Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras round up their favorite new music, from Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko's boundary-pushing new music, to Alejandro Escovedo's genre-bending rock and Angelica Garcia's electro-cumbia. Songs featured in this episode:• Young Miko, "Tamagotchi"• The Mavericks, "Moon & Stars (with Sierra Ferrell)"• Angélica Garcia, "Juanita"• Alejandro Escovedo, "Castañuelas"• Nella, Yendry, "Veinte Años"• Sheila E., "Bemba Colorá (ft. Gloria Estefan and Mimy Succar)" Audio...

The release of Beyoncés Cowboy Carter has sparked a national conversation about who gets to sing country music and the complex roots of the genre. Which got Alt.Latino thinking — what about the Latinos in country? This week, Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras travel to Austin, Texas to speak with AmeriChicana musician Carrie Rodriguez about the difference between violin and fiddle, strings and "strangs," and who gets to play country music. Songs featured:•Carin Leon, Leon Bridges: "It Was...

Shakira just released her first album in seven years, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, and most listeners and critics have high praise. But this episode of Alt.Latino puts the record to the test. Felix Contreras, Anamaria Sayre and NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento talk about what makes a Shakira record a Shakira record, how pop artists reinvent themselves and loving your favorite artists even if you don't always love their music. Songs featured in this episode:•Shakira: "Puntería"•Shakira: "La...

The weather's heating up and so are the music releases. The hosts of Alt.Latino share their most quintessentially them picks, with Latin jazz across the board from Felix and indie pop-rock bops from Ana. The two sit down to ping-pong favorite picks back and forth from different parts of the country — plus, Felix puts Ana's picks to an impromptu test. Featured tracks: Lara Project, "Extraños"Julieta Eugenio, "Breath I"Esteman, Villano Antillano, "Noches de Verano"Rodrigo Recabarren, Pablo...

Is it really a good idea to take a vacation with your coworkers? If you're part of the Alt.Latino team, it is. Last month Alt.Latino co-host Anamaria Sayre decided to join Felix Contreras on a planned trip to attend the 39th annual Havana Jazz Festival, an international event that attracts fans of both Cuban music and jazz from around the world. Spread out among several historic venues around the Cuban capital city, the team spent eight days taking in the sights and sounds of one of the...

As the chill remains in the air for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and the heat of summer warms up the South, we take time to listen to new music from both parts of the world. Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre round up their favorite new music, including Southern Cone rock and cumbia, atmospheric vocals from the U.S. and even some delicate yet emotionally powerful music from the Catalan region of Spain. Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Joaquin Cotler....

Nothing captures the agony of love, loss, hope and redemption like the song form known across all of Latin America: the bolero. Last December, UNESCO declared the bolero "an intangible cultural heritage of humanity" and "an indispensable part of the Latin American sentimental song." And given that Valentine's Day is coming up, Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre did something special this week, in honor of this news: they asked some of their favorite artists and show listeners to share their...

Vocalist Ana Tijoux has been a frequent guest on Alt.Latino. That's because ever since her US debut, 1977, was released in 2010, Tijoux had been at the forefront of Latin music that celebrates creative innovation, themes of social justice and fierce independence.In this week's episode the Chilean musician talks to Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre about why that spirit of innovation has been more or less silent for the last 10 years, and how her new album, Vida, is not only a chance to catch...

In the earliest days of the show, Alt.Latino's mailbox was usually piled high with CDs of new music from both emerging and well-known artists.Now, Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre's email and social media accounts continue to open up new musical worlds at Alt.Latino and — in turn — all of you. The show starts 2024 with some great tracks from names you may know and a couple of bands that Felix and Ana think deserve wider recognition.Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed...

While 2022 may have been a year completely dominated by a certain sad summer reggaeton album, 2023 drew its power from a set of familiar sounds that took on new prominence: tubas, accordions and a whole lot of lively, sneakily danceable beats. As we've been talking about on Alt.Latino for some time, Mexican Regional music broke through in a big way this year, and we found it incredible to witness the most boisterous and uncompromising sounds from that long tradition make their way across the...

You know all those tubas and brass instruments you hear behind your favorite regional Mexican hits? That's banda sinaloense and this week Alt.Latino wraps up the Regional Goes Global series with a visit to Sinaloa, Mexico, the birthplace of the genre.Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras visit the picturesque town Mocorito, a pueblo magico where tradition and pride in the musical heritage runs deep. That's the case even among members of the drug cartels, which are responsible for some of the...

For the second episode of Alt.Latino's regional Mexican music series, hosts Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras interview the rising family band Yahritza y Su Esencia in its hometown of Yakima, Wash. The two discover that the U.S.-Mexico border looms large in this regional Mexican moment, especially for Yahritza y Su Esencia — not strictly because of the music's obvious Mexican roots, but also the ways in which the border can create an "us" and "them" dynamic. The band's struggles with musical...

Earlier this year, Peso Pluma — a 24-year-old who grew up in between Guadalajara, Jalisco, and San Antonio — became the first regional Mexican artist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart. Something in the music industry was changing. Streaming numbers for regional Mexican shot up astronomically, as the musical stylings of banda and norteño made their way onto the Coachella main stage and burgeoning stars like Peso Pluma began to book their first U.S. tours in major markets. But what...

Recently Ana and Felix traveled to NPR member station KQED in San Francisco to meet Alt.Latino listeners and interview the musician Marinero, who has deep musical and familial roots in the Bay Area. This week's show is a recording of that live interview, full of great music as well as lots of laughs.Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Suraya Mohamed. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

The Colombian singer Maluma has a lot to be excited about these days — a world tour, a new album and a shot at exploring a different part of his humanity: being a parent.The artist has often felt a sense of responsibility: to support up and coming artists he seeks out on social media and to showcase a more joyful, loving side of Colombia to the world. And, now, responsibility is about to take on a whole new meaning.Following a tear-filled performance at the Tiny Desk, the artist sat down with...

Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras sit down with Becky G, right after her forthcoming Tiny Desk performance, to talk about the cultural mash-up of her music, her philosophy for working with women in the industry and representing her Mexican heritage at Coachella.Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

Anamaria Sayre, Felix Contreras and producer Isabella Gomez Sarmiento sit down to talk some real chisme this week — a special episode dedicated to the Latin Grammy nominations. Was there really a regional snub and what does it say about the way we choose to elevate our own art?Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Suraya Mohamed. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

This week, Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras preview the artists coming to play Tiny Desk performances for their 'El Tiny' takeover, including indie explosion Kali Uchis returning home to Colombian beats, pop star Becky G debuting some Mexican regional soul and "La Caballota" herself Ivy Queen boasting pure boricua pride.Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Cher Vincent. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our VP of Music and...

Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras sit down with Spanish artist Omar Montes to talk about why he'll never lose his flamenco influences, expressing the oppression of his Romani ancestors in his music and why the rhythms of reggaeton and flamenco aren't so different. This interview is in Spanish. Please find an English version of the conversation on our website.Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was mixed by Janice Llamoca, with help from Isabella Gomez Sarmiento and Natalia Fidelholtz....

This week, Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras round up their favorite music from the last few months, including Mexican bedroom pop from Bratty, jazz from Argentinian composer Dario Acosta Teich, a new song from rising regional star DannyLux and more.To hear more of Alt.Latino's favorite music, follow our Spotify and Apple Music playlists.Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited, mixed and produced by Janice Llamoca. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace...

Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with the Puerto Rican hip-hop artist Eladio Carrión to discuss what drives him, learning Spanish through music and how he's changing the game of Latin rap.Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Cher Vincent, with production support from Suraya Mohamed and Robin Hilton. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento also provided production and editorial support for this episode. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace...

Anamaria Sayre speaks with YEИDRY, the Dominican-born, Italian-raised singer about using music as a tool to marry her two worlds.Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our production assistant is Sofia Seidel. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras round up their favorite albums of 2023 so far, from the modern corridos tumbados of Peso Pluma, a new, reimagined version of one of Fito Paez's greatest albums, dream pop from Y La Bamba and more. Plus: a run down of regional Mexican's current explosion.Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Suraya Mohamed. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our production assistant is Sofia Seidel. Our VP of Music...

Felix Contreras sits down with percussion icon Sheila Escovedo, aka Sheila E., to talk about the influence of the Bay Area on her music, holding her own in the face of music industry sexism and why drumming is a language of its own. Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Suraya Mohamed. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our production assistant is Sofia Seidel. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

This week, Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras round up their favorite music from the last few months, including new work from the prolific Eduardo Cabra, surprisingly straight-ahead regional from Santa Fe Klan and a premiere of a new song from Elsa y Elmar.