Felix Contreras
Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering program about Latin Alternative music and Latino culture. It features music as well as interviews with many of the most well-known Latinx musicians, actors, filmmakers, and writers. He has hosted and produced Alt.Latino episodes from Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, and throughout the U.S. since the show started in 2010.
Previously, Contreras was a reporter and producer NPR's Arts Desk and, among other stories and projects, covered a series reported from Mexico on the musical movement called Latin Alternative; helped produce NPR's award-winning series 50 Great Voices; and reported a series of stories on the financial challenges aging jazz musicians face.
Contreras is a recovering television journalist who has worked for both NBC and Univision in Miami and California. He's a part-time musician who plays Afro-Cuban percussion with various jazz and Latin bands in the Washington, DC, area. He is also NPR Music's resident Deadhead.
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Alt.Latino host Felix Contreras shares new music from Natalia Lafourcade, Gina Chavez, Cindy Blackman Santana, Gaby Moreno and Mireya Ramos.
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X Alfonso comes from a storied musical family in Cuba and continues to make music with an impact. Alt.Latino's Felix Contreras shares a few singles off Alfonso's forthcoming album.
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An indomitable musical culture survived the tragedy of the international slave trade. Alt.Latino captured a weeklong celebration featuring artists Trombone Shorty, Tank and the Bangas and Cimafunk.
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"We make music to collide with the world." The Puerto Rican superstar discusses Nibiru, his musical beginnings and the state of Latin urban music.
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In what's become an annual tradition on Alt.Latino, we remember those we've lost through song with reverence and a little joy.
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Los Tigres del Norte at Folsom Prison, a new Netflix documentary, shows the power of music to heal.
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Alt.Latino favorite Gaby Moreno teams up with the legendary arranger for an unlikely collaboration.
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The saxophonist, flautist and bandleader has been traveling to Cuba and performing its music for over 30 years.
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Three portraits of musicians and a filmmaker who illuminate distinct forms of Mexican music expression.
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As seasons change, we play Cuban music from Canada, Salvadoran/Mexican music from Los Angeles and a Nuyorican protest song.