Felix Contreras
Felix Contreras is co-creator and co-host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010 and a curator for the acclaimed Tiny Desk Concert series.
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. He appears regularly on NPR's award-winning newsmagazines, All Things Considered and Morning Edition. Various national and international publications have quoted his expertise on the contemporary influences of Latin culture, music, and media.
He's 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 the other NPR Music resident Deadhead and an Afro Caribbean percussionist who performs around the DC area with various jazz and Latin jazz bands.
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We asked people to share the story of how they became a Deadhead and received hundreds of responses. Their stories are tender, comical and sometimes spiritual. -
Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco are two artists who've dipped their toes into the Grateful Dead extended universe through a singular experience: by sharing the stage with Bob Weir. -
Over the last decade, reality TV mogul Andy Cohen has been spotted dancing at concerts for Dead & Company. But his ties to the Grateful Dead go much farther than that. -
The Grateful Dead understood the importance of recording its legacy. A number of archivists and historians are dedicated to maintaining the band's immense collection of music and memorabilia. -
This summer marks a moment of transition in the Grateful Dead's long, strange trip: the first in many years where there is no clear center of the band's universe. Where do Deadheads go from here? -
The South Bronx bandleader took the Latin genre to new heights while recording for Fania Records. -
The Grammy winner and Blue Note label head recalls the unique challenges and rewards he faced when the late Bob Weir recruited him for an intimate new project in 2018. -
For three decades with the Grateful Dead and three more after the group ended following the 1995 death of his bandmate Jerry Garcia, Weir helped build and sustain the band's legacy across generations. -
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The Alt.Latino and El Tiny host shares his favorite records of the year, including jazz musicians from across Latin America as well as vocalists inspired by folk, rock and pop whose work defies genre.
