Felix Contreras

Things got busy here at Alt.Latino and we missed some of 2016's best albums. So this week we're sampling the ones that got away.

There was so much great Latin music this year that we had to ask listeners to add their own choices and voices to our list.

Father-daughter duo Willie and Bethany Pickens, along with husband-wife duo Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes, played holiday favorites live at the Kennedy Center in Washington Dec. 10.

This was a year for redefining expectations and defying conventions in Latin music. Hear 10 songs that represent just some of the highlights.

In the band's hands, East African music pulses, breathes and comes alive in a mix of tradition and contemporary sounds.

The SoCal psychedelic-soul band's new album, Freedom Is Free, is due out in March. Watch a video for its new single, "Friendship (Is A Small Boat In A Storm)."

Alt.Latino takes a quick look at some unexpected Grammy nominees for Latin music.

In the wake of Fidel Castro's death, Alt.Latino looks at the artists who remained in Cuba after the revolution and those who've left — and how their music reflects both realities.

Recently, Ecuadorian DJ Daniel Lofredo Rota stumbled upon a box of tapes from his grandfather's record label. Now, he's reclaiming a lost segment of his country's musical heritage.

The drummer and her band, Bandancha, promote Afro-Cuban culture in a visually stunning video for "Mr. Miller."

She's known for her work in the popular hip-hop group Calle 13, but Ileana Cabra, who performs solo as iLe, has a quieter, subtler alter ego. Watch her perform live at New York's Damrosch Park.

While accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award at AmericanaFest, Weir tapped into the Grateful Dead's roots to pay tribute to the Hag. The performance is from an upcoming Austin City Limits episode.

Alt.Latino gathers three music gurus to help find the coolest new sounds from across Latin music, including hip-hop, rock, Latin jazz and beyond.

Hear a special mix of meditative music, recorded before the votes were tallied, to help you get over the bruising election season.

Alt.Latino goes mining for new sounds in the less prominent categories of this year's Latin Grammys.

These recordings, made three years before the Grateful Dead formed, capture the beginning of Jerry Garcia's musical quest to explore every aspect of what makes American music so rich.

In what's become an annual Día de los Muertos tradition, we play music and personal dedications honoring the departed — from Prince to a listener's abuelito.

Just in time for Día de los Muertos, here are 12 versions of an old song that still frightens. Hear "La Llorona" performed by Chavela Vargas, Lila Downs, Mariachi Flor de Toloache and more.

Good guys, bad guys, cops and intrigue — it's all part of the world of Latino noir fiction. Author Carmen Amato takes us on a tour of the genre.

The new solo album from the Girl In A Coma frontwoman is a fiercely brave, song-by-song journey through her experiences of addiction and recovery.