This is a list of notable events in Latin music (i.e. Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking music from Latin America, Europe, and the United States) that took place in 2012.
October 20 – Billboard updates their methodology for several of their charts including the Hot Latin Songs chart to include sales of digital downloads and streaming activity along with airplay. The Hot Latin Songs chart is also amended to only include predominately Spanish-language songs.
November 15 — The 13th Annual Latin Grammy Awards are held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada."¡Corre!" by Jesse & Joy wins Record the Year and Song of the Year
Juanes: MTV Unplugged by Juanes wins Album of the Year
3Ball MTY wins Best New Artist
Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso was honored as the Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year
December 9 — A plane carrying Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera and six other passengers crashes near Iturbide, Nuevo León, killing everyone on board.
Number-ones albums and singles by country
List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2012 (Brazil)
List of number-one songs of 2012 (Colombia)
List of number-one albums of 2012 (Mexico)
List of number-one albums of 2012 (Portugal)
List of number-one albums of 2012 (Spain)
List of number-one singles of 2012 (Spain)
List of number-one Billboard Latin Albums from the 2010s
List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Songs of 2012
2012 Premio Lo Nuestro
2012 Billboard Latin Music Awards
2012 Latin Grammy Awards
2012 Tejano Music Awards
The following is a list of the top 10 best-selling Latin albums in the United States in 2012, according to Billboard.
The following is a list of the top 10 best-performing Latin songs in the United States in 2012, according to Billboard.
February 8 - Wando, Brazilian singer-songwriter, 66
December 9 - Jenni Rivera, banda singer, 43
