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Isabella Gomez Sarmiento Isabella Gomez Sarmiento is a producer with the Culture Desk and NPR's Book of the Day podcast.
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Headshot of Isabella Gomez Sarmiento
Danny Hensel/NPR

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

Associate Producer, Culture Desk

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento is a producer with the Culture Desk and NPR's Book of the Day podcast.

Since joining NPR in 2019, she's worked on stories about vaccine outreach in Latinx communities, the future of abortion access in a post-Roe landscape and the unionization effort of the Star Garden strippers in Los Angeles. She especially loves mixing music pieces — during her time coordinating Weekend Edition's music coverage, she booked and produced interviews with artists like Buscabulla, Pusha T and C. Tangana.

Before coming to NPR, she wrote about culture, gender and immigration for outlets including Teen Vogue, CNN, Remezcla and more. She likes riding her bike and talking to/about her cat, Ricky Ricardo.

Story Archive

Thursday

At a 'Gente Funny' show, only bilingual audience members are in on the joke

Angelo Colina is starting a Spanish comedy circuit. He's pictured above performing at Room 808 in Washington, D.C., on April 30. Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR hide caption

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Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR

Pop Culture

At a 'Gente Funny' show, only bilingual audience members are in on the joke

Latinx comedians with non-English routines have largely been relegated to restaurants, bars and other spaces where Spanish already dominates. But a new generation is changing that, one show at a time.

At a 'Gente Funny' show, only bilingual audience members are in on the joke

Listen · 4:52
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Friday

Monday

Here are the winners of the 2023 Pulitzer Prizes

Mississippi Today reporter Anna Wolfe, center, is congratulated Monday by staff sports columnist Rick Cleveland, right, after winning the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, as her mother, Bethel Wolfe, left, observes, at a celebration in Jackson, Miss. Wolfe was honored for her reporting on a $77 million welfare scandal, the largest embezzlement of federal funds in Mississippi's history. Rogelio V. Solis/AP hide caption

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Rogelio V. Solis/AP

Culture

Here are the winners of the 2023 Pulitzer Prizes

The Associated Press won two awards for its Ukraine coverage, including the prestigious Public Service award. The prize for fiction went to two books: Demon Copperhead and Trust.

Here are the winners of the 2023 Pulitzer Prizes

Listen · 2:53
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Saturday

Durand Jones pens a love letter to being Black, queer and from the rural South

"The rural South is deeply beautiful and complex and contradictory," says Jones. "I really want [people] to know the rural South has something to say." Rahim Fortune/Dead Oceans hide caption

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Rahim Fortune/Dead Oceans

Music

Durand Jones pens a love letter to being Black, queer and from the rural South

'Wait Til I Get Over,' an homage to Jones' hometown of Hillaryville, Louisiana, paints a deeply nuanced portrait of Jones and of the Southern customs that raised him.

Durand Jones pens a love letter to being Black, queer and from the rural South

Listen · 4:58
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Saturday

Music

Mo Willems' bossy Pigeon makes his operatic debut

Mo Willems' picture book Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! turns 20 this month. To mark the anniversary, Willems and Renee Fleming presented the pigeon's story in an opera at the Kennedy Center.

Mo Willems' bossy Pigeon makes his operatic debut

Listen · 3:57
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Monday

Books

Mo Willems' bossy Pigeon makes his operatic debut

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! turns 20 this month. To mark the anniversary, Willems and Renee Fleming presented the pigeon's story in an opera at the Kennedy Center.

Mo Willems' bossy Pigeon makes his operatic debut

Listen · 3:43
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Friday

Why regional Mexican's current explosion catapults the genre to new heights

Bad Bunny (center) recently made waves with "un x100to," a collaboration with the regional Mexican band Grupo Frontera. Eric Rojas hide caption

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Eric Rojas

Music

Why regional Mexican's current explosion catapults the genre to new heights

This week a collaboration between Bad Bunny and Grupo Frontera, in addition to a historic chart placement for Mexican artist Peso Pluma, pushed regional Mexican music to international attention

Why regional Mexican's current explosion catapults the genre to new heights

Listen · 7:41
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Monday

For Puerto Rico's Villano Antillano, femininity is a shield — and a superpower

Villano Antillano grew up surrounded by salsa, rock and reggaeton in Puerto Rico. With those influences under her belt, she's become one of the most exciting rappers in the Latin music scene. Courtesy of La Buena Fortuna hide caption

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Courtesy of La Buena Fortuna

Music Interviews

For Puerto Rico's Villano Antillano, femininity is a shield — and a superpower

The rapper's first full-length record is a testament to the way she's been able to interact with her femininity through her creative process.

For Puerto Rico's Villano Antillano, femininity is a shield — and a superpower

Listen · 7:22
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Sunday

Wednesday

Raquel Welch, actress and Hollywood sex symbol, dead at 82

Actress Raquel Welch at the 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards January 16, 2005. Carlo Allegri/Getty Images hide caption

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Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

Culture

Raquel Welch, actress and Hollywood sex symbol, dead at 82

Welch is best known for her roles in Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years B.C. She is survived by her son and daughter.

Raquel Welch, actress and Hollywood sex symbol, dead at 82

Listen · 3:50
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Thursday

As Ryuichi Sakamoto returns with '12,' fellow artists recall his impact

Japanese musician, composer, record producer, pianist, activist, writer, actor and dancer Ryuichi Sakamoto, photographed on June 30, 2016 in Paris. Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images

Music Interviews

As Ryuichi Sakamoto returns with '12,' fellow artists recall his impact

The composer has been lauded for decades over his deeply affective music; director Alejandro González Iñárritu, composer Hildur Guðnadóttir and more join us to explain why.

As Ryuichi Sakamoto returns with '12,' fellow artists recall his impact

Listen · 8:00
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Tuesday

Music News

A Rolex for a Casio: Why Shakira's new song is breaking records

Shakira's new single is a full-on diss track, aimed at her ex. It also went straight to the top of the Spotify Top 50 Global chart and hit 100 million views on YouTube in under 3 days.

A Rolex for a Casio: Why Shakira's new song is breaking records

Listen · 4:04
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Saturday

How Cusica Fest is trying to rebuild the Venezuelan music industry

Devendra Banhart grew up in Caracas in the '90s, but didn't perform his first show there until 2022. Andrés Rodríguez/Cusica Fest hide caption

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Andrés Rodríguez/Cusica Fest

Music Features

How Cusica Fest is trying to rebuild the Venezuelan music industry

A music festival in Caracas, Venezuela is building momentum for renewed creativity and expression in the country, amidst an ongoing political crisis.

How Cusica Fest is trying to rebuild the Venezuelan music industry

Listen · 5:59
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Thursday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Saturday

Daddy Yankee led reggaeton's global rise. As he bows out, the genre enters a new era

Daddy Yankee helped build a global market for reggaeton — but he also illustrated how much political power the genre wields. Victor Bizar Gomez for NPR hide caption

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Victor Bizar Gomez for NPR

Editors' Picks

Daddy Yankee led reggaeton's global rise. As he bows out, the genre enters a new era

'The Big Boss' took a genre from working-class neighborhoods and turned it into a commercial powerhouse. But as the trailblazer retires, reggaeton meets a new moment for rebellion and experimentation.

Saturday

Drawing on folk traditions, Spanish musician Guitarricadelafuente bridges generations

For Guitarricadelafuente, looking back on the traditions of his grandparents' tiny village in Aragon is a way of reconstructing a home and identity that he can actually make sense of. David Gomez-Maestre hide caption

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David Gomez-Maestre

Music Interviews

Drawing on folk traditions, Spanish musician Guitarricadelafuente bridges generations

Spanish musician Guitarricadelafuente discusses the making of his debut album, La Cantera, and the mix of both the ancient and the modern that's essential to his sound.

Drawing on folk traditions, Spanish musician Guitarricadelafuente bridges generations

Listen · 3:57
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Monday

Meet the strippers working to unionize a Los Angeles dive bar

The strippers who have worked at Star Garden describe it as a Lynchian dive bar full of personality and dancer camaraderie. They say that's why they're willing to fight so hard for better working conditions there. Alyson Aliano hide caption

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Alyson Aliano

Business

Meet the strippers working to unionize a Los Angeles dive bar

For the past six months, former Star Garden dancers have been taking their talents to a show-stopping picket line. If successful, they'll be the only strippers with union representation in the U.S.

Saturday

Health Care

The Latino community is facing issues with misinformation on abortions

NPR's Daniel Estrin speaks to Elizabeth Estrada of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice about the spread of abortion misinformation in the Latino community.

The Latino community is facing issues with misinformation on abortions

Listen · 5:43
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Movie Interviews

Aubrey Plaza goes from art school to fraudster in 'Emily The Criminal'

NPR's Daniel Estrin speaks with actor Aubrey Plaza about her new thriller, "Emily The Criminal," which centers around a woman who turns to crime to pay off student loan debt.

Aubrey Plaza goes from art school to fraudster in 'Emily The Criminal'

Listen · 6:56
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Sunday

Business

Social media is deciding trends at breakneck pace, and it's fueling fast fashion

Social media - yeah, we're looking at YOU, TikTok! - has accelerated trend cycles. Researcher Mandy Lee explains what that means for fashion consumption.

Social media is deciding trends at breakneck pace, and it's fueling fast fashion

Listen · 2:47
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Saturday

Music Interviews

Meridian Brothers collaborate with an imaginary salsa band on new album

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to musician Eblis Alvarez about his new album, "Meridian Brothers and El Grupo Renacimiento." It's an imaginary collaboration with a fake 1970s Colombia salsa band.

Meridian Brothers collaborate with an imaginary salsa band on new album

Listen · 6:47
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Sunday

Retro soul shines in Micah Edwards' Tiny Desk Contest entry 'Jean Leon'

Micah Edwards entered the 2022 Tiny Desk Contest with the song "Jean Leon." Sarah De La Rosa/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Sarah De La Rosa/Courtesy of the artist

Tiny Desk Contest

Retro soul shines in Micah Edwards' Tiny Desk Contest entry 'Jean Leon'

Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Texas soul musician Micah Edwards about his standout entry to this year's Tiny Desk Contest entry.

Retro soul shines in Micah Edwards' Tiny Desk Contest entry 'Jean Leon'

Listen · 7:15
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