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Alt.Latino Main Image
Alt.Latino

The global Latinx community is evolving and growing fast. Alt.Latino is here to celebrate it and all of its nuances through music. Each episode, NPR Music's Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with a different living legend or rising star to discuss Latinx culture, heritage, and the shared borders of our experiences. Let the chisme begin!

  • From our friends at Radio Ambulante, today we're sharing a thought provoking episode from their latest season. Puerto Rican Patricia Velasquez has spent her whole life listening to reggaeton. It's part of her identity. But when she was questioned about the content of the songs, she began an investigation that would lead her to create something completely new about the musical genre. This episode is in Spanish.
  • Anamaria Sayre sits down with Mexican pop icon Julieta Venegas to discuss her role as a trailblazing female vocalist and mom to a daughter with impeccably cool music taste.
  • Our digital mailbag continues to overflow with tons of new music from every corner of the Spanish-speaking world. Yet even as we update our weekly playlists on both Spotify and Apple Music, we still have tracks that we think you need to hear. On this week's show, Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras round up their favorite new music from the last few months.
  • Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras sit down with prolific producer and creator Adrian Quesada to discuss his experimental approach to border-driven sonic expression.
  • Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras sit down with Cimafunk to talk about how he's created his singular sound, the complex African lineage of his music and why his band is his "tribe."
  • Anamaria Sayre sits down with Fabi Reyna of Reyna Tropical to talk about the process of trusting yourself, how music saved her life and moving forward after losing her creative collaborator Sumohair.
  • Can you hear the cha-cha-cha in The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"? Or the mambo in Ray Charles' "What'd I Say"? This week, Alt.Latino revisits a classic episode from 2019 and takes a closer look at the Cuban roots of rock and roll.
  • Since her death in 1995, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez' legacy has spread far beyond her Tejano music roots. This week, Alt.Latino revisits a classic episode and explores how Selena became a powerful symbol of Latina identity.
  • ¡Felices fiestas y'all! This week, Alt.Latino revisits a classic episode from 2014 to enjoy the music of D.C. Latino choir, Cantigas.
  • Anamaria Sayre sits down with Rolling Stone's Julyssa Lopez and NPR Music contributor Stefanie Fernández to talk about (some of) their favorite albums of the year.Show notes: You can help us improve Alt.Latino by taking some time to answer questions about the show. Please tell us what you like and how we could improve by going to npr.org/altlatinosurvey.

Click Here for an archive of past episodes.