NPR Music - Alt.Latino: The sounds of Cuban resilience

Episode Date: June 17, 2026

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.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

From NPR music, this is Alt Latino. I'm Felix Contreras. This week we're going to do all Cuban music. And we have some very, very good new music from artists that we featured on the show, but also because of what's going on in the news. The friends I have made after a few trips to Havana, as well as the entire country, are going through probably one of the toughest times in their history. The U.S. has imposed a month-long energy blockade. So that means a blackouts. Electrical blackouts are common. There's no electricity for homes, for schools, for hospitals. and the Cuban citizens are caught in the middle of this geopolitical power struggle. And in these cases, you know, music can be a way to remind us of the humanity of the people involved and also remind us in this case about the beauty of Cuban music of various styles and genres

that we've featured on the show and that we're going to feature again today. First up is the duo of Afro-Cuban women who call themselves Okan. They left Cuba a while back and have lived in Canada for many, many years. They have recently moved to Miami. They have a new record coming out. This is a single called Ayeel Owo-Lala. As you can hear this track and just about all of their music, their music is very, very rooted in the Afro-Cuban Yoruba tradition. Procussionist Magdalis Savine is an amazing, amazing drummer.

very well versed into traditions as well as the contemporary music. And Elizabeth Rodriguez is on vocals and plays a killer violin. That's part of what makes their project stand out. One of the things to notice about the Cuban musical diaspora is that it's always deeply rooted with the connection to Africa, West Africa, the Yoruba traditions. And no matter where the musicians ends up, that's always what stands out. In this case, is Canada. And that also calls to mind our friend Alex Kuwa, who's also lived in Canada for a number of

And sometimes, you know, when the Cubans are off the island, they can sound even more Cuban the longer they've been away from the country for a while. The track is called Ahe, the group is called Okan. Okay, next up, another duo. This time, it's Lisa Kain de Diaz and Naomi Diaz, twin sisters who call their group Ibeye, which actually means twins in Yoruba. Long-time alt-Latino favorites. They've been in the studio with us. They've done Tiny Desk concert, just a big fan of their music. They have an album coming out in June 26.

It's their first album in a long time. This track is called A Set. Check this one out. What distinguishes I'm a little bit more into the magic. No deletion as I throw the shell sin. What distinguishes I'ma Yi from Okan is that they lean a little bit more into the magic that happens when siblings' hearts. No matter what genre, like country music, soul, anything. When siblings harmonize, it's got a special kind of magic, a special sheen.

And from the first time I've heard their music, I was caught up in those harmonies and the way they layered them. And they use Afro-Cuban tradition, you know, underneath, but lots more contemporary stuff. You know, their siblings, they're based in both France and in Havana. Their dad, by the way, was his famous percussionist named Angadias, who left this world, way too early. He was a phenomenal pioneering, like revolutionary percussionist. They were very young when he passed, so they're carrying on his musical tradition in a very unique and very different way. And one of the things that captured that magic for me was seeing them here in Washington, D.C. at the very storied 930 Club, a famous place, and they had headline. They finally had

a chance to headline there. And the coolest thing was to see like 1,200 people doing a Yoruba chant singing along with them that they had organized. And I got chills just listening and watching that to have that connection to Africa come through so strong in that performance at the 930 Club. The group was called Ivey Yi. The track is called A Set, and the album's going to be called Offering, coming up later in June. Okay, next up, you know, all of these bands, they're all personal favorites, and I've been championing their music on one way or another going back years. Orchesta Aal Khan is next, and they were formed from the remnants of another band, and they are dedicated to this. sound of the classic big band orchestras from Cuba in the 1950s.

Their first album, God, it's almost 10 years ago now, 2018, I didn't realize that. I've seen them a number of times since that first record. Their albums never disappoint. Their performances are even stronger. They have a new album coming out. It's called America. This track is called No Mevoi. There's a very interesting story behind the title, but check this one out.

That is a That is a slow, sultry And Why me I've got to And here I've got to That is a slow, sultry dance form called Wahira. You know, the band is led to

by producer and Cuban 3st player Jacob Placie and pianist arranger Mike Eckroff. You know, their aim is to dig deep into that big band sound. What that means is that there's layers of horns offering both melody and rhythm that you can hear in that track, along with classic Cuban song forms like Mambo, cha-cha-cha, and a very, very slow, romantic boleros. To explain where they are now, I've got to give you just a little tiny bit of history. In the 1940s and 50s, there was a band leader and vocalist known as Machito, an Afro-Cuban, from the island who had this amazing big band in New York City.

It was considered the most progressive and advanced sounding big band playing Cuban music ever. I mean, the group was incredible. The arrangements, the performers, completely absorbed the jazz and Cuban traditions like no other orchestra. Orcesta Aco Khan's previous four albums recorded mostly in Cuba with dynamic performers, very, very deep, authentic sound. And when I saw Orcesta Acoq Khan here in D.C. a while back, They were taking that machito sound and moving it forward. It was incredible.

I literally got goosebumps on my arm from listening to them and understanding what it was that they're doing with the arrangements and the performances. It was really, like, amazing to witness. Their new album is trying something different because the bandleader Jacob Placie says he wanted something more intimate, looking inward. So he had this really crazy, fascinating idea.

He gave the lyricist and the vocalist and an assignment. He wanted them to meditate on this quote, this idea. America, I am here. I said goodbye to the things I loved, and in dreaming I left into a new life. De who did I say goodbye to and what was I dreaming about? This first single is called No Me Voie, and it features Carolina Oliveros, who's actually from Colombia. She's the lead vocalist for the group Combo Chimbita.

She says she took inspiration from Celia Cruz and her unfulfilled longing to return. turn to Cuba. Listen to the passion of her vocals. That is Orcesta Aco Khan from their great new record called America coming out in July 17. That single is called Nomevoi, and that features the vocalist Carolina Oliveros from the group Combo Chimbita. We're going to take a break and we're back with lots more new Cuban music. Okay, we're back with some new Cuban music and now a band that Alt Latino has been following pretty much since the beginning of the career. vocalist Sima Funk and his band La Tribu have a new record coming out. And you know, it captures the intensity of their live show.

And I'll have more to say about that in a second. The album's called Tetocca, or it's your turn. And this track is called Cucinarte. So, okay, so I got to say, one of their very first performances here in the United States was a showcase that Alt Latino presented at South by Southwest in 2019. They had played earlier in the week at a smaller showcase, and that by the time we got them on Friday night, there was a line down the street

because they were the buzz band of the year that year, man. And people wanted to see them, and they did not disappoint, man. The word spread, people lined up. That night, it was like watching a new planet being discovered in space because the band absolutely believed in their mission. They just won that crowd over with this killer, Afro-Cuban jazz fonthing that we're so familiar with now.

To me, that night when I was watching, watching him. It was a combination of James Brown in the 1950s big band singer Benny Morey. Like just this amazing cross-cultural mashup of energy. And the shows that they did, it just, they won fans over one by one. And I've seen it happen many times at jazz festivals or club dates, wherever these guys are performing. People will show up like, who are these guys? And by the end of this show, they have like hundreds of new fans. The only challenge for Sima Funk in his band has been to match that energy in the recording studio.

And this album finally changes that because it was recorded live with all the musicians in the same room at the same time at the legendary criteria studios in Miami. There's so many records that were made in that room. They were visiting some of their older songs but also new material. Again, this record is you can hear

the intricacies, the funk-based, jazz, percussion, and all mixed together. You just can't go wrong, man. I'm a big fan of the band. The new album is called Tatoca. It's out right now. That track is called Cucinarte. And finally, some music made by an artist

who still lives in Atlanta, at least part-time, and is very much part of the musical history of the island. Echis Elfonso has a follow-up to his very beautiful and Latin Grammy-winning album. called Ancestros Symphonikos. This record is an incredibly, deeply emotional tribute to Cuban Trova. And I'll explain what that is in a second. This is a cover of one of my favorite songs of all time,

Silvio Rodriguez's heartbreaking song Unicornio. Sylvia I've got I'm Sylvia Sylvia Rodrigues wrote this in 1982 and I first heard it

in the early 1990s It was on this compilation of music And it was the live version The original symbolism of unicorn as a lost love in this case. Back then and even now, it's referring to what Latin Americans call patria, a deep love of country and culture that sometimes leaves or disappears for various reasons over the course of history. You know, this album has been called a requiem for Cuba. It is covers of all this amazing trova music from the 1960s and 70s, which is basically Cuban folk

music written by musicians who were singing about patria, who are singing about the glory of the Cuban culture, Cuban society, Cuban history, Cuban music, usually acoustic guitar-based, sometimes with groups, congas, bass players, etc. And when you listen to the record, some of the greatest torova songs are reinterpreted with so much passion. But what's going on in the country today, that it's just unmistakesthet. It's just how much love there is from Ekes-Alfonso and the people who made the record, as well as all Cubans who have left the island. It's almost like a statement of what's going on in the island.

That was the unmistakable voice of Silvio Rodriguez on his song Unicornio from the new album called Aire, from Cuban musician Ekes-Alfonso, who says the album's title is an acronym that stands for, for Accordes Inovidables and Romances de Espera, unforgettable chords and romances of hope, which reflects the time we're living in at the moment. As I said at the start of the show, it's important that we keep in mind the lives that exist in the middle of this geopolitical moment.

And I think that the music we shared in this episode reminds us that Cuba's not just a fixed spot on a map. It's something that Cuban musicians carry within themselves wherever they are, wherever they go. And whatever it does or doesn't happen, the music and the musicians will continue to be a resilient statement of Cuban identity.

You have been listening to Alt Latino from NPR Music, our audio editor is Noah Caldwell. Sarea Mohamed is executive producer of NPR Music, and executive director of NPR Music, As always, we love hearing from you. Send us an email and let us know what you've been listening to these days, or if you have any Cuban music you'd like to share with us. And if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review on Apple or Spotify

or wherever you're listening right now. I'm Felix Contreras. Thank you for listening.