Alt.Latino: Ana's summer playlist

Summary

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NPR Music – Alt.Latino: Ana’s Summer Playlist

Date: August 5, 2026
Hosts: Felix Contreras & Ana Maria Sayer

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Episode Overview

In this vibrant episode of Alt.Latino, Ana Maria Sayer rides the high of her first-ever DJ gig to curate her ultimate Songs of the Summer playlist, while Felix Contreras jumps in with his own fresh picks. The duo explores the evolving soundscape of Latin music for summer, highlighting new hits, genre-crossing jams, and scenes from Spain to the Bay Area. There’s playful banter, DJ confessions, deep dives into music discovery, and moments of nostalgia—all through their signature chisme-infused lens.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

DJ Debut & The "Quesadille" Story

• [00:33–01:44] Ana shares the story of her first, impromptu DJ performance at Central Park's SummerStage, opening for Julieta Venegas.
  • Never DJed before, showed up with only 10 songs on a USB.
  • Adopted the DJ name “Quesadille”—noting amusingly that she’s not the only one using it.
• Ana Maria Sayer:

  “Did I play to 5,000 people? Felix? Yes, I did. David Guetta, watch out.” (01:45)

Spotify, Spanish Bops, & Shifting Scenes

• [02:42–05:22] Ana’s first pick:
  • “El Baifo” by Quevedo (Canary Islands, Spain).
  • Notes Quevedo’s meteoric rise since 2023 and a growing Spanish presence in her summer playlists.
• Ana Maria Sayer:

  “Most of my songs...are from Spaniards, which I’m like—usually my songs of the summer are very closely aligned with the Caribbean, but...the Spaniards are really going to town lately.” (03:41)

Felix Spotlights San Francisco’s Cross-Genre Cool

• [05:25–09:05] Felix’s pick:
  • “Descarga Roqueada” by Camilo Landau y Los Cruisers.
  • Celebrates San Francisco’s genre-blending, the long tradition of musicians playing across styles and bands.
  • Features Carl Perazo (Santana's conguero) and producer Greg Landau (San Francisco Rock en Español pioneer).
• Felix Contreras:

  “I’m always a sucker for these kind of guitar grooves, these long jams...with this very interesting, a lot of fun, rhythmic interplay underneath.” (07:21)

The Era of Uplifting Pop Choruses (and TikTok Bangers)

• [09:36–13:36] Ana brings:
  • “Super Estrella” by Aitana—a massive, sing-along Spanish pop hit, “the verified official song of the summer.”
  • Discusses the trend toward direct, catchy early-2000s-style choruses.
  • Bonus track: “Mon Amour (Remix)” also by Aitana, tracing her reality-TV roots and Barcelona’s current pop scene surge.
• Ana Maria Sayer:

  “Let’s just have like a really singable, fun, straightforward melody...that just feels, I think, really nice...That’s just all anyone really wants right now.” (11:05)

Behind the Scenes: Grateful Dead Project

• [16:56–17:58] Felix explains his absence at Ana's DJ gig:
  • He's working with Isabella Gomez Sarmiento on a comprehensive project exploring Grateful Dead's legacy after Bob Weir’s passing.
  • Includes podcasts, written features, and a “Summer Dead tour.”

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Music Discovery: Jazz Meets Candombe

• [18:29–23:51] Felix highlights “I Dare You” by Alejandra Gala (Uruguayan trumpeter, guitarist, former synchronized swimmer, and circus acrobat).
  • Describes finding her via TikTok and diving into her jazz interpretation of candombe, inspired by Wayne Shorter’s definition of jazz: “I dare you.”
  • Notes Gala's upcoming album, her thesis at Berklee about gender and tradition in rhythm, and a fresh cultural lens on Latin jazz.
• Felix Contreras:

  “She was the first ever Uruguayan accepted into the Berklee School of Music’s Global Jazz Institute.” (22:46)

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The Evolution of Raíces and Pop Crossovers

• [23:59–27:19] Ana on Rawayana:
  • Song: “Se vienen Cositas”—a danceable, increasingly poppy and electronic track from the Venezuelan group, off their album “Donde Se.”
  • Traces their move from alternative roots to a polished pop-reggaeton style.
  • Notes their growing renown—recently featured on Barack Obama's summer playlist.
• Ana Maria Sayer:

  “They started really quite alternative...and have been moving towards [pop] with this last record being their most, like, pop, reggaeton, electronic record yet...but they do always have interesting rhythms.” (24:04)

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Emerging Talent: The Tiaras from Austin

• [27:24–31:43] Felix closes with:
  • “Vida Libre” and “Black Sheep” from The Tiaras, a trio of sisters from Austin, Texas.
  • Describes discovering them as kids at SXSW and following their growth into mature musicians.
  • Their new album (out August 28) blends pop and cumbia, collaborating with Charanga Cakewalk (Michael Ramos).
• Felix Contreras:

  “I’ve been watching them mature as musicians...It’s been so impressive to watch them and to look at what they’ve become—like, the command of the instruments, the songwriting and all that.” (29:27)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ana, on curated chaos:

  “My specialty was picking really, really, really different songs to transition between...let me go from Teenage Dream to like, a really deep cut cumbia.” (09:25)

• On Barcelona’s pop boom:

  “Lately Barcelona’s really been having its moment with the artists from there...which is really interesting. It’s not all that common or it hasn’t been in the past.” – Ana Maria Sayer (12:44)

• On discovering music on TikTok:

  “That is like the most authentic form of music discovery on TikTok I’ve ever heard of.” – Ana Maria Sayer (21:12)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Ana's DJ confession & summer playlist intro: 00:33–02:20
• Quevedo’s “El Baifo”: 02:42–05:22
• Felix’s Bay Area pick (“Descarga Roqueada”): 05:25–09:05
• Aitana’s “Super Estrella” & pop commentary: 09:36–13:36
• Break & Grateful Dead project reveal: 15:19–17:58
• Alejandra Gala’s jazz-candombe fusion: 18:29–23:51
• Rawayana’s evolution & summery track: 23:59–27:19
• The Tiaras’ coming-of-age and “Vida Libre”: 27:24–31:43

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Episode Flow and Energy

The episode combines playful DJ banter, personal anecdotes, sharp insights about current Latin music trends, and a deep respect for musical roots and innovation. Ana’s journey from fake-it-’til-you-make-it DJ to confident curator is a running thread that lightens the expert-level music journalism listeners have come to love from Alt.Latino. Felix’s reverence for tradition and excitement for the next generation rounds out the summer vibe.

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Conclusion

Ana and Felix offer a playlist and a perspective that captures both the joy and the complexity of Latin music summer 2026—from viral TikTok tracks and Spanish pop bangers to jazz-infused candombe and genre-bending U.S. scenes. The episode is an essential listen (or read!) for anyone crafting their own songs of the summer.

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Transcript

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show this podcast contains explicit language.

[Felix Contreras]

From NPR Music. This is Aunt Latino. I'm Felix Contreras.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

And I'm Ana Maria Sayer. Let the chisme begin.

[Felix Contreras]

Is it really Ana Maria Sayer or do you have a DJ name? What is it? What's the deal here?

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Formally, officially, and I'm a little scared to be saying this publicly because I don't want to be sued Formally, officially, I like to say that my DJ name is Quesadille, which I did originally, without influence, come up with. However, it has recently come to my attention that there is in fact a competing Quesadille.

[Felix Contreras]

And let's explain to listeners why you had to find a DJ name.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I recently performed my first, maybe only DJ gig, maybe tbd. We don't know if there will be another one. I was invited to perform at the summer stage in Central park opening for Julieta Venegas. I was asked if I dj and I said, I dabble, which was a lie. I had never DJed in my life. So I thought to myself, well, they asked me. With five months of time, of course I'll learn. And then I realized the day of that I had never, I had never learned. So I showed up to my gig with 10 songs on my USB that I had downloaded at the Apple store 20 minutes before.

[Felix Contreras]

Ten songs?

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Yes. And did I make it work? Yes. And did I play to 5,000 people? Felix? Yes, I did. David Guetto, watch out. So, speaking of. Okay, wait. Actually, speaking of, today we're talking about new music, but I, riding the high of my DJ success was like, forget new music, I'm a DJ now. And I was like, it's time for me to play my songs of the summer. So it's like new music, but more like kind of new music and with a summer vibe is what I would call this episode.

[Felix Contreras]

You sprung this on me at the last minute. So I wasn't able to bring my own summer vibe music.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I did that intentionally so that my songs could shine brighter.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Yeah.

[Felix Contreras]

So I have some new music, some new tracks that work fine for summer. Not exactly summer music, but let's carry on since it's your. You're changing the theme you start us off.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Okay, so I've decided to start us off with a song that I really have been listening to all summer long. It's off of the Quevedo album that was released earlier this year. Now, when this album was released, I actually did bring on some songs from it, but not this one. I didn't come to this one until, like, two months ago. And it's been a track I've been going back to over and over. The song is called El Baifo. The. So, interestingly enough, Felix, most of my songs that I'm bringing in today are from Spaniards, which I'm like. Usually my songs of the summer are very closely aligned with the Caribbean, but I don't know, the Spaniards are really going to town lately. And this song specifically, it's like a complex, nice, bumpy dance song. I mean, Quevedo started releasing music only in 2023 and, like, blew up. You know that song that's like, Que D. Okay. Yeah. Ever since then, he's really been blowing up. And he's from the Canary Islands. I brought on a merengue from him. Do you remember that?

[Felix Contreras]

Yes, I do. It was very cool.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

And the connection between that music and the Dominican Republic, which also. There's a very interesting connection between the Canary Islands and Chile that we'll get into another time. The point is, I loved the album back then when I heard it, but I didn't come to this song till later. And it's been something. It's kind of just that perfect summer song. And he really is kind of an expert in that. So that's my first song of the summer for you, Felix.

[Felix Contreras]

I can hear it. I'm willing to listen to that for a few more times this summer.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

That was the song El Baifo from the artist Quebeo.

[Felix Contreras]

I'm gonna change it up just a little bit. Two weeks ago, I hosted an event in San Francisco's Mission District for our station, our NPR station at kqed with three amazing San Francisco bands, including La Dona, who we've played here on the show. Her band featured a musician who is a Bay Area veteran band leader, producer, musician, guitar player. His name is Camilo Landau. He's guitar, student, vocalist. He had a cool band a while back called Carne Cuda. I played one of his tracks years ago. He has a new project out right now called Camilo Elos Cruisers. This new single is called Descarga Ro. Check it out,

[Music/Audio Clips]

Sam.

[Felix Contreras]

Okay, so it's basically a guitar jam.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

It is, but it's not at all

[Felix Contreras]

right thank you for that. Yeah, because, you know, remember, I came to age.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Put some respect on your music name, Felix.

[Felix Contreras]

Well, you know, remember I came of age listening to music in the 70s when, you know, lead guitar players were the. Were the gods, were the. Were the big deal, sometimes even more so than the lead singers. So I'm always a sucker for these kind of guitar grooves, these long jams, these things. But with this curious, very interesting, a lot of fun, rhythmic interplay underneath. You know, I actually played with him a few years ago, many years ago, pre pandemic here in D.C. and I've watched him, like, grow and develop, and he's become this very, very expressive and creative player. But the song also reflects this really cool scene that's happening in the Bay Area, which has always been the case, even when I was living in California and going to hear music and playing stuff up there. Like everybody plays with everybody in different genres, different styles. It sort of reminds me very similar to what happens in Puerto Rico when people cross pollinate from different genres and styles. The same thing happens in the Bay Area, the East Bay, Oakland, San Francisco, all over the place. And Camilo is one of these guys that's played with a lot of different bands. Like I said, he was playing with LA and she had a. Oof. That thing was like Afro Cuban cumbia. It was all kinds of stuff. And he was right there nailing it the whole time. This track includes the conga player from Santana, Carl Perazo, laying this really funky kind of Afro Cuban thing underneath. You know, when he sent me the track, I just immediately like, oh, I gotta find a place for this. The other thing about this is that it's also produced by Greg Landau, who's his uncle. He's a very important figure in the Rock en Espanol movement in San Francisco in the early 90s. He produced a lot of pioneering music in the 90s, in the earliest days of Rock Espanol in California. That is a track called Descarga Roqueada and the artist is Camilo Landau. Camilo Ilos Cruisers.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Very Felix Coded pick. And I love. Fits my summer playlist, actually. I will accept its admittance. I would have played it at my DJ gig. My specialty was picking really, really, really different songs to transition between.

[Felix Contreras]

Oh, nice.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I don't know if that's how you're supposed to do it, but that's what

[Felix Contreras]

we do on the show here every week, man.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Maybe that's why I have it programmed in my brain. I'm like, oh, let me pick something really Random and different. Like, let me go from like teenage dream to like a really deep cut, Cumbia.

[Felix Contreras]

Yeah, they're too similar. We're not playing them one after another.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Okay, so spe now it's time for me to really pivot, but in a way that feels like not that hard of a pivot to me because also a bop, just a different kind of bop. This is a song that I have been hearing literally everywhere. I don't know what happened, why it blew up. It's off a 2025 album, but it is like probably the verified official song of the summer. It's from Spanish singer Aitana and it's called Super Estrella. So I was in the car with some friends the other day and we were listening to the song for the fifth time in a row and every time you sing it louder than the last time, so it's like a whole new song. And we were talking about how, I mean, this really does sound just like one of these classic early 2000s, just like chest opening pop songs. And we're like, I think that that's just all anyone really wants right now. Like, don't make it complicated. Like, let's just have like a really singable, fun, straightforward melody that just like opens up into this big thing that everyone can sing and feel good about. Like, that just feels, I think, really nice. And that these things are always cyclical and that feels like where we're headed right now in some areas. Right. We also have these like, really complex, like interesting rhythms and whatever pulling from all parts of Latin America. But that's like the other side of it. It's just like a fun chest opening, big chorus song.

[Felix Contreras]

Man, that's. I really got to think about that. That's really very true about where we are right now and the duality of it and things that make you go.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Things that make you go. And this is Spanish singer Aitana, who, weirdly enough, Felix, do you remember how I told you Amaya, other Spanish singer. Yeah. Got famous because she was on a reality TV singing show in Spain. Same thing with a. I don't know what it is, but she had the exact same thing. She was on this reality TV show in Spain. She got big off of it. She's been making music since 2017 when she was on that show. Her debut album was 2019. She's also from Barcelona, which, again, a really interesting thing that. I don't know what it is. Lately Barcelona's really been having its moment with the artist from there, which is really interesting. It's not all that common or it hasn't been in the past and now repeatedly. Same thing with Amaya. Obviously Rosalia is a great example, but I keep going back to that Barcelona scene so she's a great representative of that. When Spain won the World cup, she got on stage with them and the whole team danced while she sang this song. It really is wow. No, it's like the Spanish language world defining song right now. Like everyone knows it and everyone is singing it. So I had to bring it on as a verified song of the summer.

[Felix Contreras]

That is allowed.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

And I'm gonna give you one more bonus one because I figured why not give you a little more Aytana. This one is actually from 2021 and I found it because of Super Estrella but I want to play it because also a great song of the summer. It's called Mon Amor and this is the remixed Ve. That was a couple of songs from the Spanish singer Ayta Me and I think it's break time already.

[Felix Contreras]

Let's take a break. Good idea.

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[Ana Maria Sayer]

So Felix, you were supposed to show up at my DJ gig, but you told me you Were too busy. So what's up? You better have a good excuse.

[Felix Contreras]

I do have a good excuse. Art friend and colleague Isabella Gomez Sarmiento and I have been working on all summer. Been working on this project about the Grateful Dead, you know, as you know, both she and I are very, very big Grateful Dead fans. And our editors, Jacob Gantz and Hazel Seale, suggested that we take a look at what happens to Grateful Dead music and fans now that the last principal member of the band, Bob Weir, died in January. We're doing three written pieces. There's lots of social media. We did a call out podcast and we're running it during August and August 9, which are called the Days Between Grateful dead world, because August 1st was when Jerry Garcia was born. August 9th was when he died in 1995. So there's lots of stuff to listen to and to read. Isa and I actually did a road tour. We traveled a bunch of places to talk to Deadheads, go to festivals and stuff. We did our own Summer Dead tour. So we have all of this really amazing stuff. We've been working very hard, which is why I haven't been answering your text, why I didn't go to your party. That's why I've been absent for a little bit.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I'm gonna have to listen to it, and then I'll let you know if your excuse is accepted or not.

[Felix Contreras]

Well, you know, our friend Robin Hilton, who's the host of All Songs Considered, just was never a fan and he thinks we moved the needle on him a little bit.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

So Robin's a tough cookie to crack, is that the saying?

[Felix Contreras]

It was close enough on us. Okay, the next track I'm gonna play is since that banging club track you had last. I'm gonna take us to the Chill out room.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Okay. See, there's always. There's always a connection.

[Felix Contreras]

Ana, have you noticed that recently, within this year, there have been several references to Uruguayan Kandombe music and culture, Right?

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Yes. Okay, we referenced.

[Felix Contreras]

I have one more that I found on social media. I'm really proud of myself. Da da da. This is Alejandra Gala, who is a trumpet player and guitar player from Uruguay. We're going to hear more about her in a minute, but this is a jazz interpretation of Kandombe, and the song is called I Dare you. And there's a story behind the title, too. But let's hear the music first.

[Music/Audio Clips]

Ra. Sam,

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I guess I'm wondering where you found this, first of all.

[Felix Contreras]

Actually, I found it on Tik Tok. Everybody teases me because I Spent so much time on Tik Tok. But I saw this video of her talking about this particular song and the use of kandobe drummers and stuff on in her music. Then I saw her playing trumpet. It was just like a 30, 45 second video. And I tracked it down. I wrote to the people on TikTok and it was her record label and they blah, blah, blah, they sent me all this other stuff. But that's how I found out about her. And I'm really glad I did because it's one of these musicians that I've been featuring, musicians from Latin America who are interpreting jazz through their own cultural lens. And this is one of the standouts

[Ana Maria Sayer]

that is like the most authentic form of Music Discovery on TikTok I've ever heard of. Like the whole thing about discovering music on TikTok is that like you people game the algorithm and that's how you find it. And this was just like an authentic like, oh my God, I found this thing. I love. The other thing I was gonna say fi is the reason I asked is because recently I was talking to some friends who are who decided to make an album and kind of like a. I told you about this in more of like a jammy communal. Everyone contributes style classic for how albums were produced in the past, much less classic now. And I immediately thought of the way that Jorge Drexler had described to us his way of producing his very Kandombe based record and the fact that he went to these roombas, these circles in Uruguay in these very jam style experiences and that's how he ended up creating the album. And the way that you find a really natural meeting point between jazz and folk folkloric, especially styles like Candombe is in the actual production of the thing. Right. Like they're both produced in a tit for tat dance kind of give and take, community experience. And so this style is like actually made perfectly for each other.

[Felix Contreras]

And I gotta tell you about Alejandra Gala's backstory. She is a former synchronized swimmer on Uruguay's national swim team.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Wow.

[Felix Contreras]

She also worked as an acrobat in a circus.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Felix, this is like all of your favorite things. I know, right? It's like percussion and she picked up

[Felix Contreras]

a guitar and trumpet along the way. She was the first ever Uruguayan accepted into the Berklee School of Music's Global Jazz Institute. And she studied there with the biggest names in jazz, including pianist Danilo Perez, who's from Panama and famously played for many, many years with Wayne Shorter and his quartet the Song I played you I Dare you is Wayne Shorter's very, very Zen answer to someone who said, hey, Mr. Shorter, how do you define jazz? And he says, jazz is I dare you. That's the essence of everything about jazz. And that she named that her song based on his answer.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Wow.

[Felix Contreras]

She has a full album coming in November. It's called Bajo del Arbol Un Tambor. The email for the record label says it's developed from her thesis at Berklee, and her thesis was titled Tradition and Gender, a story about cymbals, women and rhythm. Again, the artist is named Alejandra Gala. This track was called I Dare youe and Ana. It already feels like it has a spot on my end of the year list. I'm just saying.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

And maybe on my summer playlist too, Felix. I don't know. It was a bit of a party.

[Felix Contreras]

It's a nice little chill room experience, right?

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Exactly. Okay, now going back to the less chill room experience. This track I maybe have already played on the show. It was one of, at least off of one of the first things we played on the show this year, the album from Rabollana called Donde Se. LAUGHTER this song specifically is the one that I'm listening to all the time because it's just so danceable. It's called Seviennen Cosit. You know, the thing about Ra and they have consistently gotten more and more, I would say, like, they've moved towards a more pop realm with each album. They started really quite alternative, actually. If you listen to their earlier album, Felix, like, they really were kind of doing something that's not poppy, that's not dancey, necessarily in the same way. And they've been moving towards it with this last record being their most, like, pop, reggaeton, electronic record yet. But they do always have interesting rhythms. Like, I appreciate that they keep it kind of a little more complex and interesting and have interesting percussion, a lot of points in this record. The record has stayed, like, I have really consistently heard this, this album in a lot of places for the whole year so far. Ingles in Miami, a song that they did with Manuel Muerturi, so actually just made it onto Barack Obama's summer playlist, believe it or not.

[Felix Contreras]

Oh, my God.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

So, yes, it's dancing, it's poppy, but in a way that has staying power, which if it's like too syrupy, sweet pop to me, then it kind of just like falls off really quick. And it was not that. So, you know, they're really making a name for themselves. Honestly, Felix, they just Signed a Remus. They're doing all kinds of things. They were just kind of a smaller band from Venezuela up until. Up until, and partially because of, I will say, the tiny dust that they played, which did incredibly well. So I'm always excited to hear what they're making. And this album has made its way into a lot of my summer parties. I'm not gonna lie.

[Felix Contreras]

You introduced me to them. And you're right. It's been fun watching them.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

It's been fun watching the journey.

[Felix Contreras]

Yeah. Morph into something and become, I guess, maybe more true to themselves or just another area of who they are. It's been fun.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

That was the song Se vienen Cocitas from the band Rawayan.

[Felix Contreras]

Okay, Ana, I'm gonna close out with this song again, man. We connected in a way that we didn't expect.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

We're always telepathy, Dude.

[Felix Contreras]

I have an actual song of the summer for you.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

What?

[Felix Contreras]

Yes. I'm gonna play a track from a group called the Tiaras, and they are a trio of sisters from Austin, Texas. They've been making music for a long time. They started releasing music in 2022. They have a new single coming from their first ever album coming out later this year. This track is called Vida Libre, and it features a collaboration with Charanga Cakewalk from Austin. Check this.

[Music/Audio Clips]

We find ourselves in It's a place where all is God given in light to us but do we believe in. Living free? The freedom sensation, you and me this spirit begins can't we see the true destination? Feel the peace let's drink it all in don't they get again distance.

[Felix Contreras]

I can see I got some head movement there in the studio.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

From you, Felix. It's not that hard to make me dance, but I did love the track.

[Felix Contreras]

Okay, so the Tiaras are Tori, Sophia and Tiffany Baltierra. You know, Anna, I met them, God, at least ten years ago at south by Southwest. Like, many, many years ago. And I think they were in middle school. Okay. I saw them performing at an unofficial showcase somewhere at a park or something while I was there for south by. And I. They caught my attention because they were so talented even then. And we've had this, like, pen pal, like, connection over the years because they would send me videos of their performances over the years of the stuff they're working on. And I got to say, I've been waiting for this moment to play their music for a very long time because I've been watching them mature as musicians. It's been so impressive to watch them and to look at what they've become like, the command of the instruments, the songwriting and all that. They have an album coming out in August 28th that listen to the whole thing and it really caught my attention because of the maturity of the music, their approach to music. It sort of leans toward pop, as yous Heard, which is not exactly my wheelhouse. But I've been watching them for so long and watching them get to this point. They can play a mean cumbia, man. They mix it all together on this record. I want to play one more it's called Black Sheep and the stripped down version of what they do, and it really features the strength of their songwriting. Check it out.

[Music/Audio Clips]

Rock solid as a mystery. So I chased down all of my tendencies. How I look the other way in an unfamiliar place I belong to. Mind racing an epiphany. Feels like I've got some work cut out for me. Like what's it take for me to stay and make a clean escape? I call out to you, you black sheep running with the wolves and the flowers that bloom Yoo black sheep running with the wolves in the flowers that bloom.

[Felix Contreras]

You know, the other thing about this record is as I mentioned, the song that we played first is called Vida Libre and it feature Charanga Cakewalk from Austin. Charanga Cakewalk is the project of a guy named Michael Ramos, who's a very, very talented musician, producer, all around cool music guy in Austin. He's worked on a lot of things. He had a project out called Charanga Cakewalk for a long time and they had one of the best album titles of all time called Chicano Zen and he added some of his Chicano Zen to their music. Congrats to the TRS for a great new single and a great album coming out later this year. You have been listening to Alt Latino from NPR Music. Our audio producer is Noah Caldwell.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

The executive producer of NPR Music is Saray Muhammad.

[Felix Contreras]

Sonali Mehta is executive director of NPR Music.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

We want to hear from you.

[Felix Contreras]

Drop us a line wherever you're listening to this podcast or send us an email. We'd love to hear what you think.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Our email is altLatinonpred work.

[Felix Contreras]

I'm Felix Contreras.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

And I'm Ana Maria Sayer.

[Felix Contreras]

Thank you for listening.

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[Felix Contreras]

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