Alt.Latino: The Vaqueros of Hawaii

Summary

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NPR Music Alt.Latino: New Music from Japan and Hawaii – Plus a Tribute to Totó La Momposina

Date: May 27, 2026
Hosts: Felix Contreras & Ana Maria Sayer

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Episode Overview

This vibrant episode of Alt.Latino is a whirlwind world tour of new music discoveries, illuminating cross-cultural experimentation and deep historical ties, punctuated by a heartfelt tribute to the legendary Totó La Momposina. Hosts Felix Contreras and Ana Maria Sayer share their latest favorite tracks—from a Brazilian jazz prodigy and Japanese-Latin cumbia fusions, to Puerto Rican experimental reggaetón, Hawaiian-Mexican history, Venezuelan percussion innovation, and finally, the mighty presence of Totó. The discussion celebrates how Latin music dialogue extends far beyond borders, constantly evolving through collaboration, migration, and shared roots.

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Key Segments & Highlights

1. Brazilian Jazz-Electronic Prodigy: Bebe

[02:18 – 06:03]

• Track played: Two songs from Bebe’s new album Oluseo
• Ana’s intro:
  • Bebe is "22 years old, from Brazil," producing her debut album herself.
  • Discovered at age 11 for her “incredible jazz, deep, beautiful voice.”
  • “She's obviously gotten a lot more experimental in her production... But the core of that sound is, yes, that absolutely stunning, gorgeous vocal.” (Ana, 02:29)
• Felix’s reaction:
  • “That's what I liked about it.” (Felix, 03:31)
  • Notes the explosion of new Brazilian music, complimenting Ana’s knack for finding the freshest artists: “Let me send you Ana's playlist, because this stuff that's coming out of Brazil right now is just astounding.” (Felix, 05:14)
• Ana’s humor:
  • “I try to bring other things, but... I hear, oh, the next new thing from Brazil. Oh, bueno, never mind. I'm bringing five Brazilian artists again!” (Ana, 04:57)
• Essential moment:
  • Bebe’s evolving sound becomes a motif for the episode’s celebration of boundary-pushing Latin artists.

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2. Japan-Latin America Fusion: Minyo Crusaders ft. Frente Cumbiero

[06:03 – 10:22]

• Track played: “Hanagasa Ondo”
• Felix’s enthusiasm for cultural mashups:
  • “Minyo is a form of traditional Japanese folk music... but they mix it... with Latin music from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa. There’s all these great, great mashups.” (Felix, 07:28)
  • Expresses surprise at not discovering the band sooner: “Why didn’t I know these guys?”
• Ana’s insight into Japan’s Latin music interest:
  • “There’s kind of like a weird... explosion or interest in Latin music in Japan... there’s a couple festivals... bringing a bunch of Latin artists to Japan.” (Ana, 08:22)
• Felix on Japanese subcultures:
  • Mentions the “cholo” subculture fascination and the country’s huge jazz scene.
• Memorable quote:
  • “Don’t lie, man, that singing fits perfectly with Kumbia, right?” (Felix, 09:33)
• Upcoming release:
  • Band: Minyo Crusaders
  • Album: From Japan With Love (out June 26)
  • Continuing motif: Japanese tastes embracing and innovating Latin forms.

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3. Puerto Rico Meets Japan: Álvaro Díaz’s Genre Bending

[10:22 – 17:42]

• Tracks played: “C Sh,” “Bienzo en t,” “In a row 62”
• Ana on Álvaro Díaz:
  • “One of the most consistently underrated artists... He just hasn’t reached, like, the levels of, like, let’s say, a Raulejandro or a Feid. But he’s so innovative.” (Ana, 10:37)
  • Notes Japanese connection—his album is titled “Omakase”, and features experimental, intentional genre fusion.
• Felix’s analogy:
  • “It’s like walking through this big house... and that’s the first part of the song... then there’s a completely different sonic texture... I’m just a sucker for that stuff, man.” (Felix, 12:56)
• Ana’s perspective on authenticity in fusion:
  • “There’s people who are just trying to throw together a bunch of sounds... And then there’s people like Álvaro... who does this so intentionally. This entire album is a discourse.” (Ana, 14:13)
  • Talks about the complex, non-cliché incorporation of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Venezuelan influences.
• Essential motif:
  • True genre-bending “done right,” with deep roots and intentionality—a recurring theme in the episode.

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4. Mexican-Hawaiian Connections: Los Cenzontles & “Vaquero Paniolo”

[19:02 – 24:27]

• Track played: “Vaquero Paniolo” from Adios Que Aloha: Waves of the Same Sea
• Felix gives a ‘history lesson’:
  • Shares a fascinating story about Mexican vaqueros in 1800s Hawaii, whose cattle skills were imported to manage burgeoning cattle populations introduced from Mexico—with “a little bit of Mexican vaquero history ended up in Hawaii. I never knew that.” (Felix, 19:16–22:39)
• Collaborators: Album includes David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Taj Mahal, and Hawaiian musicians; mashups of Mexican and Hawaiian musical traditions.
• Ana connects to current Latin music discourse:
  • Brings up Bad Bunny putting Hawaii in the Latin music spotlight and how music can “take form” from real histories and new cultural exchanges. (Ana, 23:24)
• Key quote:
  • “...in a way that was more organic and not, I’m just going to say, imperialistic, because this was Mexico before it was the United States.” (Felix, 24:01)

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5. Venezuelan Percussion Avant-Garde: Orestes Gómez

[24:29 – 29:21]

• Tracks played: “Perona,” “Estrellas” from No Me Fui Porque Quise
• Ana introduces Orestes Gómez:
  • Venezuelan percussionist, focuses on “fascinating, percussive sounds from everywhere—from the Caribbean, from the globe.”
  • “He was the center of the audience... But he plays with all of these just fascinating, percussive sounds.” (Ana, 25:59)
• Features Venezuelan vocalist Mari la Carajita.
• Felix highlights importance of music amid crisis:
  • “It’s important to play stuff like this... when you consider some of the artists in Cuba, that’s gonna–that’s sort of out there as well. It’s important to turn back to the music and the musicians to figure out what’s going on and how people are feeling.” (Felix, 28:55)
• Cultural reflection:
  • Orestes’ album is “very Venezuelan... representative of pieces of that experience of what is Venezuela right now physically in the country still.” (Ana, 27:47)

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6. Heartfelt Tribute: Totó La Momposina

[29:28 – 34:34]

[Key Segment: 29:28 – 34:34]

• Felix pays tribute:
  • Announces Totó’s passing at age 85, lauds her as “one of the great voices of Latin America...a practitioner of Afro Colombian music.”
  • “She was born Sonia Basante Videz, but the world knew her as Totó la Momposina.” (Felix, 29:32)
• Career highlights:
  • Early Colombian recordings; 1993’s La Candela Viva for Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records brought international fame.
• Musical legacy showcased:
  • Play excerpts:
    • “La Candela Viva”
    • “Zapate Sequeda” (w/ Lila Downs & Celso Piña, 2011)
    • “Así lo canto” (w/ Monica Giraldo)
    • “Latinoamérica” by Calle 13 (with Totó, Susana Baca, Maria Rita)
    • “La Verdo Laga” from her last EP, Mono Colorado (2023)
• Ana’s reflection:
  • “Her voice lends this, like, grandiosity, this graciousness.” (Ana, 30:41)
• Felix underlines her majesty:
  • “There’s that quality, like a Celia Cruz quality...these folk musicians, they have a majesty to their voice.” (Felix, 31:32)

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Notable Quotes

• Ana, on genre cross-pollination:
  “There’s people who are just trying to throw together a bunch of sounds... and then there’s people like Álvaro... who does this so intentionally. This entire album is a discourse.” (14:13)
• Felix, on culture and discovery:
  “The variety of musical expressions just, it’s overwhelming.” (19:02)
• Felix, on Totó La Momposina:
  “She was one of the great voices of Latin America...a practitioner of Afro Colombian music.” (29:28)
• Ana, on Venezuelan percussion:
  “He (Orestes Gómez) was the center of the performance, but he plays with all of these just fascinating, percussive sounds from everywhere—from the Caribbean, from the globe.” (25:57)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:18] – Bebe’s debut album & Brazil spotlight
• [06:03] – Minyo Crusaders: Japanese/Latin fusion
• [10:22] – Álvaro Díaz and the new face of reggaetón
• [19:02] – Los Cenzontles: Mexico-Hawaii historical mashup
• [24:29] – Orestes Gómez: Venezuelan percussionist’s powerhouse
• [29:28] – Tribute to Totó La Momposina
  • [30:15] – “La Candela Viva”
  • [31:00–34:34] – Collaborations and legacy selections

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Episode Takeaways

• Global cross-pollination is thriving, from Japan’s embrace of cumbia to Puerto Rican experiments with Japanese themes, and the complex sonic landscapes of Latin America itself.
• Historical ties—like those between Mexico and Hawaii—continue to inspire new artistic works and illuminate overlooked stories.
• Legends like Totó La Momposina set the gold standard for tradition-rooted innovation, their influence extending across generations and continents.
• The hosts emphasize intentionality and authenticity in fusion, distinguishing between mere trend-chasing and deeply rooted, meaningful experimentation.

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For Further Listening

Explore highlighted albums and artists from this episode:

• Bebe – Oluseo
• Minyo Crusaders – From Japan With Love (out June 26)
• Álvaro Díaz – Omakase
• Los Cenzontles – Adios Que Aloha: Waves of the Same Sea
• Orestes Gómez – No Me Fui Porque Quise
• Totó La Momposina – La Candela Viva, Mono Colorado (EP)

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For podcast listeners and Latin music fans alike, this Alt.Latino episode is a passport to essential new sounds and timeless inspiration, echoing from Tokyo to the Caribbean, and from São Paulo to Honolulu.

Transcript

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[Felix Contreras]

okay, Anna, before we start the show, we're going to do another new music show because there's so much stuff, but also because you and I are both kind of busy for the rest of the summer.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I know it's going to be one of those summers. You're going to be up in the gym, Felix, as per usual. I'm gonna be in Spain, as per usual.

[Felix Contreras]

I'm working on a couple of different stories, doing a couple of different interviews with some legends that we're gonna have later on in the summer and just doing a bunch of stuff. So yeah, this is. We gotta pack in.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Let's get some new music in.

[Felix Contreras]

Let's get it in right now. A lot of really cool stuff. Cross border stuff this week. Here we go. From NPR Music, this is Alt Latino. I'm Felix Contreras.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

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

[Felix Contreras]

I guess the cheeseman has to be new music this week and you get to go first. What do you got, man? I can't wait.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Oh, you're gonna like this. Can I just not even say anything and just make you hear it right away? Let's just do that.

[Felix Contreras]

Yeah, let's do.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Oh my God, did I win today? Did I already win? Did I win with my first song before saying a single word?

[Felix Contreras]

Oh my gosh. What was that? Where did it come from? What is it? Who is it?

[Ana Maria Sayer]

22 years old, Bebe from, I mean, you guessed it, Brazil. Obviously this is her first album that she's ever produced herself is a big part of this. She was discovered, Felix, at age 11 by this really famous talk show host. His name is Jao Suarez. I'm probably saying that wrong, but something along those lines. And she basically was discovered for that incredible jazz, deep, beautiful voice that she has. And in the process, right, of making music, of establishing her career, she's obviously gotten a lot more experimental in her production and a lot of what she does. But I mean, the core of that sound is, yes, that, that absolutely stunning, gorgeous vocal. I mean, she's been making music despite the fact that she's so young. She's been making music for a bit now. I'm gonna play you another track so you can get a sense also of, you know, some of her more classic that Was obviously a little bit more of an experimental production moment for her.

[Felix Contreras]

That's what I liked about it.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I know. That's why I played it. But I'm gonna play you another track. It's called Fica na mesma. Day, date, day, date, day, That day, day.

[Felix Contreras]

You and your Brazilian cake, man.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I'm telling you, Felix, I try to bring other things, but it's like. And then I hear, oh, the next new thing from Brazil. Oh, bueno, never mind. I'm bringing five Brazilian artists again. I don't know what to tell you. It's like something in the. Something in the water in Brazil and Argentina, man. I don't know.

[Felix Contreras]

I was just talking to a friend of mine a while back, and, you know, he was born in Brazil. His mother is Brazilian. I think his father's from the United States, and he lived there for a while, but he's lived here most of the time. And so he's a big fan of Brazilian music. And he says, but I don't know anything that's new. What's happening? I'm like, bro, let me send you Ana's playlist, because this stuff that's coming out of Brazil right now is just astounding. And this is a perfect example. Man, oh, man.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

This is gonna inspire one of your vocalist playlists. Who would you pair her with, Felix?

[Felix Contreras]

Don't know yet. I gotta listen some more, spend some more time with it.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

This is not my new stressful task.

[Felix Contreras]

I don't know.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

That was a couple of songs off of Bebe's new album, this Oluseo.

[Felix Contreras]

Okay. We're gonna go from Brazil to Japan.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Oh, okay.

[Felix Contreras]

This is a band that features traditional Japanese music mixed with music from other cultures and traditions. Their new record features their frequent collaborators, Frente Cumbiero. This is a track called Hanagasa Ondo. Check this one out.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Okay. Samoshi, Where did you find this?

[Felix Contreras]

Look at your face.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

What? Felix, what the heck?

[Felix Contreras]

Okay. The band is called Mino Crusaders.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Okay.

[Felix Contreras]

Okay. And I gotta admit, I didn't really know their music, and I'm embarrassed because it's the kind of cultural mashup that, you know, I love, right? And mino is a form of traditional Japanese folk music, is what I read in the press release. But they mix it and have mixed it from their first album in 2019 with Latin music from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa. There's all these great, great mashups. In fact, they did an entire EP with Frente Cumbiero in 2020. It was all cumbia and migno Music Man. And they have a new album coming out on June 26th. There are just two singles out right now, but I can't wait to hear the rest of it. Because if you go back into their back catalog, and I spent a lot of time with it this week, man, why didn't I know these guys? And they dress in this traditional stuff. It's a whole thing, man.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Well, this is really interesting, Felix, because currently there is kind of like a weird. I don't know if I'd go as far as saying, like, explosion or interest in Latin music in Japan. Like, there's a couple festivals that are happening that are. They're bringing a bunch of Latin artists to Japan. I'm currently in the process. I haven't brought it up because I'm trying to understand what it is and where it's coming from, but this somehow feels like it fits quite nicely into that. So I will report back with more information. I've been asking people. I'm like, what is the weird, like, Japan likes Latin music now situation?

[Felix Contreras]

Well, you know, there's this subculture thing, because the young people in Japan, for a while there, they were really into the whole cholo thing in Southern California, and Chicano youth, cholo dress, you know, everything about it. And the oldies that go along with it. Right. The real oldies. And then stuff like decent Sears and stuff like that. So there's, you know, there's. It goes in, like waves, I guess. I don't know. I don't understand it. I know that my own experience is that there's. Japan is a very, very big jazz country. Tokyo is an incredibly big jazz city. So I know that there's always interest in other cultures and other things. But when you mix it up, the tradition like this with the costume and the singing and it. And don't lie, man, that. That singing fits perfectly with Kumbia. Right?

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Absolutely. That's why I was like, that's part of it that feels so. It feels more natural than just people who are interested in combining Japanese music and cumbia. It feels like there's something there. And that's the part that I'm curious about. Like, is there. Is there a larger connection there? Is there, like, a root connecting these two things? I honestly. I don't know.

[Felix Contreras]

Time for a deeper dive somewhere, sometime.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

We going to Japan or what, Felix?

[Felix Contreras]

Let's go, man. The band is called the Minyo Crusaders. Their album that's coming out in June is called From Japan With Love. The track we heard is Hanagaza Ondo. So in Addition to learning Portuguese, we might have to be learning a little bit of Japanese. I wish I knew how to say, check it out in Japanese.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

So I don't know how. I guess we're always telepathying, because weirdly enough, this next album I'm going to bring is from Puerto Rican rapper reggaetonero pop, maybe artist, I don't know all the things. Alvaro Diaz. And it's his new album, Omakase Felix. Okay, like what? The Japanese connection continues. This song that I'm gonna play you is called C Sh. Wow. So Alvaro Diaz. To me, Felix, is like one of the most consistently underrated artists. Like, every single album, to me, that he puts out is honestly exceptional. I mean, he's a big artist, right? Like he says in. In that song, he's like, soy il favorito etu favorito. Like, he is the guy who, like, is so respected in Puerto Rico. Everyone works with him, everyone loves him, Everyone recognizes his genius. He just hasn't reached, like, the levels of, like, let's say, a raulejandro or a fade. But he's so innovative in everything he does. I'm gonna play you another song. It's called Bienzo en t.

[Felix Contreras]

Just like, Can I say that when I hear stuff like this and you know that reggae and hip hop, you know, something that I've come to learn and appreciate, so it's not. It's not my. My go to, right? But when I hear stuff like this and the way he's floating, like all these different sound textures, it's like. Like walking through this big house, right? And you're walking down the hallway, like, I'm gonna go in here. And that's the first part of the song. It says, oh, look. And then there's a room. Oh, look, there's another door on this side. I'm gonna walk. And in there. And then there's a completely different sonic texture. But the narrative is still following me, right? It's just the sonic textures, man, that is. I'm. I'm just a sucker for that stuff, man.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Well, and there's the people who are trying to just throw together a bunch of sounds right now. Because it's demoda. It's like, oh, let me just. You know, genre bending, we say 10 million times and, oh, let me just pull from everywhere and do all these things. And then there's people like Alvaro. Or maybe not people. Like, maybe there is Alvaro who does this so intentionally. Like, this entire album is a discourse.

[Felix Contreras]

It's.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

It's a. It's a. If you go through it, he's like, rawr in the beginning. And then he gets more emotional. And for example, you hear a song like this where it's like kind of like this really interesting distorted rock nod to certain, like, earlier 2000s indie rock, punk pop sounds. And then you're like getting charchettas in the background, and you're like, am I listening to a cumbia? Like, what's happening? And that's what he does, right? Is. And in the song I'm about to play youy, Felix, he does this thing where he even plays with, like, a lot of Mexican sounds. And I heard a lot of Mexican sounds on this album. I thought to myself, he's from Puerto Rico. But of course, he's working with, you know, Benjamin Aller and, you know, Julian Bernal, who are really prolific producers in Mexico City. He's working with Manuel Lara, who is from Venezuela, Lara project, but has worked on a lot of Mexican and Puerto Rican projects. So it's really just like. It's representative of him and his ingenuity and his kind of like, really just creative mind. But also all of these producers and writers who are so experimental in not only the sounds that they use, but in the histories, in the ancestry that they involve in all of these things. I mean, it's just so natural. And it's like the way he brings in that Mexican sound to me, it's, like, very distant and distorted and really interesting. And it's not just like your classic, throw a banda something onto a dembo and whatever. It's like, really intentional and intricate and I'm just blown away.

[Felix Contreras]

Yeah.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Honestly. Honestly, completely. Okay, I'm gonna play you one more song to take us out. Because I really. It was hard. Really hard for me to pick. This song is called In a row 62, Right?

[Felix Contreras]

Yeah.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Like, I heard this, and I was like, what is he doing?

[Felix Contreras]

Yeah. You know, I'm gonna have to listen to this whole thing. Cause I'm intrigued. He's got my attention, man.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

That was a couple of songs off the new Alvarodias album Oma Casse.

[Felix Contreras]

It's a lot to take in. Gonna have to think about it. I'm gonna need a break to think about it.

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[Felix Contreras]

Okay. Do I have to keep saying it every week? Man, the variety of musical expressions just, it's overwhelming. The reason I say it is because the next track I'm going to play draws on Mexican history in Hawaii.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Ooh, okay. Oh, my God.

[Felix Contreras]

Right? This is from Los Sensotles, the Bay Area band and cultural center run by Eugene Rodriguez. I can always count, count on them for some amazing music. Fascinating stuff this time. There's an album dedicated to the history of Mexicans in Hawaii. And this track is called Vaquero Paniolo or the Panolo Cowboy. Tells a little bit of that history. And I'll explain more, but check this out, Okay? You actually get a little bit of history on this one. Anna. In 1790s, a British sea captain transported cattle imported from Spain that were settled in Santa Cruz. They took it to Alta California, right? It's when it was still part of Mexico. And then from there he went to Hawaii. He delivered some of these cattle to the king that was in Hawaii at the time. Within 10 years, they procreated so much, they were actually out of control. There were like 25,000 cattle just roaming the, roaming the island, eating the vegetation, doing all this other stuff. So the king that came after him had traveled to California and he saw these Mexican vaqueros, right? Because it's still Mexico. And he saw them handling, doing all this stuff with cows. So we need some of those guys to come over and take care of our cows. So he transported a handful of these guys, these vaqueros from Mexico because it's, you know, 18 it was before it became part of the United States. They mixed in with the culture, they taught people how to work with cattle. They did all that stuff. So a little bit of Mexican vaquero history ended up in Hawaii. I never knew that. And the brilliant people at Los Sensotles Eugene and his crew, along with David Hidalgo from Los Lobos, Taj Mahal, the great blues player, and some Hawaiian musicians. The whole album is like a mashup of Mexican music and Hawaiian music. Slack key guitars, the thing, all this stuff. Yeah, it's really a great record. The record's called Adios Waves of the Same Sea.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Wow. Isn't that very cool? Also, like this, everything we just said about the Mexico, Japan connection, I'm like, huh? And now we're bringing Hawaii into the mix. Like, this all feels like there may be some relationship.

[Felix Contreras]

I think we need to go to Hawaii, then we need to go Japan.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

That's what I'm hearing.

[Felix Contreras]

Our executive producer's not in the room, so let's just make an executive decision right now.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

That was one of your good ones, Felix. I won't lie. That was good.

[Felix Contreras]

The album again is called Adios Que Aloha. Waves of the Same Sea, Los Sensotles, featuring David Hidalgo, Taj Mahal and a bunch of other musicians. That track was called Vaquero Paniolo.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I do have to say one more thing about that, actually, because I can't help but keep thinking about it. It's so fascinating to me because Hawaii has been so popularly in the discourse of Latin music in the past year because of Bad Bunny and this Hawaii phenomenon. And it brought a lot of Hawaiians into the conversation as there was that connection, right, between just general colonialism, the effect of US Colonialism, and all the territories that have impacted. And so it's also fascinating to me in that sense because that migration story, I think, fits into. Into that story as well. And I love when you can see that that take form in the music

[Felix Contreras]

in a way that was more organic and not, I'm just going to say, imperialistic, because this was Mexico before it was the United States, right?

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Yeah.

[Felix Contreras]

So that was like, okay, we need you guys come and help us. And there was no, okay, now we're going to take over the country. We're just going to work with the Cows, and then we're going to hang out, maybe learn how to surf. Who knows what they were doing back then?

[Ana Maria Sayer]

We're just going to work with the Cows, hang out, learn how to surf. Wow. What a dream.

[Felix Contreras]

Okay, your last track.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Okay. So I actually already mentioned this artist last week. I think that I went to his show, but I realized I thought I had talked at some point about his album on the show, and I really haven't. So. Venezuelan percussionist Orestes Gomez. It's time we talk about him. I'M gonna play you a track from his latest album, no Me Fui Porque quiese, which obviously referenced to Venezuela. This track is called Perona.

[Felix Contreras]

Wow.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Yeah, right?

[Felix Contreras]

It's a lot coming at you, man. Very.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

It's. It's hard to even consume, absorb, conceptualize. So the person you're hearing singing is Mari la Carajita. She's a Venezuelan artist who started as like, a cuatro virtuoso, and then she turned into kind of this, like, really, as you can hear, amazing rapper, kind of more urban artist. But she's not really the point of the song. The point of the song is Orestes, because this entire album is. It's his record. I mean, he doesn't ever sing. It's not his thing. He doesn't put any vocals on. I mean, he. You know, he invites artists like her to come and rap on things. But really, it's about his percussion, his drums. And what I explained when I talked about his show last week is that watching even his show, like, he was the center of the audience. He was this clear center of the performance. But he plays with all of these just fascinating, percussive sounds from everywhere from the Caribbean, from the globe. I want to play you another song from this album because I think it represents nicely what he does also with. With kind of more traditional, floky Venezuelan sounds. This song is called Estrellas.

[Felix Contreras]

Repeat. Wow.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Right. And I. And I say folkloric, right, Felix? In the sense that, you know, the. The Afro percussive, coastal, you know, Caribbean thing is really important in Venezuela. It's so integral to what is the folkloric sound, what is the traditional sound of Venezuela that is not always at the forefront? And I think this record does a really great job in so many places. And I want you to hear the whole thing because it's really amazing and incorporating that, right, and making that a part of the Venezuelan story. And again, like I said, you know, the record is called no Me Fuy Porquequise, which is. I didn't go because I wanted to, obviously, in reference to Venezuela. So it's very Venezuelan, this record. And, you know, Orestes does go from time and time he's in Mexico City, but he's in Venezuela and Caracas sometimes. And it feels very representative of a lot of pieces of that experience of what is Venezuela right now physically in the country still. Anyways, I'm a huge fan of this album. It's really cool. It's really cool.

[Felix Contreras]

And it's important to play stuff like this. I Think or to listen or seek it out and give it some space. Because of all the stuff that's going on politically that's happened there. Obviously, we've talked a lot about that. But then also, you know, when you consider some of the artists in Cuba, that's gonna. That's sort of out there as well. It's important to turn back to the music and the musicians to figure out what's going on and how people are feeling. So, yeah, this is. I'm there for it.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

That was a couple of songs off of Orestes Gomez's new album, no me fui porquequis.

[Felix Contreras]

Okay, we're gonna end the show a little differently this time. We're gonna do a tribute to Totola Mom Poncina. She passed away in Mexico city at age 85. She was one of the great voices of Latin America. She was a practitioner of Afro Colombian music. She was born Sonia Basante Videz, but the world knew her as Toto la Mom Poncina. She had recorded a handful of records in Colombia, and in 1993 she recorded an album for musician Peter Gabriel and his Real World Records label, and that catapulted her to international fame. This is the title track, La Candela Viva.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

Nam.

[Felix Contreras]

She was from Colombia's Caribbean coast, near a town called Mon Pose, from which she took her stage name. And she came from a musical family that specialized in the Afro Colombian traditions of that area of the country, which we play a lot in this show. A combination of heavy percussion, those indigenous flutes called gaitas, the very call and response vocals going back to Africa. And she was a popular collaborator with a whole new generation of Colombian population and folk artist. I'm going to play a little mix right now. Here's a very small sample. This is her and Leela Downs in celso Pina from 2011 in a track called Zapate Sequeda. Like, her voice lends this, like, grandiosity, this graciousness. Right, here's another track, and it features Colombian vocalist Monica Giraldo. This is called a silo canto. Yes, There's that quality, like a Celia Cruz quality, right? Like there's like, ugh, you know, Betsai, the Machado, Afro Venezuelan music. Like these folk musicians, they have a majesty to their voice. Now I'm going to play something from 2010. This is Latino America by Calle Trece. One of my favorite tracks. This is when I first heard of her. This is with Totola Monfonsina. Susanna Baker and Mariajito were featured on track. This is just so powerful. And at 85 years old, just this past December, she released her last batch of recordings, an EP called Mono Colorado. This is a track called La Verdo Laga.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

I come on. Me.

[Felix Contreras]

You have been listening to Alt Latino from NPR Music. Our audio editor is Noah Caldwell.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

The executive producer of NPR Music is Saraya Muhammad.

[Felix Contreras]

Executive director Sonali Mehta, as always, we love hearing from you. If you enjoyed this episode in these bands, we always appreciate a positive review on Spotify or Apple or wherever you're listening. Or send us an email, man. Stay in touch altlatinonpr.org I'm Felix Contreras.

[Ana Maria Sayer]

And I'm Ana Maria Sayer.

[Felix Contreras]

Thank you for listening.

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[Ana Maria Sayer]

Today.