Uriel Reyes Enters Spotify’s Top 10 in Global Streaming History

A Mexican podcast creator has achieved a historic milestone in the global audio streaming landscape, becoming the only Spanish-speaking personality to rank among the top 10 most listened-to artists in Spotify’s all-time historical rankings.

Uriel Reyes, the Tijuana-born host and producer of the horror anthology podcast “Relatos de la Noche,” secured the tenth position in Spotify’s historical ranking, a distinction confirmed through platform data and verified by multiple independent sources tracking the service’s year-end and cumulative listening trends.

This achievement places Reyes alongside globally dominant podcast and music figures, marking the first time a Spanish-language content creator has reached such a position in the platform’s historical hierarchy, which traditionally features English-language hosts and musicians at its summit.

According to verified analytics from Spotify Wrapped 2025, Reyes’ podcast was streamed 71.3 million times over the course of the year, a volume equivalent to filling Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca more than 819 times. The series also attracted 2.2 million unique listeners, a number comparable to the entire population of Mérida, Yucatán, tuning in simultaneously.

In terms of engagement duration, “Relatos de la Noche” accumulated 22.3 million minutes of playback time in 2025 alone — enough to sustain continuous listening for over 42 years without interruption. These figures underscore not only the podcast’s popularity but the depth of audience immersion in its narrative style, which blends first-person storytelling with atmospheric sound design to create an intense auditory experience.

The podcast’s success is part of a broader trend in digital audio consumption, where listeners increasingly seek immersive, emotionally resonant content that fosters identity and community. Reyes’ work has drawn on Mexican and Iberoamerican folklore, urban legends, and personal testimonies to craft stories that evoke nostalgia, absence, and suspense — themes that have resonated across borders.

“Relatos de la Noche” has expanded beyond Mexico, reaching audiences in the United States, Colombia, Guatemala, Argentina, and other countries, establishing itself as a transnational reference point in the horror podcast genre. Its rise has been attributed to its authentic connection to regional storytelling traditions, combined with modern production techniques that enhance immersion.

Reyes’ journey into horror storytelling began in childhood after watching the film “El despertar del diablo” with his sisters, an experience that sparked a lifelong fascination with the supernatural. He launched the podcast in 2020 under the production company Sonoro, drawing inspiration from classic radio programs and literary works such as Juan Rulfo’s “¿No oyes ladrar los perros?” to shape its narrative tone.

The podcast’s format — combining personal narration with layered soundscapes — has been credited with creating a uniquely intense listening experience. This approach helped propel it to the seventh position in Spotify’s annual Wrapped 2024 rankings, where it competed alongside globally recognized shows like “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “Call Her Daddy.”

Reyes also released a debut book featuring horror stories that explore the darker aspects of everyday life, further extending his influence beyond audio into print. Both the podcast and the book are marked by recurring themes of absence and melancholy, reflecting a deeper emotional undercurrent beneath the surface-level suspense.

His accomplishment highlights a shift in global audio markets, where non-English language content is gaining unprecedented traction. Reyes’ presence in Spotify’s historical top 10 — a list dominated for years by Anglo-American creators — signals a growing diversification of the platform’s most enduringly popular voices.

As of the latest available data, no other Spanish-language podcaster or musician has matched this level of sustained, cross-platform dominance in Spotify’s historical rankings. Reyes’ achievement stands as a benchmark for Latin American creators seeking global recognition in the digital audio space.