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Alt.Latino: NPR Music's Program For Latin Alternative And Rock In Spanish What Latinidad sounds like, presented by Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre.

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What Latinidad sounds like
Portraits of Jazz and Identity in Latin America

Chilean vocalist Claudia Acuña is a pioneer in the movement of South American musicians embracing jazz.  Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Portraits of Jazz and Identity in Latin America

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Ever since I heard the Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri back in the Seventies, I’ve been fascinated by musicians from South America who found their way to jazz.

Portraits of Jazz and Identity in Latin America

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Salsa, bossa nova, and Argentina's next big thing

Mon Laferte's new album is called 'FEMME FATALE' Mayra Ortiz/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Salsa, bossa nova, and Argentina's next big thing

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Not to sound like a broken record, but I'll say it again: the variety of creative expression in what is inadequately labeled "Latin music" continues to astound me.

Salsa, bossa nova, and Argentina's next big thing

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What's in our mailbag? The beauty of simplicity

Miami-based artist Venezonix's new album Jaspe is out on November 7th. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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What's in our mailbag? The beauty of simplicity

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The past month has been a whirlwind. The El Tiny takeover of the Tiny Desk... interviews with some of the most exciting artists in Latin music... and, of course, puppets! So, for today's episode, we emerge from the craziness and dig into our neglected mailbag, which is brimming with new music. What did we find? Simple beauty. A young songwriter from Veracruz whose spare compositions have wowed his elders. An offbeat producer from Madrid. And, a joyful ode to a city half a millennium old. 

What's in our mailbag? The beauty of simplicity

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A Tiny Desk chat with Silvana Estrada

Mexican vocalist and composer Silvana Estrada at the Tiny Desk Maansi Srivastava/NPR hide caption

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A Tiny Desk chat with Silvana Estrada

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There's no question that Mexican vocalist and composer Silvana Estrada is special to Alt.Latino. Ever since she launched her 2022 album "Marchita" with a series of revelatory singles, she seemingly spoke directly to Alt.Latino co-host Anamaria Sayre.

Silvana Estrada's stunning sophomore album

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A conversation with Gloria Estefan

Gloria Estefan at the Tiny Desk Zayrha Rodriguez/NPR hide caption

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A conversation with Gloria Estefan

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Gloria Estefan is one of those musicians whose work and mere presence in the record industry deserves without question platitudes like ‘pioneering’ or ‘ground breaking.’ In fact, we have often mentioned her in that light throughout the 15 years of Alt.Latino. So it was a thrill to invite her to chat with us once again, this time immediately after a stunning Tiny Desk performance that will publish Oct. 13. She gives serious Favorite Tiá vibes, and since she and Felix are close in age, it felt like a conversation with a good friend with a fascinating life story - who just happens to have one of the richest song catalogs in Latin music history.

A conversation with Gloria Estefan

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The return of El Tiny

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The return of El Tiny

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It's that time of year again: NPR's Tiny Desk becomes El Tiny, featuring concerts from some of the most exciting and legendary Latin artists around. So, this week Felix and Ana run through this year's El Tiny lineup and listen to performances from Fito Paez, Carlos Vives, Chuwi and more. Plus, a conversation about the news that Bad Bunny will perform at next year's Super Bowl LX.

The return of El Tiny

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Latin honky tonk and imaginary collaborations

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Latin honky tonk and imaginary collaborations

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The way new music comes to Alt.Latino World Headquarters says a lot about our slight age difference. I still get CDs in the mail, with an occasional music file sent via email. Ana is constantly playing me audio files she gets vial email or texts from her new music sources, very rarely on CD. So while we were busy putting the finishing touches on our fist annual El Tiny takeover of the Tiny Desk Concert series, our mail piled up. Which means we had lots to choose from for this week's new music episode. There's bound to be something that catches your ear and makes you think: 'How did I live without that in my life?"

Latin honky tonk and imaginary collaborations

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Bad Bunny Closes Out His Residency

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Bad Bunny Closes Out His Residency

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Bad Bunny's months-long residency in Puerto Rico is coming to an end. The shows brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to the island, and sparked new debates about Puerto Rican identity and politics.

Bad Bunny Closes Out His Residency

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A Tribute to Alt.Latino host Felix Contreras

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A Tribute to Alt.Latino host Felix Contreras

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This week's episode is a tribute to host Felix Contreras, who just received the Hispanic Heritage Award for Journalism from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Co-host Anamaria Sayre and the Alt.Latino team surprised Felix with guest appearances from Juanes, Daymé Arocena, Chucho Valdés, Dolores Huerta and more.

A Tribute to Felix

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Felix's healing soundtrack and new love songs

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Felix's healing soundtrack and new love songs

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Felix shares the music that's helped him recover from a serious illness. Anamaria shares some new exquisite (and, in one case, slightly toxic) love songs.

Felix's healing soundtrack and new love songs

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Ecuadorian-American indie pop, 2010s Tumblr-core and bedroom pop cumbia

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Ecuadorian-American indie pop, 2010s Tumblr-core and bedroom pop cumbia

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This week, NPR Music reporter Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento is back on the mic, bringing host Anamaria Sayre new music in the vein of her 2010s Tumblr era. Think emo bangs, bright blue skinny jeans and a Warped Tour T-shirt. Sonically, this week’s picks run through bedroom pop, sultry balladry and Bronx-Dominican rap over post-punk basslines. 

Ecuadorian-American indie pop, 2010s Tumblr-core and a bedroom pop cumbia

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Flaco Jimenez and Eddie Palmieri: Why Their Music Mattered

Flaco Jimenez performs onstage at the 13th annual Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Show at the Ryman Auditorium on September 17, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. Rick Diamond/Getty Images hide caption

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Flaco Jimenez and Eddie Palmieri: Why Their Music Mattered

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On Alt.Latino we often discuss the way that traditions are recognized and expanded upon. Usually it’s when we’re talking about new artists.

Flaco Jimenez and Eddie Palmieri: Why Their Music Mattered

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Simon Grossmann.

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Latin summer anthems

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Felix Contreras is on vacation, so Anamaria decided to throw her own kind of summer bash in his absence. With NPR Music reporter Isabella Gomez Sarmiento along for the ride, today’s Alt.Latino sails through tropical bangers from Mexico, Brazil, the Dominican Republic and more.

Latin pop earworms

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The decline of corridos tumbados? Plus, more jazz from Felix

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The decline of corridos tumbados? Plus, more jazz from Felix

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Some might call it whiplash, the way we sometimes zip from one genre of Latin music to another in our New Music shows. But I like to think of it as an expression of the richness and vitality of all music made under what is known as Latin music. This week's selections reinforce the idea that trying to identify this music under one heading is impossible. Let's just call it Good Music. Featured artists and songs: • Harold Lopez-Nussa, “Niña Con Violin" • Sofia Kourtesis, "Canela Pura" and "Ballumbrosio" • Lucrecia Dalt, “caes” and “cosa rara” • goodtoknow (paula prieto, benjamin walker, sir hope), "Mareas," "October" and "I’ll stay" • Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet, “Panabe” • Natanael Cano, “Presidente” and “El Juez” • Gabito Ballesteros and Carin Leon, “Regalo de Dios” The audio for this episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the Executive Producer of NPR Music and the madrina of Alt.Latino.

The decline of corridos tumbados? Plus, more jazz from Felix

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It's a Bad Bunny summer in Puerto Rico: Ana recaps 2 of his Residency shows

Bad Bunny performs onstage during Night One of Bad Bunny: "No Me Quiero Ir De Aqui" Residencia En El Choli at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on July 11, 2025 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images/Getty hide caption

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It's a Bad Bunny summer in Puerto Rico: Ana recaps 2 of his Residency shows

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Global superstar Bad Bunny is hosting an unprecedented 30 concert residency in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Fans are calling it a defining cultural moment for the island. Anamaria Sayre attended two recent shows and shared her reflections.

It's a Bad Bunny summer in Puerto Rico: Ana recaps 2 of his Residency shows

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Bad Bunny residency prep, new guitar tracks and Latin genre benders

Puerto Rican musician Bebo Dumont Musician/Musician hide caption

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Bad Bunny residency prep, new guitar tracks and Latin genre benders

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Before Ana heads off to see Bad Bunny's unprecedented residency in Puerto Rico, we chat a little about why the celebration is significant to the island and Latin music in general.

Bad Bunny residency prep, new guitar tracks and Latin genre benders

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'Our joy is our resistance.'

Alejandro and Victor Hernandez of the group Maestro Espada VERGILIJUBERO/Musician hide caption

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'Our joy is our resistance.'

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This week Ana and I share some of our long time favorites. While Ana leans into music discovery, I tend to bring more of the classics. In fact, I build playlists on a streaming service to mix music much like I did back in the era of the cassette tape. There is wide swath of music presented in the show this week. —Felix Contreras

'Our joy is our resistance.'

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Bad Bunny gets political, Brazilian grooves from Brooklyn, Reparto Cubano and more

Cuban vocalist Wampi is featured on the show this week. Alessandrosix/Musician hide caption

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Bad Bunny gets political, Brazilian grooves from Brooklyn, Reparto Cubano and more

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Ana and Felix break down Bad Bunny's latest political video. Hear their failed attempt at a blindfold listening game.

Bad Bunny gets political, Brazilian grooves from Brooklyn, Reparto Cubano and more

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Vintage cumbia, Ecuadorian folk, guitar jamming and Mexican rap

The album cover for Óscar Agudello y el Combo Moderno's Pa' mi muñeca. VampiSoul hide caption

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Vintage cumbia, Ecuadorian folk, guitar jamming and Mexican rap

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Our selections this week feature a crate diggers' delight from Colombia and the sound of modern rap in Mexico.

Vintage cumbia, Ecuadorian folk, guitar jamming and Mexican rap

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Karol G goes Pan-Latin, Argentine rock reimagined, Mexico now and then

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Karol G goes Pan-Latin, Argentine rock reimagined, Mexico now and then

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Karol G leans into a Pan-Latin approach on her latest album. Jazz vocalist Roxana Amed reimagines classic rock from her native Argentina. And more.

Karol G goes Pan-Latin, Argentine rock reimagined, Mexico now and then

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Best music of the year (so far)

Mexican musician Dámaris Bojor is one of the musical highlights so far this year Musician hide caption

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Best music of the year (so far)

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A look at some of the most intriguing music released during the first six months of the year.

Best music of the year (so far)

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New Tracks: Bruce Springsteen (yes, that Bruce Springsteen), pablopablo and more

Bruce Springsteen, his new album Inyo has Mexican themes and musicians Danny Clinch/Musician hide caption

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New Tracks: Bruce Springsteen (yes, that Bruce Springsteen), pablopablo and more

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This week Anamaria Sayre continues to scour her part of the internet for great new tracks that will impress Felix Contreras, while he continues to explore Latinos who sing country music.

New Tracks: Bruce Springsteen (yes, that Bruce Springsteen), pablopablo and more

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