2026 Arpa Awards Winners: Miel San Marcos Leads
Miel San Marcos won Album of the Year and Julissa added two Arpas at the gala at Mexico City's Teatro Hidalgo Ignacio Retes.
Mexico City's Teatro Hidalgo Ignacio Retes brought together the winners of the 20th edition of the 2026 Arpa Awards on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, according to Altar7.
The names that took home the Arpa
The red carpet started at 4:00 p.m. at the Hotel Hilton Reforma and the ceremony began at 7:00 p.m. (Mexico City time). Miguel Cassina received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Here are the winners:
- Album of the Year: Miel San Marcos, "Dios de Generaciones."
- Live Album: Música Más Vida, "Padre Nuestro."
- Female Vocal Album: Julissa, "Memorias."
- Male Vocal Album: Juan Carlos Alvarado, "Esencia."
- Song of the Year: Gateway Worship Español and Miel San Marcos, "Quién Más."
- Collaboration Song: Pescao Vivo, "Ilumíname."
- Female Vocal Song: Glenda Garcia, "Llegará."
- Male Vocal Song: Juan Carlos Alvarado, "Para Danzar (Medley)."
- Songwriter of the Year: Mike Muñoz, "El Arquitecto."
- Cover Design: Linaje Escogido, "Viene Alegría."
- Independent: Yadah, "El Estanque (Álbum en Vivo)."
- Instrumental or Choral: Chris Rocha, "Viento."
- Release of the Year: Ke'erron, "Todo es Posible."
- Alternative Music: Ariel Ramírez, Alex Zurdo and Jadi Torres, "Invencible."
- Music of Influence in Ibero-America in a Foreign Language: Christafari, "John the Baptist."
- Pop / Fusion: Suri Cruz, "No Fue el Estanque."
- Producer of the Year: Mike Muñoz, "Vale la Pena."
- Regional Mexican: Julissa, "Fueron Tus Manos (Versión Mariachi)."
- Regional or Tropical Music: Pepe Domínguez, "Hoy Venimos a Alabarte."
- Music Video: Israel & New Breed with Arron Moses, "Salmo 22 / Te Amo."
- Children's Vocal: Biper y sus Amigos, "El Patito y la Banda del Ganador."
- Urban Vocal: Manny Montes, "Su Atención."
- Group or Duo Album: La Reforma, "De la Calle Pa' La Calle."
An Arpa measures craft, not hearts
When an album wins an Arpa, it means people who work in music listened to it and judged it well made. Nothing more and nothing less.
«The award recognizes a work; it doesn't weigh souls.»
The academy that organizes the awards, ANMAC, was founded in 2002. The first ceremony was held in 2003 at the World Trade Center in Mexico City, and the name comes from the harp, a biblical instrument tied to praise. Over 20 editions, the award has grown from a local gala into a platform with nominees from Mexico, the United States, Central America, South America and Spain, according to Altar7.
What gets rewarded is called craft: songwriting, mixing, cover art, video. And good craft matters. Scripture doesn't look down on it; it places it before God: "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Colossians 3:23, ESV).
What a trophy can't do is tell you whether a song pleases God or how the heart of the person singing it is doing. Someone can have an Arpa on the shelf and their mind somewhere else. And there are people who sing in a neighborhood church, with no red carpet, with whatever little they have, and God hears them all the same. The award recognizes a work; it doesn't weigh souls.
Twenty editions and a question for your playlist
Think about these past months: how many of these songs played in your room, in the car, at Saturday's rehearsal? Quite a few, probably. Faith music also plays outside the church building: on your phone and in the playlist you put together for studying.
So how do you choose what to listen to? If your standard is the number of streams, the algorithm decides. If it's the award, a jury decides. Neither of them knows you. "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV). Listening is included in that.
This month, pick one album from the list, the one by Miel San Marcos or the one by Julissa, for example, and listen to it all the way through, without skipping songs, with headphones and without rushing. Write down what it tells you about God and what makes you want to sing. And tell me: which of these albums has really been with you?
