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Alt.Latino 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
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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

Most Recent Episodes

Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Angélica Garcia, Young Miko and The Mavericks

Angelica Garcia is featured on this week's Alt.Latino. Shervin Lainez hide caption

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Shervin Lainez

Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Angélica Garcia, Young Miko and The Mavericks

Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras round up their favorite new music, from Puerto Rican rapper Young Miko's boundary-pushing new music, to Alejandro Escovedo's genre-bending rock and Angelica Garcia's electro-cumbia.

Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Angélica Garcia, Young Miko and The Mavericks

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Tracing the history of Latino artists making country music

On this week's Alt.Latino, a discussion of Latin artists in country music. Photo by Medios y Media/Getty Images hide caption

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Photo by Medios y Media/Getty Images

Tracing the history of Latino artists making country music

The release of Beyoncés Cowboy Carter has sparked a national conversation about who gets to sing country music and the complex roots of the genre. Which got Alt.Latino thinking — what about the Latinos in country?

Tracing the history of Latino artists making country music

Listen · 37:07
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What do we really want from Shakira?

On this week's Alt.Latino, an assessment of Shakira's current career after Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images hide caption

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Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

What do we really want from Shakira?

Shakira just released her first album in seven years, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, and most listeners and critics have high praise. But this episode of Alt.Latino puts the record to the test.

What do we really want from Shakira?

Listen · 23:04
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Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Elsa y Elmar, Julieta Eugenio, Esteman and more

Elsa y Elmar is a featured artist on this week's Alt.Latino. Pablo Resoalbe hide caption

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Pablo Resoalbe

Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Elsa y Elmar, Julieta Eugenio, Esteman and more

The weather's heating up and so are the music releases. The hosts of Alt.Latino share their most quintessentially them picks, with Latin jazz across the board from Felix and indie pop-rock bops from Ana.

Alt.Latino's best new music round-up: Elsa y Elmar, Julieta Eugenio, Esteman and more

Listen · 26:46
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A deep dive into Cuba's rich musical history, reported from Havana

Today's episode of Alt.Latino is an exploration of Cuba's musical and cultural history. YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images

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.

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

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

El Cuarteto de Nos is featured on this week's Alt.Latino. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

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.

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

Listen · 23:23
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We round up the greatest boleros ever, with help from artists and listeners

La Lupe is one of the artists featured in this week's Alt.Latino. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) hide caption

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(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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.

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

Listen · 31:23
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Ana Tijoux: On why it took 10 years to release her new album 'Vida'

Ana Tijoux is this week's guest on Alt.Latino. Javiera Gajardo hide caption

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Javiera Gajardo

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.

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

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

Helado Negro's "Just Want To Wake Up With You" is one of Alt.Latino's favorite new tracks. Sadie Culberson hide caption

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Sadie Culberson

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.

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

Listen · 19:08
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Alt.Latino's favorite music of 2023

Maria Jose Llergo. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

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.

Alt.Latino's favorite music of 2023

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