe Macedonia People with the given nam ...

and

Rafael Solano Rafael Solano Sánchez (born 10 April 1931 in San Felipe de Puerto Plata, in the Dominican Republic) is a Dominican pianist, songwriter, composer, arranger, author, and former Dominican ambassador to UNESCO.Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian mu ...

, Xavier Cugat, Pedro Infante, Yayo "El Indio",

Libertad Lamarque Libertad Lamarque Bouza (; 24 November 1908 – 12 December 2000) was a Mexican-Argentine actress and singer, one of the icons of the Golden Age of Argentine and Mexican cinema. She achieved fame throughout Latin America, and became known as " ...

Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez Pedro Juan Rodríguez Ferrer (31 January 1933 – 1 December 2000), better known as Pete "El Conde" Rodríguez, was a Salsa music, salsa singer born in Sexto (Ponce), Barrio Cantera, Ponce, Puerto Rico.Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Ric ...

Rita Montaner Rita Aurelia Fulcida Montaner y Facenda (20 August 1900 – 17 April 1958), known as Rita Montaner, was a Cuban singer, pianist and actress. In Cuban parlance, she was a '' vedette'' (a star), and was well known in Mexico City, Paris, Miami and ...

Juan Morel Campos Juan Morel Campos (16 May 1857 – 12 May 1896), sometimes erroneously spelled ''Juan Morell Campos'', was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level. He composed over ...

Julio Jaramillo Julio Alfredo Jaramillo Laurido (October 1, 1935 – February 9, 1978) was a notable Ecuadorian singer and recording artist who performed throughout Latin America, achieving great fame for his renditions of boleros, valses, pasillos, tangos, a ...

Alfredo Valdés Sr. Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...

, Sylvia Rexach,

Felipe Pirela Felipe Pirela (1941–1972) was a Venezuelan bolero singer. He was murdered in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Discography Some of Pirela's albums An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or a ...

, Jose Mangual Sr., Toña la Negra, Pedro Vargas,

Javier Solis Javier may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Javier, in video game '' Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' * Javier Rios, a character in the Monsters, Inc. franchise. * ''Javier'' (album), a 2003 album by the American singer Javier Colon, known ...

Antonio Mesa Antonio Mesa was a Cuban baseball third baseman in the Cuban League. He played with the Habana club in the 1902–03 and 1904–05 seasons. He was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame The Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame (''Salón de ...

Don Azpiazu Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a v ...

, and

Luis Carlos Meyer Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

2001 Special Recognition Awards

Rita Moreno, Cristóbal Díaz-Ayala, Rudy Mangual, Chata Gutiérrez, Chico Álvarez, Vicki Sola, Martin Cohen, and Ernie Ensley

2001 Lifetime Achievement Award winners

* Graciela

2002

The fourth Induction and Award ceremony was held on April 10, 2002. It honored the following inductees and recipients of the Special Recognition Awards:

2002 inductees

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

, Paquito D'Rivera, Danny Rivera,

José José José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz (17 February 1948 – 28 September 2019), known professionally as José José, was a Mexican singer and actor. Born into a family of musicians, José began his musical career in his early teens playing guitar and sin ...

Sandro Sandro is an Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Georgian and Croatian given name, often a diminutive of Alessandro (disambiguation), Alessandro or Alexander. It is also a surname. Sandro may refer to: Given name or nickname Sports *Sandro (f ...

Vicente Fernández Vicente Fernández Gómez (17 February 1940 – 12 December 2021) was a Mexican singer, songwriter, actor, and film producer. Nicknamed "Chente" (short for Vicente), "El Charro de Huentitán" (The Charro from Huentitán), "El Ídolo de México ...

Astrud Gilberto Astrud Gilberto (; born Astrud Evangelina Weinert, March 29, 1940) is a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer. She gained international attention in the 1960s following her recording of the song "The Girl from Ipanema". Biography Astrud Gilbert ...

, Richie Ray,

Willie Rosario Willie Rosario (born May 6, 1924), is a musician, composer and bandleader of salsa music. He is also known as Mr. Afinque. Early years Rosario (birth name: Fernando Luis Rosario Marín) was born and raised in Coamo, Puerto Rico, into a poor, ...

Cuco Valoy Cuco Valoy (born January 6, 1937, in Manoguayabo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican Republic singer, songwriter, percussionist and guitarist, who is versatile in salsa, son montuno, guaracha The guaracha () is a genre of musi ...

, Roberto Torres, Milly Quezada,

Bobby Cruz Bobby Cruz (born February 2, 1937), is a salsa singer and religious minister. He was part of the duo Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz. Both Cruz and Ray became religious ministers and as such founded over 70 Christian churches during the time they retired ...

José Curbelo José Curbelo (February 18, 1917, Havana - September 21, 2012, Miami) was a Cuban-born American pianist and manager. Curbelo was a key figure in Latin jazz in New York City in the 1940s and helped to popularize Mambo (dance), Mambo and the cha-cha- ...

Trio Vegabajeño Trio Vegabajeño was a legendary Puerto Rican popular music trio that existed from 1943 to the early 80s. This group marked an era of popular music in Puerto Rico. When trios were very popular in the Americas, Trio Vegabajeño was considered the ...

, Bobby Rodríguez,

La Sonora Ponceña La Sonora Ponceña is a Puerto Rican salsa band, founded in 1954 by Enrique "Quique" Lucca Caraballo. Today Quique's son, Papo Lucca, directs the band. The band has stayed active for a remarkable amount of time, recording dozens of albums, inclu ...

Leo Marini Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...

Matilde Díaz Aura Matilde Díaz Martínez (1924-2002), better known by her artist name Matilde Díaz, was a Colombian performer of porros and boleros. She was the wife of Lucho Bermúdez Luis Eduardo Bermúdez Acosta (January 25, 1912 – April 23, 1994) bet ...

Aldemaro Romero Aldemaro Romero (March 12, 1928 – September 15, 2007) was a Venezuelan pianist, composer, arranger and orchestral conductor. He was born in Valencia, Carabobo State. Biography Romero was a prolific composer, creating a wide range of music, suc ...

, Mario Clavell, Elena Burke, Carmen Miranda,

Gilberto Monroig Gilberto Monroig (July 2, 1930 – May 3, 1996) was a Puerto Rican guitarist, and singer of boleros. Early years Monroig's parents moved from the countryside to the city in search of a better way of life and settled in the Villa Palmera sec ...

Alberto Socarrás Alberto Socarrás Estacio, ( Manzanillo, 19 September 1908 – New York City, 26 August 1987), was a Cuban-American flautist who played both Cuban music and jazz. Socarras started learning the flute in 1915 with his mother, Dolores Estacio, and l ...

, Félix Chappottín,

Miguelito Cuní Miguelito may refer to: *Miguelito (artist) (born 1999), Puerto Rican reggaeton *Miguelito (footballer, born 1981), Portuguese football wingback *Miguelito (footballer, born March 1990), Portuguese football midfielder *Miguelito (footballer, born D ...

, Noro Morales,

Joe Loco José Estevez Jr. (March 27, 1921 in New York City - March 7, 1988), professionally known as Joe Loco, was a Latin jazz and Latin pop pianist and arranger of Puerto Rican ancestry. Life Loco, maybe born José Estevez Jr. but officially known as ...

Santos Colón Ángel Santos Vega Colon (November 1, 1922 – February 21, 1998), aka Santitos Colón, was a Puerto Rican bolero and mambo singer, born in Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico and raised in Mayagüez. He was also known by the moniker: "The Man wit ...

Louie Ramírez Louie Ramirez (February 24, 1938 – June 7, 1993) was an American boogaloo, salsa and latin jazz percussionist, vibraphonist, band leader and composer. He co-wrote with Johnny Pacheco the 1961 hit "El Güiro De Macorina". He has been called "the ...

Carmen Delia Dipini Carmen Delia Dipiní (November 18, 1927 – August 4, 1998), was a Puerto Rican singer of boleros. In 2002, Carmen Delia Dipiní was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. Early years Dipiní was born in Naguabo, Puerto Rico t ...

Juan Tizol Juan Tizol Martínez (22 January 1900 – 23 April 1984) was a Puerto Rican jazz trombonist and composer. He is best known as a member of Duke Ellington's big band, and as the writer of the jazz standards " Caravan", "Pyramid", and " Perdid ...

René Hernández René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

, and Lola Flores

2002 Special Recognition Awards

Miriam Colón Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', Literal translation, lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophets in Judaism, prophetess and first ...

* Pablo Guzmán

2002 Lifetime Achievement Award winners

* Johnny Pacheco

2003

The fifth Induction and Award ceremony was held on April 2, 2003. It honored the following inductees and recipients of the Special Recognition Awards:

2003 inductees

Arturo Sandoval,

Trini López Trinidad López III (May 15, 1937 – August 11, 2020) was an American singer, guitarist, and actor. His first album included a cover version of Pete Seeger's "If I Had a Hammer", which earned a Golden Disc for him. His other hits included ...

, Juan Luis Guerra,

Roberto Roena Roberto Roena Vázquez (January 16, 1940 – September 23, 2021) was a Puerto Rican salsa music percussionist, orchestra leader, and dancer. Roena was one of the original members of Cortijo y su combo and later with El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. ...

, Ismael Quintana,

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

, Flaco Jimenez,

Alberto Beltrán Alberto Beltrán García (born March 22, 1923, Mexico City, d. April 19, 2002, Mexico City) was a Mexican graphic artist and painter known principally for his work with publications such as illustrations and political cartoons but he created a nu ...

, Juan Gabriel,

Nelson Ned Nelson Ned d'Ávila Pinto (2 March 1947 – 5 January 2014) was a Brazilian singer-songwriter. He built a solid career as a singer and composer of sentimental, suffering songs, rising to popularity in Brazil and Latin America in 1969 and becoming ...

Ray Santos Raymond Santos (December 28, 1928 – October 17, 2019) was an American Grammy Award-winning Latin musician, composer, and educator. Santos has played and arranged for such artists as Noro Morales, Machito, Tito Rodriguez, Eddie Palmieri, and T ...

, Manny Oquendo,

Justi Barretto Justi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Carl Justi (1832–1912), German art historian *Ferdinand Justi (1837–1907), German linguist and Orientalist *Johann Heinrich Gottlob Justi Johann Heinrich Gottlob von Justi (28 Decem ...

, Pucho Brown, and

Jose Luis Monero Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean ...

2003 posthumous induction

Desi Arnaz,

María Grever María Grever (14 September 1885 – 15 December 1951) was the first female Mexican composer to achieve international acclaim.Rodríguez, Lee M. L. María Grever: Poeta Y Compositora. Potomac, Md: Scripta Humanistica, 1994. Print. She is best kn ...

Consuelo Velázquez Consuelo Velázquez Torres (August 21, 1916 in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco – January 22, 2005, Mexico City), also popularly known as Consuelito Velázquez, was a Mexican concert pianist and composer. She was the composer of famous Mexican ballads ...

, Eliseo Grenet,

Gonzalo Roig Gonzalo Roig Lobo (Havana, 20 July 1890 – Havana, 13 June 1970) was a Cuban composer, pianist, violinist and musical director. He was a pioneer of the symphonic movement in Cuba. His most popular works are the zarzuela ''Cecilia Valdés'' an ...

Álvaro Dalmar Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrior ...

Esther Borja Esther Borja Lima (5 December 1913 – 28 December 2013) was a Cuban operatic soprano and actress. Havana-born Esther Borja Lima was trained in solfége and music theory by Juan Elósegui, and in singing by Rubén Lepchutz. She graduated as a te ...

, and Joseíto Fernández

2003 Special Recognition Awards

Former Palladium Dancers Cuban Pete, Augie and Margo; Millie Donay; artist Erich Padilla, and filmmaker Avenol Franco

2003 Lifetime Achievement Award winners

* Johnny Ventura'

Beny Moré Memorial Award

The Beny Moré Memorial Award was an annual award, from 1999 to 2003, presented by the International Latin Music Hall of Fame to an individual who has helped to popularize Latin music throughout the world, in honor of the late Cuban artist

Benny Moré Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez (24 August 1919 – 19 February 1963), better known as Benny Moré (also spelled Beny Moré), was a Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter. Due to his fluid tenor voice and his great expressivity, he was k ...

. The International Latin Music Hall of Fame struggled in relation to the more established ''Billboard'' Latin Music Hall of Fame, and ceased operation before it was time for the 2004 Beny Moré Memorial Award.

Award winners

*1999: Emilio Estefan,

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

A ''Contacto Magazine'' article
/ref> *2000: Johnny Pacheco *2001:

*2002: Larry Harlow *2003:

José Alberto "El Canario" José Alberto Justiniano (born December 22, 1959, in Villa Consuelo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), better known by his stage name José Alberto "El Canario", is a salsa singer from the Dominican Republic. José Alberto moved to Puerto Ri ...

References

{{Reflist Latin music awards Music halls of fame

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

Awards established in 1999 Awards disestablished in 2003 1999 establishments in New York City