Felix Contreras

The Mexican-American musician's latest album, 'The Crossing,' tells a story of identity and rock and roll dreams.

"Samba's beating heart is actually suffering and sadness." The Air You Breathe by Frances de Pontes Peebles uses Brazilian music as a backdrop for an intimate story of female friendship.

The singer's performance at the Tiny Desk was an almost spiritual experience, leaving many at the NPR Music offices in awe.

Collins is no stranger to protest songs. The storied folk singer weighs in on the current immigration debate with a personal, new song.

Even from its beginnings in late-'60s Oakland, the band has always stood out. Fifty years later, its devotion to classic horn-driven soul remains unmatched, its passion and precision unchanged.

It's rock, it's hip hop, it's sung in English ... can it still be "Latin music"? Music and cultural identity intersect in surprising ways in this week's list of tunes shared by Alt.Latino.

Summer's almost over so we present new sounds and three premieres from upcoming albums.

The historic Latin record label has been sold to Concord Music. Sig Sigworth, president of Concord Music's Craft Recordings, talks about preserving Fania's legacy.

We also use the new music to talk about culture and cultural expression.

This week, Bryant Myers and Bad Bunny dropped a sadboy jam, Dominican trio Mula made female Caribbean electro-pop, and Gilberto Rodriguez y Los Intocables premiere a new track for NPR Music.

The veteran singer showcases her soaring powerfully expressive voice in a performance that bridges several generations of classic soul.

Nuyorican newcomer Kim Viera teams up with Daddy Yankee for a summer love hit, Arcangel and J Balvin go disco-over-dembow and Dillon Francis and De La Ghetto keep moombahton alive.

Balún's blend of electronic pop and traditional Puerto Rican instrumentation marks them as one the island's best musical exports in a very long time.

There's too much time to feel restless in the summer. Never fear: Felix Contreras stopped by NPR's Weekend Edition to let you know the Latin music releases that will keep those feet tapping.

The policy that separated children from parents seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border spurred musicians to write new songs and transform some old ones — to haunting effect.

Escovedo's upcoming album, due out this fall, is a suite of songs about identity recorded in Italy and the U.S.

On this week's playlist, Bad Bunny blesses us with not one but two summer bangers and De La Ghetto throws it back to childhood romances with the help of Maluma and Wisin.

The track is from an upcoming album between the celebrated singer and iconic producer/arranger.

We laugh, we cry, we celebrate the best of the year so far with everything from bugalú to boleros to Latinx punk.

The patriarch helped take his legendary family from Gary, Ind., to global stardom, though the disciplinarian streak he used to get them there proved controversial later in life.