Alt.Latino

This week's episode is a musical time machine. In the late 1960s, the band Zapata sprang out of a street gang in northwest Washington, D.C., with a sound that combined a variety of contemporary styles: Afro-Caribbean rhythms, soul jazz and the golden era of American R&B. The mixture worked. For a few years, Zapata opened for an astonishing number of A-list acts passing through the city, like Miles Davis, Sly and the Family Stone, Herbie Hancock and The Isley Brothers. But the band would break up in 1974, and for years their recorded material was believed to be lost. Now, surviving member Pepe Gonzalez has restored a cassette tape of Zapata's music from 1971, and is releasing it for the first time. In this episode, Felix chats with Gonzalez about the origins of the band, and how they tried to unify the Black and Hispanic musical scenes in the city at the time.

The podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell and edited by Otis Hart. Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music.

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We're living in a moment when the geopolitical intersects with the personal in a profound way. The relationship between the United States and Cuba is once again in the news, and it happens at a time when there are a handful of new releases from Cuban artists on the island and around the world. The sounds of the albums are vastly different, but they all draw from the same deep well of inspiration that has always fueled Cuban music: a deep love for the intersection of cultures. The music we share this week is a reminder of the very real lives of the people caught in the middle of a situation with an uncertain outcome. It is joyous, contemplative, rhythmically sophisticated and lyrically profound. Just like all Cuban music.

Artists & songs featured in this episode:

(00:52) OKAN, "Ajé (Owo Nla Nla)"
(03:30) Ibeyo, "Aset"
(06:45) Orquesta Akokán, "No Me Voy" 
(11:50) Cimafunk, "Cocinarte"
(15:47) X Alfonso, "Unicornio"

This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music.

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Ruben Ramos' life story mirrors the history of what we now know as Tejano music. His family's musical roots in Texas go back to 1918, and as a boy he was brought into the family bands, first as a drummer and then as a vocalist. He's been playing big band-inflected Tejano music now for more than six decades, and just released a tribute album tracing that musical lineage, called 'Los Días de Calor.' In this episode, Felix chats with "El Gato Negro" Ramos about the history of Tejano music across the twentieth century, and how his own story fits inside of it. 

This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music.

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We don’t often get to discuss the ways that Latin American music made its way west across the Pacific Ocean. But this week we have two incredible projects that celebrate that journey. First, a Japanese band that fuses traditional minyo folk sounds with cumbia and other Latin rhythms. Then, a project that unearths a forgotten history of the 19th century Mexican cowboys who went to Hawaii to help manage livestock.

Plus, a tribute to Afro-Colombian folk legend Totó La Momposina, who passed away this month at 85; an underrated Puerto Rican reggaetonero shines again; and, of course, Ana continues her Brazilian obsession with new tracks from up-and-comer Bebé.

Artists and albums featured in this episode:

(00:55) Bebé - 'Dissolução'
(05:45) Minya Crusaders - 'From Japan With Love'
(10:06) Álvaro Díaz - 'OMAKASE'
(17:35) Los Cenzontles - 'Adios Ke Aloha: Waves of the Same Sea'
(23:05) Orestes Gomez - 'No me fui porque quise'
(28:04) Totó La Momposina - Various

This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music.

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Two different pioneers - from two different continents - are at the heart of this episode of new music. Since the late 1980s, Gipsy Kings have been infusing Catalan rumba flamenca with a pop sensibility that defies the purists. Their new single "Historia," from an upcoming album of the same name, shows they've still got that punchy danceability forty years on. And across the pond, Mexican rocker and songwriter Julieta Venegas explores the musical roots of her norteña heritage on a new album, playing with the biculturalism that defines so much of life along the border.

Plus, Las Añez brings twin harmonies to Andean folk-pop, Helado Negro teams up with Reyna Tropical, Mexican upstart Esteesgarcia confounds Ana and Felix, and more!

Artists & songs featured in this episode:

(00:22) Las Añez - "Cebolla", "Libéralo"
(05:21) Helado Tropical - "Tocando"
(09:44) Esteesgarcia - "south kids", "Okupa"
(14:35) Gipsy Kings - "Historia"
(23:23) Julieta Venegas ft. Yahritza y Su Esencia - "La Línea"
(25:53) bpuntito - "colitaderana", "después"
(31:29) Ana Moura & MARO -  "Era de Aquário/Deixa o Sol Entrar"

This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music.

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