Felix Contreras
Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.
In addition to his post behind the mic, Contreras programs music from the Latin diaspora for the acclaimed Tiny Desk concerts and hosts a weekly Instagram Live interview with a wide-ranging roster of guests.
A knowledgeable international ambassador for Latino heritage and arts, "Tio Felix '' travels extensively in search of new talent and new music and captures important legacy performers in jazz and Latin genres. Various national and international publications have quoted his expertise on the contemporary influences of Latin culture, music, and media.
His a recovering TV journalist whose first post at NPR in 2001 was as a Producer/Reporter for the NPR News Arts Desk. He is also NPR's resident Deadhead and performs around the DC area with his Latin music Beatles cover band, Los Day Trippers.
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The Brazilian singer and guitarist, who won wide acclaim for his abundant technical skill and minimalist style, was behind one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, 1964's Getz/Gilberto.
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Our shortlist of must-hear albums this week includes the acoustic, instrumental rock of Rodrigo y Gabriela, a byzantine concept album from The Mountain Goats, new Josh Ritter and more.
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Rodrigo y Gabriela's career offers insight into how creative you can be with just two guitars. Mettavolution closes with a mesmerizing version of Pink Floyd's "Echoes."
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The singer from Puerto Rico is part of a movement on the island that emphasizes largely acoustic instruments and a folk-based approach to interpreting life before and after the hurricane of 2017.
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The veteran rocker and a backup band from Italy play songs from their album The Crossing,chronicling an American Dream of rock and roll and Beat poetry.
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More than 40 years after its release, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama is still one of the most recognized rock anthems celebrating the deep South. It's also a song with a complicated legacy.
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The Mexican-American musician's latest album, 'The Crossing,' tells a story of identity and rock and roll dreams.
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Collins is no stranger to protest songs. The storied folk singer weighs in on the current immigration debate with a personal, new song.
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Balún's blend of electronic pop and traditional Puerto Rican instrumentation marks them as one the island's best musical exports in a very long time.
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The patriarch helped take his legendary family from Gary, Ind., to global stardom, though the disciplinarian streak he used to get them there proved controversial later in life.