WEXT's Latin Alternative Mix
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Clockwise from top: Gustavo Cerati, Ruben Albarran of Cafe Tacuba, Andrea Escheverri of Aterciopelados, Julieta Venegas, Manu Chao.
Clockwise from top: Gustavo Cerati, Ruben Albarran of Cafe Tacuba, Andrea Escheverri of Aterciopelados, Julieta Venegas, Manu Chao.
The Latin Alternative is the country's first nationally syndicated public radio program focused on Latin rock, electronic, funk and hip-hop artists. I co-host the show with Ernesto Lechner (contributing writer for Rolling Stone and author of the book Rock en Español: The Latin Alternative Rock Explosion).
With about 40 percent of all U.S. Latin Alternative music sales taking place in California, a lot of listeners are surprised to hear that The Latin Alternative originates from Albany, N.Y. I grew up in "Smallbany," as I affectionately call it, and couldn't wait to get out of there in my youth — it didn't seem like the most culturally open-minded place at the time. But fast-forward a decade, and the city now has a forward-thinking public radio station, WEXT 97.7.
WEXT launched in 2007 and quickly embraced artists such as Manu Chao, Juana Molina and Rodrigo y Gabriela. At the time, program director Chris Wienk was surprised to discover that there were no syndicated Latin Alternative public radio shows to pick up to air, so he asked me to create one myself.
The music selected for the "Latin Alternative 101" mega-mix on NPR Music reflects some of Ernesto's and my favorite songs in the genre. Selections range from classic global hits like Manu Chao's "Clandestino" and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs' "Matador" to newer artists such as Bomba Estereo and Mexican Institute of Sound, which fuse traditional styles such as cumbia and norteño with electronica, disco, rap and rock.
This is a genre that requires no understanding of Spanish. As long as you have a heartbeat and even the slightest sense of rhythm, you'll love Latin Alternative music.
Josh Norek is co-host of The Latin Alternative, VP of Nacional Records and co-founder of the Latin American Music Conference. Follow him on Twitter at @jnorek.
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