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Latin Music on Saturday Night Live: Fifty Years of Performances

From Desi Arnaz's conga line in 1976 to Bad Bunny, Karol G and Anitta: the Latin and Latino musicians who played Saturday Night Live, what they performed and a song to play for each.

musicalat · November 12, 2026

Saturday Night Live has booked a musical guest almost every week since 1975, and the slot has always been one of the biggest stages on American television. For most of its history, Latin musicians appeared on it only now and then. In the last few years that changed: Spanish-language songs, reggaeton and Brazilian funk now share the stage with American pop.

This guide follows that story in order, from the show’s first season to 2026. Every date and song comes from the show’s episode records. Press any highlighted song title to play it in the player at the bottom of the page.

The early years: a conga line and a few rock stars

The first Latin musician to take over the show was also its host. On February 21, 1976, in SNL’s first season, the Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz hosted and performed with his son, Desi Arnaz Jr. He sang “Cuban Pete” and his signature “Babalú”, and closed the night leading the cast, the crew and the audience in a conga line.

Santana was the musical guest twice, in 1977 and 1985. The first time, the band played “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen” and “Europa”: hear the studio , with its Latin-rock fusion. Sheila E., the percussionist who drummed her way into Prince’s circle, played “Hollyrock” and “A Love Bizarre” in November 1985.

Los Lobos, from East Los Angeles, were the musical guest on May 16, 1987. They played “Is That All There Is” and “One Time, One Night”, not “La Bamba”: the film and their version of came out that summer, a few weeks later.

Linda Ronstadt sings in Spanish

Linda Ronstadt, the Tucson-born singer with Mexican roots on her father’s side, was a regular: a walk-on in 1977, then musical guest in 1979, 1980, 1987 and 1989. The 1987 show is the one that matters here. On December 19, with Paul Simon hosting, she sang “Los Laureles” and “La Cigarra”, two songs from Canciones de Mi Padre, her album of the Mexican songs she grew up with. It went on to become one of the best-selling Spanish-language albums ever released in the United States.

Shortly after, the Gipsy Kings, the French band of Spanish Roma descent, brought “Bamboleo” and “Djobi Djoba” to the show, on February 25, 1989.

The 1990s: hip-hop, protest and the Latin boom

Cypress Hill, the Los Angeles group with Cuban-American and Mexican-American members, played “Insane in the Brain” and “I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That” on October 2, 1993. DJ Muggs lit a joint on stage during the second song, and SNL banned the group. Play , the hit they performed.

On April 13, 1996, Rage Against the Machine, fronted by the Mexican-American Zack de la Rocha, hung upside-down American flags from their amplifiers in protest at that night’s host, Steve Forbes. They played “Bulls on Parade”, their second song was cut and they were asked to leave the building.

Then came the Latin boom. Ricky Martin played on May 8, 1999, and came back in November 2000 with . Marc Anthony, the New York salsa star then crossing over into English, sang “I Need to Know” and “That’s Okay” in October 1999.

The 2000s: Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera and Shakira

Jennifer Lopez was musical guest in 2000, host and musical guest in 2001 and 2010, host only in 2019 and musical guest again in 2024. Her Spanish-language side is not on these shows, but you can hear it in , her 1999 duet with Marc Anthony.

Christina Aguilera, whose father is from Ecuador, was musical guest in 2000, 2003 and 2006, and hosted in 2004. In 2003 the host was Salma Hayek, so a Mexican-born host and a Latina musical guest shared the same episode. Aguilera’s Spanish-language album Mi Reflejo (2000) won a Latin Grammy; start with .

Shakira came three times. In December 2001 she introduced herself to American audiences with . On December 10, 2005, she brought Alejandro Sanz to sing their Spanish-language hit . In 2009 she played “She Wolf” and “Did It Again”.

The 2010s: Latino stars of American pop

Several stars of these years have Latino roots but built their careers in English-language pop: Bruno Mars, who is of Puerto Rican descent, Miguel, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. Gomez was musical guest in 2016 and hosted in 2022. She later recorded Revelación (2021) in Spanish; hear .

Cardi B, the Bronx rapper of Dominican and Trinidadian descent, revealed her pregnancy on the show on April 7, 2018, while performing “Be Careful”. That year she topped the charts with , alongside Bad Bunny and J Balvin. Balvin himself appeared on SNL in May 2019, as a guest on DJ Khaled’s “You Stay”.

Camila Cabello, born in Havana, was musical guest in 2019 and 2022. Her breakout hit was .

The 2020s: Spanish takes the stage

On February 20, 2021, Bad Bunny performed “La Noche de Anoche” with Rosalía and “Te Deseo Lo Mejor”, both sung in Spanish. He has been part of the show ever since. He hosted and performed in October 2023, opening his monologue partly in Spanish. He played at the SNL50 concert and appeared in the anniversary special in February 2025. He was musical guest in the season 50 finale in May 2025 and hosted the season 51 premiere that October.

Rosalía returned on her own in March 2022 with “Chicken Teriyaki” and “La Fama”; play . She came back again in October 2026 with “Reliquia” and “Magnolias”.

Karol G was musical guest on April 15, 2023, with the Cuban-born Ana de Armas hosting. She sang and “Tus Gafitas”. The Argentine pop star TINI appeared in October 2024 with Coldplay, on “We Pray”. Hear her own hit .

In 2026, Cardi B returned in January with a merengue performance alongside El Prodigio. In April Anitta sang “Choka Choka” and “Várias Queixas”, in what was reported as the first appearance by a Brazilian musical guest. Hear her .

Every Latin and Latino musical guest, at a glance

Sources

This guide was drafted with AI assistance, checked against the sources listed above, and reviewed by a person before publishing. How it's built · Report a correction

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