A New World Of Expression: Latino Identity Through Music

By Felix Contreras, alt.latino

It can get so busy at Alt.Latino that we hardly have a chance to put down our earbuds and notice the little things in life — like our show’s fourth cumpleaños on June 15. That’s four years of scouting out great new music and bands in the Latin Alternative scene, not to mention in-depth conversations with some of the most influential Latino/a artists in film, literature and, of course, music.

We’ve particularly enjoyed the platicas with listeners on our website and in social media. Journalists are only as good as their sources, and you’ve turned us on to so much great music that the show couldn’t be what it is without your help and input.

The cultural conversations you provide are often as frank and opinionated as any you’d hear around your abuelita‘s kitchen table. As in any healthy family discussion of important matters, differences of opinion in Alt.Latino‘s familia are respected and encouraged as we grapple with this multicultural Latino identity.

If you really want to know how the Latino community in this country is changing, just listen to this music. Musicians are ignoring the boundaries and rules of established genres to create amazing cultural mashups — and those mashups reflect real-life trends like blended families, hyphenated family names and children with more than one culture to celebrate.

Click HERE to read and listen to this story.

[Photo courtesy of Ceci Bastida]