Dale Pututi and Nesty will perform at the 2026 Billboard Latin Music Awards, which will take place next Thursday, October 22, at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, as confirmed by both artists in the official event podcast produced by Telemundo.
The confirmation arrived on Friday the 16th, when Telemundo released the fifth edition of Premios Billboard: El Podcast, recorded on Thursday the 15th.
The episode featured Cuban content creator Soy Nuklear as one of its three co-hosts, alongside Puerto Rican Kuzi and Mexican journalist Tomás Mier. Pututi and Nesty connected via video call from Barcelona, where they were for a series of performances.
"I don't know how many things we thought about, how much nervousness it gave us," Pututi admitted while recalling the moment they received the formal invitation to the gala. His most powerful reflection came next: "Not many Cubans have had that opportunity."
Nesty, for his part, emphasized the historical significance of the moment for the genre: "Thank God we are in a very special moment as a genre" and "it is an honor to be at the Latin Billboard singing Cuban music."
Both artists also emphasized what the distribution carries with it when it crosses borders. "The flavor of the Cuban... you know, the humor, the spark," they noted when discussing what their songs convey to new audiences.
The same podcast brought together, in person on the Telemundo set, two other representatives of the genre: Helabusador and Rey Tony, who discussed the cast and their success "Dichávate."
Helabusador defined the genre with a phrase that summarizes its global expansion: "It is adaptable, it is moldable, you can combine it with any other genre." Rey Tony, for his part, was brief on the topic that catapulted them: "It's a song that has magic."
"Dichávate," released on December 24, 2025, has accumulated over 112 million streams on Spotify and 88 million views on YouTube, reaching the third position on the Spotify Spain Top 50.
The Cuban presence in the podcast and at the gala represents a new milestone in the international projection of the genre, an urban subgenre that emerged between 2006 and 2007 in the popular neighborhoods of Havana—particularly in Arroyo Naranjo—that combines Cuban reggaeton, timba, rumba, and guaguancó, and which for years circulated outside the official circuits of the industry.
The journey to Miami has been gradual. In June 2025, Billboard Latin dedicated a full article for the first time to the roster with 31 selected artists, a recognition that sparked controversy among the genre's own representatives. Months later, in October 2025, Bebeshito became the first representative from the roster to participate in Billboard Latin Music Week in Miami Beach.
The gala on October 22 will be hosted by Carmen Villalobos and Javier Poza, and will be broadcast live on Telemundo and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET. Among the artists with the most nominations are Peso Pluma (17), Tito Double P (15), and Fuerza Regida (12). Cristian Castro will receive the Billboard Award for Artistic Career in recognition of over thirty years in the industry.
"It is an honor to be at the Latin Billboard singing Cuban music," Nesty summarized from Barcelona, in a statement that encapsulates what this Thursday means for the cast and for the island that saw him born.
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