Felix Contreras

Rapper Cardi B's song "Bodak Yellow" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This marks only the second time in history that a female rapper has topped the charts unaccompanied.

This week, we share our favorite discoveries from the annual Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York.

"Dark Star" launched hundreds of jams and pushed Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead beyond their creative and exploratory limits. Celebrate Garcia's 75th birthday with a "Dark Star" playlist.

For decades Cali Rivera and JCR Percussion produced Latin percussion instruments that are still are coveted.

AltLatino's annual cruise of summer music festivals dedicated to Latin Alternative music, arts and culture. Three cities, four festivals!

As Santana turns 70, he's still spreading the message that music has the power to heal. With The Isley Brothers, he taps into the peaceful spirit of Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)."

Beat the heat with this sampler of new tunes, including everything from rock to Latin jazz to electronic to cumbia and flamenco.

On IIII + IIII, Otura Mun and his bandmates weave hip-hop, jazz and dancehall influences into Afro-Cuban music. It's an electronic take on tradition that embraces the human touch.

Prompted by the song that activist Jeanette Vizguerra says motivates her — John Lennon's "Imagine" — Alt.Latino presents a mix of inspirational classic-rock songs with Latin and jazz twists.

The band's new video for "México Americano" celebrates fervent loyalty to two countries at once — appropriate for this most patriotic of holidays.

Helado Negro ditches his bank of electronics for alto and tenor saxophones, bringing his utterly unique style to a intense, perfectly balanced Tiny Desk Concert.

The Cuban rapper and vocalist's new video, for a song from her stunning second album, Palabras Manuales, is one of her strongest statements yet. The song features Cuban jazz pianist Roberto Fonseca.

The multi-instrumentalist and vocalist blends jazz, Latin music and soul seamlessly on his new album, Bad Ass And Blind. His musical touchpoints range from Paco de Lucía to Mercedes Sosa.

A partnership between the building's realty trust, reunion outfit Dead & Company and Citi Field had the Empire State Building's lights dancing along with the crowd of thousands.

The globetrotting SoCal band shares tracks from its new album Non-Stop: Mexico>Jamaica, bringing music and laughs to the studio.

With undulating rhythms and a beguiling vocal, the Colombian band's new song evokes a subtle sense of tradition and spirituality. The surreal video unfolds like an animated Dalí painting.

Alt.Latino's summer music magazine features three artists — the band Making Movies, the writer Gabby Rivera and the singer Natalia Lafourcade — whose work reflects the reality and joy of life.

She might not leap off tall buildings or stop bullets, but Rivera is breaking down gender stereotypes with America Chavez, the new Marvel Comics character she's helping create.

The Mexican vocalist followed up a hugely successful album with an acoustic-based sound that is close to her heart.

The members of the Kansas City band spend their time offstage working with youth in their city's underprivileged neighborhoods.