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This Week On Alt.Latino: Chilean Folk, Cumbia And Celtic Music With A Latin Twist

Natalia Contesse.
Courtesy of the artist
Natalia Contesse.
Listen to This Week's Show

English / Spanish

One of my favorite tracks on this week's show belongs to Senegalese-American DJ Zakee Kuduro's new record Assimilations. I love the song "Dark Crystal" because it features Brazilian poet Vinicius de Moraes reading "O Mergulhador" (The Diver). The murky, thick beats are appropriate for the undersea adventure De Moraes and Kuduro take us on.

I like to think of Alt.Latino as a deep-sea diving expedition: Every week we plunge into the Latin world and search its coves and caves to bring you the finest new music.

This week we dove into Chile, Argentina, Brazil and beyond to catch some amazing releases. The deep-sea reference is also appropriate because so many of these artists are plunging into old genres to expand their own repertoire, from the stylings of Natalia Contesse, which are anchored in the Chilean folk tradition, to the remixed take on tango by New York's Jose Conde.

In his poem, de Moraes compares diving into the ocean to interacting with a lover, and many of the songs in this show has the same lyrical intensity. Contesse has described her "Ay Que Si, Ay Que No" ("Oh Yes, Oh No") as a photograph of a moment in a woman's life who loves someone she cannot have. Argentina's Pablo Montiel tells of a man who travelled to the edge of the sea and asked for three wishes; all three were for him and his lover to be together.

If you aren't feeling the oceanic romance, don't worry. We've also got some more lighthearted tunes, from Brazil's irreverent Daniel Peixoto to Venezuela's Mr. Pauer.

We hope you enjoy the treasures we've found for you this week.

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English / Spanish

Esta Semana En Alt.Latino: Nuevas Canciones, Desde Argentina a Venezuela

Una de mis canciones favoritas del show de esta semana es "Dark Crystal", del nuevo album Assimilations, por el DJ senagalés Zakee Kuduro. Me encanta esta canción por varias razones, principalmente porque usa audio del poeta brasilero Vinicius de Moraes, leyendo su obra "O Mergulhador" ("El Buceador"). El ritmo denso y oscuro que le aplica Kuduro a la poesía es completamente apropiado para la aventura subaquática a la cual nos invita De Moraes.

Me gusta pensar que Alt.Latino es como una especie de expedición bajo el mar: todas las semanas nos zambullimos en el mundo de la música Latina y buscamos en sus profundidades para traerles los mejores estrenos musicales.

Esta semana nos fuimos hasta Chile, Argentina y Brasil para atrapar música fascinante. La metáfora de las profundidades marítimas también es apropiada porque muchos de estos músicos exploran géneros antiguos para expandir sus propios repertorios, desde el éstilo de Natalia Contesse, anclado en la tradición folclórica chilena, e incluyendo el tango remix del neoyorquino Jose Conde.

En su poema, de Moraes compara el lanzarse a las profundidades del mar con tocar a su amante. Muchas de las canciones del show de esta semana tienen la misma intensidad lírica. Contesse ha dicho que la canción "Ay Que Si, Ay Que No" es como una fotografía de una mujer que ama a alguien que no puede tener. Y el argentino Pablo Montiel nos cuenta sobre un hombre que viajó hasta el eje del mar y pidió tres deseos; los tres fueron que el y su amante puedan finalmente estar juntos.

Los romances en alta mar no son para todos, pero no se preocupen: también tenemos canciones divertidas, como el irreverente Daniel Peixoto de Brasil y Mr. Pauer de Venezuela.

¡Espero que disfruten de los tesoros que tenemos para ustedes esta semana!

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

This Week On Alt.Latino:

Ay Que Si, Ay Que No

From 'Puñado De Tierra'

By Natalia Contesse

Sounds like: Ani Di Franco mixed with Chilean folk.

Coming at you from: Chile

Madre Del Mundo

From 'Entrega Tu Espiritu'

By Fother Muckers

Sounds like: The band Boston — with a religious twist.

Coming at you from: Chile

El Eje Del Mar

From 'El Eje Del Mar'

By Pablo Montiel

Sounds like: Celtic music with a Latin folk twist

Coming at you from: Argentina

El Vestido [Le Katz Remix] [the Dress]

From 'Jose Conde'

By Jose Conde

Sounds like: Tripping on tango; Bajofondo, Gotan Project.

Coming at you from: Miami

Dark Crystal

From 'Assimilations'

By ZAKEE

Sounds like: A deep sea diving expedition while listening to Bonobo; Peter Gabriel during his So era.

Coming at you from: Senegal/Philadelphia

Maybe Always

From 'Soundtrack'

By Mr. Pauer

Sounds like: Super Mario Brothers playing cumbia.

Coming at you from: Venezuela

So Paro Se Cair

From 'Shine'

By Daniel Peixoto

Sounds like: That cheesy '90s techno song you secretly love.

Coming at you from: Brazil

Jasmine Garsd
Jasmine Garsd is an Argentine-American journalist living in New York. She is currently NPR's Criminal Justice correspondent and the host of The Last Cup. She started her career as the co-host of Alt.Latino, an NPR show about Latin music. Throughout her reporting career she's focused extensively on women's issues and immigrant communities in America. She's currently writing a book of stories about women she's met throughout her travels.