NPR Music - Alt.Latino: Salsa, bossa nova, and Argentina's next big thing

Episode Date: October 29, 2025

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.From the bossa nova-by-way-of-Guatemala of Fabuloso and Los Skeepers, to the evolving torch singing of the Chilean-via-Mexico vocalist Mon Laferte, to the ‘Western noir’ of California singer Andrés Miguel Cervantes, to Nathy Peluso’s Argentine take on Seventies New York City salsa, to jazz from southern Spain’s Chano Domínguez... how do we even try to keep up with this kind of output?Someone has to do it, and we’re glad it’s us. Featured artists and songs:- Milo J, 'OLIMPO', 'Bajo De La Piel', 'Jangadero'- Fabuloso & Los Skeepers, 'Si Te Gusta'- Mon Laferte, 'Las Flores Que Dejaste En La Mesa', '1:30'- Chano Domínguez & Emaginario, 'March Of The Siguiriyas'- Nathy Peluso, 'ÁNGEL'- Andrés Miguel Cervantes, 'Dreams of Jacumba'This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

A quick note before the show, this podcast contains explicit language. You know what's the worst, Felix? We think we're so hilarious. And probably no one else does. No one else does. No one else does. I can guarantee you. Nobody laughs at my jokes or stories the way you do.

Okay, where are we? From NPR Music, this is Alt-Latino. I'm Felix Contreras. And I'm Anna Maria Sayer. Let the Chiefs May Begin. Felix, you better have some cheesemae for me. Yeah, the cheese made. There's this giant meteor.

Oh, God. Anything but this, Felix. Yes. Oh, my God. I'm just, I'm obsessed with it. It's the size of Manhattan. It's hurtling through our solar system. It came from outside of our solar system,

which means it came from deep space. It's like billions, a quadrillion years old. Okay. Is it coming towards Earth or what's happening? It's not coming toward Earth. We don't need to worry about it. I'm just fascinated. It's not going to hit us.

It's not going to cause any problem. God knows who sent it. I'm curious. Millions. All that to say, that's what I'm thinking about. But I'm also thinking about new music, which is what we're going to do this week. Okay. I now remember what my first pick was.

And it is a big deal because I've been waiting for 25 million thousand years to play this album. Let's hear it. Milo Jota. This kid is 19 years old. He's from Argentina. He's been maybe one of the biggest artists on the rise in Argentina. I've been following him for the past few years as kind of just like a big name. You know what I mean?

Like a big name with an interesting sound. He does mostly a rap style, adjacent type of thing, rap, hip-hop, but like with a little bit more of an acoustic sense, already sells out stadiums in Argentina. So he's one of those that I'm like, okay, I'm aware, but I've never really brought him on the show

because he doesn't quite, you know, fit our style, Felix, let's just say, until this album. So before I get to the actual album, I'm going to play you a little sample of what he typically sounds like. This is his track, Olimpo. a moment a little strange, but I

see you in that side, a margot of my mind. I think I'm and just I'm sorry I'm because I'm and I'm soficient. I'm just I'm just enough. Recurrected to do you know-to-the-connoissee, and I'd look with a hosite with a lototonying

that had, when contemplar your caminor and en-mor-mere-lermenet lentiment. I don't know why reprimed your sentiments with the accuses to start in book to autoconocerte. Sevient of our differences, Okay, got it's example,

So, interesting. Like, that's why I have been kind of really paying attention to him is because he's not just straight ahead, like, doing a pop, rap, hip-hop thing. Like, there is, like, a really interesting quality to what he does. Okay, so a couple weeks ago, he comes out with this album, the Vida was more Corte

and Felix it is stunning like really stunning unique he played with all these

traditional instruments from across Argentina he collaborated with people like Silvio

Rodriguez Mercedes Sosa I mean like legends legends along with some of the big names

the younger names in Argentina like Trueno and Nicky Nicole but like small India on the rise

remember that girl I made you go see in Spain Pablo Preeto Oh yeah with her too so like

like kind of a really big blend of collaborators, but more importantly, his family, they're from this place in Argentina. It's called Santiago de Lestero. It's one of the last kind of really still rich, culturally rich, maintaining a lot of their culture, indigenous communities in Argentina. He's from that community. So he used a lot of the traditional folk instrumentation. I'm going to stop talking about it now and let you hear a little bit of it. So this track that I picked is called Bajo La Pien. Broo de la Piae That's

Bro I know Oh my God There's so much This is the opening track Felix he plays with Tengo, Bandoneon, Ancestual Chance, but more importantly, to me,

this opening track, what I loved about it, it's called Bajo La Piel, literally, tattoos under the skin is how he describes it. And he describes it as the marks of years that he was not allowed to be a part of, basically memories he never got to live because of the way that his family and his ancestry was scarred by all the years of dictatorship

in Argentina is basically the concept of this. I mean, he's 19 years old. Wow. Felix. Oh, my God. And he's already, he's one of those that's just so connected with the generations. His mom was like an activist and then in the community.

And so he's very in tune in touch with all these things. And he's, he didn't have to do this, right? Like, he's already on the rise. He's already selling out stadiums. He could just be Popero. The end. Right. But he's like, no, no, no.

I'm going to take the time. I'm going to find these collaborators. I'm going to play you the Mercedes-Sosa track. As we know, Mercedes passed in 2009, but he used recordings of her voice and it's just beautiful. The track is called Hangadero. It's almost of the water that's

your scams of the ore are the fever that me get back my side. I'm behind your horizon fugitive

and the blood with the water is me back. It's almost like Mercedes-Sosa is, his blessing his work. You know, of course, he had to get permission, I'm sure, from the estate and all that,

and I'm sure there was a lot of legal processes to jump through, but just her presence, her voice, when it comes in, so strong, poof, like tears. And it's not just that, right? I mean, he got Silvio Rodriguez to sing on this album. Silvio Rodriguez didn't change a single line, Felix. Like, it's, it just makes me,

it gives me this feeling, Felix, where it's like this, what we're able to, there's so much incredible content of people creating art like this, like young artists creating art like this. It's such a unique moment in Latin America. And for us to be able to talk about this, it's like we get to have a whole show that is basically this because of how many people are creating inspired art like this.

It's incredible. That was a couple songs from Milojota's new album. The Vida was more short. Okay, you know, a couple weeks ago we talked about where we get our ideas from, you know, where we find the music and personal recommendations and, of course, publicists sending me emails and stuff like that. I do use those for those of you out there listening. Go ahead and send them to me.

I found this record, this single, that is by these self-described boy band from Guatemala called Los Skeepers. and a guy who calls themselves Fabuloso, who's from Peru, moved to Guatemala, studied photography, started making music, now he lives in Mexico City. And it's just really cool their take on Basanova. Again, like re-examining something from the past,

but in their own way. Check it out. This is called Si Te Gusta. I love Basanova. Apparently so today. I went to see I went to seek out these guys individually, Fabuloso and Los Keepers And honestly, like, either one of their music

Is not anything I would listen to It's very, very pop, very well produced But it's not something, if you heard it It's like, feeling you would never listen to that And I wouldn't I would listen to it You would listen to it. I know you would.

I know you would. But it was something about this combination that I was like, oh, well, let me, I like the song, but then let me find out who they were. But more importantly, I wanted to do it because they're for Guatemala. And we don't have enough music from that part of the world. And it was a chance to play something very creative,

something that's happening right now. And, you know, hands off to them. Well, and it doesn't sound like Guatemala to me. No. Sounds like Brazil. Brazil, man. It sounds like Spain, honestly, which is weird. I know, but this is what a lot of these Spanish producers are doing.

Yes, a lot of them play with Bosa, like, exactly in the way that they did. And that's what's really cool. And it's Mexico City is what it really is, because that's the canal. That's like the meeting point. Yeah. 100%. Like, this is where Mabefrati lives, too. Right, that is true.

You know, when you think about who are like the big names from Guadabala right now. So it's like, that's, I think, where they're. They find that meeting point. And there are some producers in Mexico City doing what the Spanish producers are doing. But I'd have to listen to it a couple more times to see if I can hear Guatemala. But it sounds, I immediately thought of Spain.

Isn't that funny? The name of the track is si tegusta, it's fabuloso with Los Keepers. So there. I listen to cool stuff too. I know, Felix. You're trying to come from my brands. Stay in your lane.

Where's the jazz? Funny you should mention that. I got to start bringing, oh no. Carry on. Okay, it's time. Mon La Ferte, I've already brought on two, I think, if I remember correctly, I brought on two different singles from this album, but the album came out and it's gorgeous, so I think I have to bring it on again. Mon La Ferte just released her album Fem Fetal, and the thing about Mon, I think she's brilliant. I've been so amazed how she's been able to continue to reinvent herself.

She is one of those artists. She came up at the same time as a lot of other Mexican. Well, she's not Mexican, but adopted Mexican vocalist. She's Tulane, as we know. And many of them have not been able to continually reinvent themselves the way that she has. I mean, she turned from just being like, oh, this beautiful singer into someone who's like a concept artist who comes out with an album and does something really distinct, really specific with a very, you know, an angle, a message. Last album was incredible, completely different from this record.

So I'm going to play you a track, even though you've heard some from the record already, but you probably don't remember. Of course they did. For the first time ever, here's some songs from Pempetal. This song is called Las Flores Que Dejaste in La Mesa. Sometimes I'm putting something My way Thinking in the idea of you

I imagine in the sex with other persons Or, Tomando coffee A-Vecure Me Recurts My mother It's

It's almost comic me It seems like a Tormenta I'll just to think I'll just We'll go

to mournir And without I think in the future when, as we do now, when we think about great voices of the past in any genre, jazz, pop, whatever, in the future, when we think about great voices of this era, Mon La Ferte's name is going to come up. A hundred percent, Felix. And really what she does on,

she has this really interesting track that I want you to hear, where she really gets a little bit into her. percentuality. It's part of this whole kind of empowered female overarching theme that she's doing on this record. So this song in particular is called 130. My pupitre, in that I mean dilatable in the epilogues, brutando me lavab of pragmatic or the agrizona.

In those years, I was the commandant man, monta my own own own a caravan of the death on the tele, and I'd die for unirmed to carnival that had under the pantalone

to the professor of history. So, I know about the sunnesty, I was a president. Okay, Anna, stay in your lane, man. That's straight-ah-ah-jazz track. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow.

See, you didn't even know I was coming for you too. I could Spidey sense that you were going to take my thing. So I was like, I must. Totally. Totally is. And that's the thing. She's tickled with jazz before.

Like last record is a lot more electronic with some big sweeping strings. And she kind of like did a little tut-to-to-to with some jazz. But then here, it's interesting to me because the concept is not one genre. It's not one sound. But it's like all of these kind of like different eras and different styles that kind of work around the same feeling. You know what I mean? Like, it's not, it's not tied to one era or one specific, like, oh, this is a jazz thing

or a bosa thing or a bolero thing. It's just like all of these kind of, like, sexually empowered, very, like, she's just, like, testing, like, play a little bit. It's really interesting to me. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. You know, that particular track, it reminds me of, I guess it was like the late 50s. when the beat poetry movement here in the United States came out of San Francisco and mixing the poetry like that with jazz.

As soon as I heard that acoustic bass, like to start that track, and then you hear the draft on the symbol and the snare, then the piano, like these sparse chords. That sounds like the stuff that came out of the 50s with the beat poetry. But except I think that Spanish is more suitable. It's more adaptable. it fits in better with that jazz right symbol I think Spanish matches the syntax of jazz better than it did in English I think

Well because the way you write music in Spanish There's a flow to it you can fit more in there You can fit more flow, you can fit more verbage, you can fit more flower English everything has to be very on time In a way that's really challenging And so to hear those two things mixed Plus, there are some tracks in here that sound kind of soul, almost like reminiscent to me of like a Chicano soul kind of thing. And so it's almost like to me every era, it's like she's putting on different costumes throughout the album.

It's kind of how I would describe it. And it's like every era that women kind of had a moment to like test the water on something is kind of how it feels. Like that's, that's what's unifying these sounds. And then it's all in Spanish, which is a whole other thing. So therefore, I love this. That was a few tracks from Molla Fertes' new album Fem Fetal. Okay, Anna, we need to take a break because I'm going to rearrange the order of the songs that I brought because I got something that will match up.

Let's take a break and then we'll play it when I come back. And we're back from break, Felix. Okay, so I'm going to move my songs around because of the jazz nature of that last track. I want to play a track from a pianist named Chano Dominguez, who is from Cadiz in Spain, and a guitarist who calls himself Emaginario, who is from Cleveland, Ohio. I'm a big fan of Chano Dominguez, but I did not expect this combination and theme,

and that's why I like his music so much, because they're so full of surprises, so creative. This is a track called March of the Sigirias, and the album's called The Blues Around Us. Check this out. You know what? I feel like this is one of those tracks that reminds me that jazz is such a cheap.

genre. What do you mean? It's jazz is everything. Jazz isn't a genre. Jazz is just the world in music. Well, you know, jazz also has a ton of people who are like, we call the jazz police. If you don't play it a certain way, then you're way off track. But, you know, I think they're holding the music back. This is an example of... Tell them, Felix.

You tell the jazz police what's up. This is an example of, um, um, Chano Dominguez, and, you know, we talk about Spain a lot and the way that a lot of these new artists are using and innovating with flamenco, Chano Dominguez was, like, he's part of this movement that has been mixing jazz and flamenco. Going back to Paco de Lucia,

his first record that he did with jazz in the 60s, there was an album in the 90s called Yese de Paco that Chano Dominguez was part of. There was a point on one of his records where he played a Thelonious Monk tune, and it was pretty obvious that Monk was not, in fact, from North Carolina. He was from Southern Spain, okay? Just in terms of the way he wrote his music and his syncopation,

because the Monk music went perfectly with mixing it with jazz. All that to say is that Chano Dominguez has been part of that. He made this great record in 2006 with the original Motomami Martirio, the Spanish vocalist. So he's got this long trajectory. I've been a fan of his. for a long time. But this record, this particular track

stands out because it does lean into the flamenco thing. But the rest of the record, there's hints of flamenco, but more or less straight ahead stuff. Blues, lots of blues, a lot of straight ahead, a lot of laid-back stuff. It's a great way for people, I think,

for people who have been listening to the show and exploring all these different aspects of Spain and the music being produced in Spain right now, to go back and dig into his catalog and see what other musicians have been doing for a long time. Flamenco, to me, is also one of those genres that is, if deconstructed, so many things. Oh, my God.

So it plays well with a lot of different genres, too. Not to foreshadow some things that are come. Stop. We're really circling around staying this week. And since that is a jazz track, I have to be the jazz DJ and say that that also included Obed Calvert on drums and the great Carlos Enrique

from New York on bass. They're both from the Whitney Marcellus's Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Carlos Enriquez's New York. Very, very talented. He's done a lot of different things but that's the rhythm section in that record. The album's called The Blues Around Us. The artist is

Chano Dominguez and Imaginario, also known as Ethan Margolis. Okay. Nati Peluso released an EP. recently, it's a salsa EPI, and I'm going to play a little bit of it. And I'm actually very curious to hear what you think about it, Felix. So I'm just going to go straight into it.

The first track I want to play is called Anhe. I'm still blown away by how these younger musicians are just leaning into very old-school salsa. So the whole AP is literally pretty much straight-ahead salsa. I mean, I chose this track because it has kind of that funky intro and there's a few little effects throughout that are contemporary. But generally speaking, like, the EP is actually just a salsa EP. She's done salsa stuff before in her last record. There was a good amount of salsa playing with salsa. And that's kind of something she has said that that's the direction she wants to go in.

That's the music that really fills her up. She's Argentine raised in Spain. Like salsa isn't really in her lineage, but it's something that she's really. really committed to. She thinks it's really fun to play with whatever. It's not what she got famous for by any means. Like her original sound, I don't know if you remember this, Felix. It's very, it's almost like hip-hop ordering, very electronic. And it's interesting to me because in some respects, you know, we talk about all these artists who are using influences from sounds like salsa or, you know, we could talk about Bad Bunny where there was a salsa track on his album,

right? Or a number of artists, Rao Alejandro tried to do that too. She's literally just doing straight ahead salsa. And I actually don't know how I feel about it, Felix. Like, in some sense, I think she has this really cinematic, beautiful, big voice that can kind of rise to the occasion of a salsa track. And there are also some moments for me in it where I'm like, I don't know, for something for me. I think that salsa is having to come back in a big way.

And, you know, and it did go through this period where there was a period, called Salsa Romantica that people that old school salsettos just did not like at all. I just did a panel with the members of Eddie Palmieri's band for a jazz festival here and the subject of Salsa Romantica came up and it was not talked about in a good way

because as opposed to the way that Eddie Palmieri and the people that came before that did it. So, you know, if there's any knock toward this music that they're making now, It's because it sounds more like salsa romantica. It's a little, I don't know what's the word. It's cleaned up a little bit.

It's not as funky. There's not a lot of rough edges to it. It feels less crashing. And the mix, the way it's recorded, you know, you can hear all the left hand on the conga, the 16th notes and everything and everything and the way they play. There's something, I don't know, there's something about the old school salsa and even some of the current bands. forget about Cuba because that's a whole different thing. But some of the current bands that are playing it

and the sound is funkier a little bit. This is kind of cleaned up. We always have to remember that early salsa was punk. You know, like early salsa, especially in Puerto Rico, was not respected. And it wasn't clean. And it was built in the streets, you know? So, yeah, you clean it up and you lose some of that for sure.

The early salsa in the 70s was just basically a reproduction of the Afro-Caribbean but African-Cuban dance music that was just modernized a little bit. But you're right, it did have that rough edge to it and there was a punky attitude toward it, especially like you said in Puerto Rico. That was Anil from Nati Peluso's new EP Mal Porta.

Whiplash time. I'm going to dip into my ongoing passion and obsession with Latinos who are performing in the Americana in country space This is an artist by the name of Andres Miguel Cervantes. He has an album called Songs for the Seance.

This track is called Dreams of Hacumba. That's all I'm going to say right now. I want you to hear the track. Emeralds in the night sky these old gray these old dreams like his face to Cate

both signs that say You know you've got to have a voice to sing country music like that, right? And he sort of reminds me of Raul Malo, the lead vocalist of the Mavericks. I was going to say that. Yeah. He's got the same timbre, same deep, resonant voice. You know, it's something that I discovered. You have to have a voice that can tell stories to perform that music. Because if it's not there, then it's just words floating in the air. You've got to have the feeling behind it. and he's from San Francisco and San Diego.

He's not from Texas. He's not from the Red Dirt Movement in Oklahoma. He's from California. It's from where we are, right? But for whatever reason, this is how he has chosen, or the expression has chosen him, right, to express himself this way. I remember hearing, it was a couple years ago, I heard a song called The Crossing that he did,

and it was a story and almost the same style of his father coming from Mexico to the United States. He's using that whole genre to tell his own reality. It's, you know, again, just like the salsa conversation, we could go on and on and on. The album's called Songs for the Seance. The artist is Andres Miguel Cervantes. I'm a fan.

You have been listening to all Latino from NPR music, our audio editor is Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR music is Seraa Muhammad, and the executive director of NPR music is Sonali Menta. I'm Felix Contreras. And I'm Anna Maria Sayer. Thank you for listening.