Sound Check

Getty Images

Draco Rosa’s Video for "Esto Es Vida" is Full of Symbolism. Can You Figure it Out?

By Grace Bastidas | 01/11/2010 - 12:23 | 1 Comment

Singer-songwriter Draco Rosa sees the world through the eyes of a poet. A lover of all things surreal, he finds beauty in almost anything. That’s why his video for the love song “Esto Es Vida” from his eponymous new album is anything but conventional.

Directed by his wife, actress Ángela Alvarado Rosa, the clip has some elements of a 1940’s-era...

READ MORE

Q&A: Three Questions for the Cuban Cowboys

By Grace Bastidas | 01/08/2010 - 13:00 | 4 Comments

Bilingual band The Cuban Cowboys play surf rock muddled with a shot of Habana Club. Led by Miami native Jorge Navarro, this foursome put on a roaring live show that always includes some mention of Fidel. I caught up with “Hialeah Jorge” to talk about his upcoming album, The Devil’s Dance (out April 2010), and here’s what he had to...

READ MORE

Q&A: Listening to Ocote Soul Sounds

By Grace Bastidas | 01/07/2010 - 10:22 | 0 Comments

Ocote Soul Sounds was created in 2004 when Martin Perna (Antibalas) and Adrian Quesada (Grupo Fantasma) began to jam together and make what Perna describes as “Latin American folktronic-funklore.” Three albums later, they’re still experimenting with the...

READ MORE
AP Photo/Ed Ou

Q&A: Mexican Band Pistolera Makes Music for Kids of All Ages

By Grace Bastidas | 01/06/2010 - 12:58 | 0 Comments

Brooklyn–based quartet Pistolera blends indie pop and ranchera to create socially conscious songs that deal with life outside of Mexico. Singer and guitarist Sandra Lilia Velasquez tackles immigrant rights, racism, feminism and other pressing issues with equal fervor. And now, as a new...

READ MORE

Start the Year Off Right with these Festivals

By Grace Bastidas | 01/05/2010 - 11:50 | 1 Comment

Happy New Year! It already seems like 2010 is all about bridging cultures through music. If you’re in the Big Apple this week, you can attend three festivals that aim to make the world just a little bit smaller by gathering acts from around the globe in our own backyard. I’ll have interviews for you later in the week so in the mean time, mark your calendars:

On...

READ MORE
Getty Images

While Julieta Venegas Readies New CD, She Gifts Us Her Top 20 Albums

By Grace Bastidas | 12/29/2009 - 14:30 | 10 Comments

Mexican chanteuse Julieta Venegas is getting a head start on 2010. She’s been busy putting the finishing touches on her upcoming album JV10, set for release in March. So far we know she enlisted Grammy-winner Cachorro López as producer (he also worked on her 2006 disc Limón Y Sal) and collaborated with Alejandro...

READ MORE

Best Music Videos of 2009

By Grace Bastidas | 12/28/2009 - 12:23 | 0 Comments

Here are the videos I couldn’t stop watching this year—in no particular order. Not only are they all entertaining, but they’re also what make these songs really sing.

Artist: Bomba Estero

Country: Colombia

Song: “Fuego”

Album: Blow Up

Dirctor: Alejandro Buchheim

Filmed in Barranquilla,...

READ MORE
Syndicate content