"¡Me llamaron negra, me vale verga!" Hola queridos oyentes de Mix(ed)tape! En el track 26 de Were You Listening? analizamos la canción Negra, interpretada por Soluna. ¿Y por qué le vale verga a Soluna? En Negra Soluna utiliza un ritmo contagioso para mofarse de quien hace la burla. A través de su canto y su rapeo, Soluna se mofa de aquella gente imbécil, lerda, y obtusa que se burla y que irrespeta la negritud de otras personas.¿Estábamos escuchando? &nbsp...

"They called me negra, I don't give a damn!" Hi Mix(ed)tape listeners! In track 26 of Were You Listening? we analyze the song Negra interpreted by Soluna. Listen to find out why Soluna doesn't give a damn? In Negra, Soluna mocks the mocker as she puts it. She uses a catchy rhythm to jokingly sing and rap about moronic, dim-witted, obtuse and unintelligent people who mock and disrespect blackness.Were we listening? We hope this track helps to add value to your listening ...

¡¡Ya dejen que se vaya ese hombre!!! Hola queridos oyentes de Mix(ed)tape! En el track 4 de Were You Listening?  analizamos la canción  Mi Negrita Me Espera interpretada por Ismael "Maelo" Rivera y adaptada por el pianista y compositor Carlos Suarez. En Mi Negrita Me Espera, Maelo nos canta de manera exquisita sobre una situación mundana de presión de grupo. Maelo nos presenta la disyuntiva de un hombre negro que quiere honrar y respetar a su pareja, una mujer negra, pero que también quiere...

Let that man leave!!!! Hi Mix(ed)tape Listeners! In track 4 of Were You Listening?  we analyze the song Mi Negrita Me Espera interpreted by Ismael "Maelo" Rivera and adapted by pianist and composer Carlos Suarez.   In Mi Negrita Me Espera, Maelo sings exquisitely about a mundane peer-pressure situation. He presents the conundrum of a Black man who wants to both, honor and respect his partner, a Black woman, but who also would like to party along with his friends. What does he do in the...

Hey Mix(ed)tape Listeners! In track 3 of Were You Listening?  we analyze the song Buenaventura y Caney  by Jairo Varela interpreted by Grupo Niche. Buenaventura y Caney is an ode of love to the city of Buenaventura, a city in the Pacific coast of Colombia whose population has been for many years majority Afro-descendent, 85% as of the 2018 census.  Were we listening?    We hope this track helps to add value to your listening and awareness in your dancing! Find all of our Were You...

¡Hola queridos oyentes de Mix(ed)tape! En el track 3 de Were You Listening?  analizamos la canción Buenaventura y Caney  de Jairo Varela e interpretada por el  Grupo Niche. Buenaventura y Caney es una oda de amor a la ciudad de Buenaventura, una ciudad en la costa pacífica de Colombia, cuya población ha sido por muchos años de mayoría afrodescendiente, 85% de la población de acuerdo al censo de 2018. ¿Estábamos escuchando?    Encuentra todos los episodios de la serie aquí. Para más...

¡Hola queridos oyentes de Mix(ed)tape ! En el track 2 de Were You Listening?  analizamos la canción Bemba Colorá   de José Claro Fúmero en la increíble voz de Celia Cruz. Si eres una persona que baila y disfruta de la salsa, probablemente hayas bailado esta canción socialmente o en una coreografía. Nosotros seguro lo hemos hecho. Pero, ¿te detuviste alguna vez a pensar sobre el significado de esta canción? Esto es exactamente lo que hizo nuestra amiga e invitada Lauren Wilmore, quien es...

Hey Mix(ed)tape Listeners! In track 2 of Were You Listening?  we analyze the song Bemba Colorá  by José Claro Fúmero in the incredible voice of Celia Cruz. If you're a salsa dancer, you've probably danced or performed to this song at some point. We certainly have. But have you stopped to think about its meaning? This is exactly what our friend and former guest Lauren Wilmore, a dancer and the owner of Made By Lala did. And she asked us. This episode is our answer to her inquiry regarding...

Vamos a estar renovando, remezclando podríamos decir, los primeros episodios de la serie  Were You Listening?  Y empezamos con el primer episodio de la serie que fue dedicado a la canción Raza de Alexander Abreu y Havana D'Primera. Comenzamos la serie Were You Listening con la canción Raza porque fue inspirada por los trágicos eventos (el asesinato de George Floyd en 2020) que también inspiraron nuestro propio deseo aquí en el Mix(ed)tape Podcast de honrar y resaltar las contribuciones de...

Hey Mix(ed)tape Listeners! Today we launch the first episode of the remixed Were You Listening? series with our very first episode devoted to the song Raza by Alexander Abreu y Havana D'Primera. We started the  Were You Listening  series with the song Raza because it was sparked by the tragic events (George Floyd's killing in 2020) that also sparked our own desire here at The Mix(ed)tape Podcast to honor and highlight the contributions of Black people to the Afro-Latin and Afro-Caribbean...

We have an amazing conversation with talented Brazilian zouk dancers and connoisseurs Ebonie Lee, Aaron Montgomery and Efosa Uwa-Omede. We talk about the evolution and popularity of Brazilian zouk as a dance, its relation to the original Caribbean zouk music, and the experience of black dancers in the Brazilian zouk scene. This conversation complements our season 2 episode devoted to zouk: Zouk Party. Listen to all our singles here. For more info and resources check our website  here and...

The siblings Joyce-lee Duventru-huret and Stanley Duventru-huret, London-based dancers and instructor of Caribbean zouk, talk to us about the Afro-Caribbean roots of zouk, their own cultural and emotional connection to the music and the dance, and how dancers, DJs and enthusiasts of zouk can help the zouk community (including  Caribbean and Brazilian zouk dancers) remember where the rhythm comes from and pay homage to its creators. You can find a summarized version of this interview in our...

Le maestro Pierre-Édouard Décimus est un musicien et compositeur légendaire et novateur et l’un des fondateurs du célèbre group de Zouk Kassav', qui a créé le rythme zouk. Pierre-Edouard discute de sa carrière musicale, du développement du rythme zouk et de celui de Kassav’, des origines du nom du groupe, de la notion de négritude au sein des chansons de Kassav’ et de son opinion sur ce que le zouk représente en tant que technique musicale. Vous pouvez trouver une version résumée de cet...

The maestro  Pierre-Édouard Décimus is a legendary, innovative musician and composer and one of the founders of the famous zouk group Kassav', who are the creators of the zouk rhythm. Pierre-Édouard talks to us about his musical journey, the development of the zouk rhythm, the development of Kassav' and the reasons behind the name of the band, the notion of Blackness in the songs of Kassav', and his take on what zouk represents as a musical device. You can find a summarized version of this...

Hoy exploramos un clásico del zouk, la canción Zouk-La Sé Sel Médikaman Nou Ni (Zouk Es la Única Medicina que Tenemos) del famoso grupo Kassav', creadores del ritmo de zouk. En este viaje nos acompaña uno de los fundadores del grupo Kassav', el gran maestro Pierre-Édouard Décimus!!! Con un ritmo contagioso, un sonido pegajoso, y con letras sencillas que reflejan un poco su realidad creole caribeña, Kassav'  produce una canción exitosa internacionalmente que puede ser identificada sin lugar a...

Today we explore the classic zouk song Zouk-La Sé Sel Médikaman Nou Ni (Zouk Is The Only Medicine We Have) by the famous band Kassav', creators of the zouk rhythm. We are joined in our exploration by one of the founding members of Kassav', the great Pierre-Édouard Décimus!!! With an infectious, catchy sound, and with simple lyrics that speak to their Caribbean creole reality, Kassav' produces an internationally successful song that is unquestionably identified with the Antilles. Were we...

In this episode we join a zouk party in the Antilles! We explore the birth and development of the zouk rhythm and its dance in Guadeloupe and Martinique. We touch on the pioneer role played by the famous band Kassav', the importance of the notion of creolness, and how the Caribbean rhythm sprung a new dance style in Brazil which then expanded across the world. Our guest list is crème de la crème!: Pierre-Édouard Décimus is a legendary, innovative musician and composer and one of the founders...

Hoy exploramos un popurrí de dos canciones de bomba puertorriqueña, La Llevo en Mis Venas y Bambulé a Paré, del grupo Tambuyé. Para ayudarnos a contextualizar las canciones entrevistamos a la Directora y Manager de Taller Tambuyé, Marién Torres López. Marién y los artistas de Tambuyé reafirman en este popurrí la herencia negra presente en la práctica de la bomba puertorriqueña en todas sus maravillosas dimensiones, musical, danzaría, sanadora, todas ellas. ¿Estábamos escuchando?    Marién es...

Today we explore a medley of two bomba songs, La Llevo en Mis Venas (I Carry It in My Veins) and Bambulé a Paré (The Bámbula Is Happening) by the group Tambuyé. To help us contextualize the songs we interviewed the the Manager and Director of Taller Tambuyé, Marién Torres López. Marién and the artists of Tambuyé reaffirm in this medley the Black heritage present in the practice of Puerto Rican bomba in all of its wonderful dimensions, music-related, dance-related, healing-related, you name...

Mar Cruz has been a bomba dancer and practitioner for over 11 years, she dances with her sister Maria with the group Parranderos de Loiza and their own group Bomba Yemaya, you may recognize Mar on the instagram page Se Baila Bomba. Mar talks to us about her journey to bomba, the most common bomba rhythms and the ways in which they are danced, the spirituality that can coexist in bomba, the role of bomba as an embodiment of Afro-Puerto Rican culture, and the importance of bomba dancing as a...

En el episodio de hoy hablamos con la cantante y compositora afro-puertorriqueña Alondra Marie Ortiz Rivera del grupo musical de bomba  Afriktaal. Con ella contextualizamos la canción  Color de Mi Raza que ella escribió y que ella canta. Color de Mi Raza es un hermoso mensaje de reafirmación de nuestra negritud, cuestionando las formas en las que la sociedad intenta ocultar nuestra negritud, opacarla, y disminuir su valor.  ¿Estábamos escuchando?    Este episodio de la serie acompaña al...

In today's track we talk with the the Afro-Puerto Rican singer and song-writer Alondra Marie Ortiz Rivera of the bomba music group Afriktaal. We contextualize the song Color de Mi Raza, which she wrote and sings. Color de Mi Raza is a beautiful message of reaffirmation of our blackness, questioning the ways in which society tries to hide our blackness, to make it opaque, and to diminish its value Were we listening?    This episode accompanies the episode Tócame La Bomba / Play Bomba To Me of...

In this episode we go to Puerto Rico a bombear! We explore the development of bomba in Puerto Rico, its Black roots, some of its main figures, its various rhythms and dances, the government's involvement, the role bomba has played in recent social movements, and the exciting and inclusive new voices and dynamics that are emerging in the bomba scene.  Our collection of guests is just marvelous, check it out:  Dr. Bárbara Abadía-Rexach is an Assistant Professor of Afrolatinidades at San...

 Katelina Ecclestón is the creator of Reggeatón con La Gata, the first femme platform dedicated to reggaetón analysis and history, and Perreo 101, a bilingual podcast detailing the evolution of reggaetón. Katelina is also the lead researcher on MTV’s upcoming show De la Calle. Katelina talks to us about the journey toward becoming a prominent platform dedicated to the analysis and history of reggaetón. She also shares about her upbringing, perspectives related to the history and development...