150 episodes

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!Support NPR and get your music exploration sponsor-free with Alt.Latino+. Learn more at plus.npr.org/nprmusic

Alt.Latino NPR Music

    • Music
    • 4.5 • 630 Ratings

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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!Support NPR and get your music exploration sponsor-free with Alt.Latino+. Learn more at plus.npr.org/nprmusic

Listen on Apple Podcasts
Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher

    A deep dive into Cuba's rich musical history, reported from Havana

    A deep dive into Cuba's rich musical history, reported from Havana

    Is it really a good idea to take a vacation with your coworkers? If you're part of the Alt.Latino team, it is. Last month Alt.Latino co-host Anamaria Sayre decided to join Felix Contreras on a planned trip to attend the 39th annual Havana Jazz Festival, an international event that attracts fans of both Cuban music and jazz from around the world. Spread out among several historic venues around the Cuban capital city, the team spent eight days taking in the sights and sounds of one of the oldest cities in Latin America. Hours before they returned home, Felix and Ana recorded this episode reflecting on everything they heard and the legacy of Cuba's musical diversity.

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    • 24 min
    Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Residente, La Yegros and El Cuarteto de Nos

    Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Residente, La Yegros and El Cuarteto de Nos

    As the chill remains in the air for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere and the heat of summer warms up the South, we take time to listen to new music from both parts of the world.

    Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre round up their favorite new music, including Southern Cone rock and cumbia, atmospheric vocals from the U.S. and even some delicate yet emotionally powerful music from the Catalan region of Spain.

    Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Joaquin Cotler. Hazel Cills is the podcast editor and digital editor for Alt.Latino and our project manager is Grace Chung. NPR Music's executive producer is Suraya Mohamed. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

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    • 23 min
    We round up the greatest boleros ever, with help from artists and listeners

    We round up the greatest boleros ever, with help from artists and listeners

    Nothing captures the agony of love, loss, hope and redemption like the song form known across all of Latin America: the bolero.

    Last December, UNESCO declared the bolero "an intangible cultural heritage of humanity" and "an indispensable part of the Latin American sentimental song." And given that Valentine's Day is coming up, Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre did something special this week, in honor of this news: they asked some of their favorite artists and show listeners to share their most-loved boleros, and break down exactly what makes them so special. Join Felix and Ana as they laugh, cry and sing a little to the love songs of the ages.

    And be sure to check out the playlists we made for this episode, feature Ana and Felix's picks, as well as the selections from featured artists and listeners, on Spotify and Apple Music.

    Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Joaquin Cotler. Hazel Cills is the podcast editor and digital editor for Alt.Latino and our project manager is Grace Chung. NPR Music's executive producer is Suraya Mohamed. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

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    • 31 min
    Ana Tijoux: On why it took 10 years to release her new album 'Vida'

    Ana Tijoux: On why it took 10 years to release her new album 'Vida'

    Vocalist Ana Tijoux has been a frequent guest on Alt.Latino. That's because ever since her US debut, 1977, was released in 2010, Tijoux had been at the forefront of Latin music that celebrates creative innovation, themes of social justice and fierce independence.In this week's episode the Chilean musician talks to Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre about why that spirit of innovation has been more or less silent for the last 10 years, and how her new album, Vida, is not only a chance to catch up, but also a deeply moving look back. Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Joaquin Cotler, with production support from Suraya Mohamed and Isabella Gomez Sarmiento. Hazel Cills is the podcast editor and digital editor for Alt.Latino and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

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    • 32 min
    Alt.Latino's best new music roundup: Helado Negro, Gaby Moreno and Ana Tijoux

    Alt.Latino's best new music roundup: Helado Negro, Gaby Moreno and Ana Tijoux

    In the earliest days of the show, Alt.Latino's mailbox was usually piled high with CDs of new music from both emerging and well-known artists.

    Now, Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre's email and social media accounts continue to open up new musical worlds at Alt.Latino and — in turn — all of you. The show starts 2024 with some great tracks from names you may know and a couple of bands that Felix and Ana think deserve wider recognition.

    Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Joaquin Cotler, with production support from Suraya Mohamed. Hazel Cills is the podcast editor and digital editor for Alt.Latino. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

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    • 19 min
    Alt.Latino's favorite music of 2023

    Alt.Latino's favorite music of 2023

    While 2022 may have been a year completely dominated by a certain sad summer reggaeton album, 2023 drew its power from a set of familiar sounds that took on new prominence: tubas, accordions and a whole lot of lively, sneakily danceable beats. As we've been talking about on Alt.Latino for some time, Mexican Regional music broke through in a big way this year, and we found it incredible to witness the most boisterous and uncompromising sounds from that long tradition make their way across the world and to the top of the charts.

    A strong feeling of authenticity to place and experience was palpable across the spectrum of Latin albums released in 2023, from the most popular to those deserving of more attention. To review all there was to love about Spanish-language music this year, hosts Felix Contreras and Anamaria Syare sat down with producer Isabella Gomez Sarmiento to discuss the ways musicians danced fearlessly across genre lines while showing up as their complete selves more than ever before.

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    • 41 min

Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5
630 Ratings

630 Ratings

Luisbs198 ,

I feel so connected with them 💕

This podcast is one of my favorites lately and I’m obsessed with every single episode. Also, they have a section it’s called El tiny, which is a tiny desk with the Latino version and since then I became a fan of Anna Maria Sayer and Felix Contreras. Every episode I connect a lot with them because I feel we are friends. We’ve been knowing each other since every and I feel I can be having a long talk with them because they acknowledge men on music it’s marvelous. They always feature different artist and invite them to the podcast. I got so excited because I got feature in one episode. One of my favorites episodes it’s gonna be when they interview Becky G.

Ringgo Cat ,

Great podcast!

Love the podcast!!! Could you please include all the song titles talked about in ‘Best New Music Round Up’ in the podcast bio? As a non-Spanish speaker, I don’t always catch the title and sadly, miss out on the song

CJMcMac ,

Bravo!!

Felix and Anna Maria are fantastico! Alt Latino continues to be an audio storytelling at its absolute finest - the Peso Pluma episode was wonderful, moving, and a total masterclass - iconic!!

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