When 25-year-old Mexican songstress Ximena Sarinana released her first album, titled Mediocre, in 2008, Rolling Stone hailed it as “one of the strongest debuts from a female singer-songwriter”-an inspiring accomplishment for a Latina singing in Spanish. Three years later, the jazz vocalist and former telenovela starlet was ready to experiment...
It seems as though every radio station plays the same songs every hour. Rather than rock out and spin records that will have your hips swaying and fists pumping, you’re singing the blues. We have come up with a list of up and coming Latin artists who like to shake, mix, and funk things up. Check out the sweet beats and smooth lyrics of some of the...
Standing at a towering six feet, Santo Domingo-raised singer Rita Indiana demands your attention, but that’s not the reason why audiences from her native Dominican Republic hail her as a “monster.” The androgynous artist has successfully conquered the Caribbean and the United States with her infectious mezcla of hip swiveling merengue, tropical...
In honor of Mexico’s two hundred years of independence from Spanish rule, Nacional Records released a fitting tribute album, Bimexicano, a fantastic collection of contemporary rock/indie/electronica acts covering some of the most beloved songs that make up the rich pantheon of Mexico’s musical culture.
Starting things off is “La Martiniana” by...
Change is a constant thing in Carla Morrison’s burgeoning young career. A singer/songwriter with an old school way of looking at the world through her music, the soon to be 25-year-old Mexican artist will be a part of a staggering array of artists this Thursday night in New York City at the Spot, sponsored by Heineken. An independent artist who...
There are those who would say merengue isn’t truly merengue unless a Dominican wrote it. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when, how, and by whom merengue music was started, but it did gain mainstream popularity in the Dominican Republic during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in the early 1930s. It was even dubbed the official music of the...
Looking to get the summer started just right? It’s time to dust off the iPod (and your dancing shoes) and get yourself a copy of Suave Patria, the latest album by DJ/producer Camilo Lara, the brain child and driving force behind the wildly inventive Mexican Institute of Sound (M.I.S.). Based in Mexico City, Lara has been rockin’ the crowds with...
If you don’t speak any Brazilian Portuguese, then chances are you won’t understand what Fernanda and Pil Popsonic have to say whenever they hit the stage, but frankly, you won’t care. The duo behind the wildly addicting pop punk group Lucy and the Popsonics know how to get a party started in true rock ‘n’ roll form. Their sound is the type of...
Indie rock from Costa Rica? Not too many music lovers believe that such a gem could exist in this Latin paradise, but thankfully, Las Robertas is showing the world that Costa Rica has more to offer than picturesque beaches. The group, led by Mercedes Oller, Monserrat “Monse” Vargas, and Franco Valenciano, released their debut full-length album,...
It seems to have gone from chilly to scorching overnight, and with this elevation in temperature comes a whole new vibe in our nightlife. Whether you’re attending a rooftop bash or showing off that swimsuit-ready bod at the beach, these beats are sure to liven up your June through August before and after the sun goes down.
Top Summer 2011...
