Latin Music – ED MORALES

Rubén Blades, a Salsa Legend, Swings in a Different Direction: Jazz

Rubén Blades is a renowned vocalist, one of the emblematic singer-songwriters of 1970s salsa. But he’s not always recognized for his achievements in other disciplines: He’s also a Broadway and Hollywood actor, a composer, a Harvard Law School master’s graduate and a one-time candidate for president of his native Panama. And don’t ever say he can’t sing […]

America and Race, Globalization, Hemispheric Identity, Latin Music, Latinos and Race, Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Urban/Global Politics

Residente vs. Tempo: Reggaetón Battle Of The Century

What’s revealed when two Puerto Rican MCs face off Beefs and clap-back answer songs are a tradition in hip-hop, from Biggie versus Tupac and Jay Z versus Nas all the way back to Roxanne Shanté versus The Real Roxanne. But the recent clash between Puerto Rican MCs Residente (a.k.a. René Pérez Joglar), formerly of the […]

America and Race, Globalization, Latin Music, Latinos and Race, Latinos in Media, Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Republican Party politics, right populism, The Western Subject, Urban/Global Politics, US Intervention in Latin America

Living in Spanglish Radio: Not My President Edition

I woke up Wednesday with a hole in my head. It was a large enough hole that I decided we can’t let this happen. This sudden emergence of America’s long-brewing racist undercurrent brought on by a relentless process of worldwide wealth inequality that its creators have decided must be mitigated by violent conflict between marginalized […]

America and Race, Artists in the hood, George Zimmerman case, Globalization, Hemispheric Identity, Latin Music, Latinos and Race, Latinos in Media, Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Urban/Global Politics, US Intervention in Latin America

Living in Spanglish Radio: Afro-Latino Edition

This edition of Living in Spanglish Radio features an interview with Amilcar Priestly, co-director of New York’s Afro-Latino Festival. In our conversation we talk about the growing need for and efficacy of expressing an Afro-Latino identity and even talk a little about its connection with Black Lives Matter. I also play music featured at the […]

America and Race, Globalization, Hemispheric Identity, Latin Music, Latinos and Race, Latinos in Media, New York City Politics, Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Republican Party politics, Urban/Global Politics, US Intervention in Latin America

Living in Spanglish: Puerto Rican Pride Edition

The new Living in Spanglish radio episode is a special Puerto Rican Pride edition, in time for the Puerto Rican National Day Parade in New York. There’s plenty of salsa, bugalú and boleros, and special guests iLe, Calle 13 vocalist with a new solo album called Ilevitable, and David Galarza, Nuyorican activist, talk about life, love, […]

Globalization, Hemispheric Identity, Latin Music, Urban/Global Politics

Li Samuet Loves Speaking Spanglish

Last week I interviewed Li Samuet, lead vocalist of Bomba Estereo, and we got to talking about the band’s song “To’ My Love,” from their new album Amanecer. First she schooled me on the fact that the song title meant “To’” as in “Todo My Love,” since I’d pronounced it “To.” Then she explained that the song […]

Latin Music, Urban/Global Politics

Francisca Valenzuela Pushes Back With “Insulto”

Chilean singer Francisca Valenzuela was a live guest on Thursday’s “Living in Spanglish” show on WBAI. She talked about her new single “Insulto” from her album Tajo Abierto. She explained the song was a response to a tendency in many Latin American societies to respond negatively to difference. At times the way a person performs […]

Latin Music

Bomba Estereo’s New Album Is da Bomb

This week I had the chance to talk with Simón Mejía, bassist, keyboardist and founder of Bomba Estereo, a band from Bogotá that puts an electronic spin on folkloric Colombian rhythms as well as a diverse palette of beats and grooves. We went back to his first cumbia-beat construction, the band’s signature song “Fuego”; ruminated […]

America and Race, Latin Music, Latinos and Race

Rubén Blades & the Latin-jazz Mix: Never Gets Old

“I’ve known many jazz standards since I was 14,” said Rubén Blades to the well-heeled crowd at the Jazz at Lincoln Center venue Rose Hall. Spontaneously he launched into a histrionic imitation of Sinatra singing “Summer Wind,” then a nasal send-up of Sammy Davis, Jr. “I used to just stand on the streets in Panama […]

America and Race, Artists in the hood, Latin Music, Latinos in Media, Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, Rock Music, Urban/Global Politics

Calle 13’s Transformative Space

The sold-out crowd at Times Square’s Best Buy Theatre last Saturday night could not control itself as their hero, René Pérez a/k/a MC Residente of Calle 13 took the stage with his typical buoyant boxing stance, ready to slay the dragon of indifference with lyrics spat and batucada attack. The backing band, now so well-rehearsed […]