Felix Contreras
NPR
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Felix:
Linda Ronstadt: On getting to fully embrace her Mexican heritage in her music
Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with Linda Ronstadt, who recently released her book Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands, to talk about her Mexican heritage, wanting to sing in Spanish earlier in her career and not feeling like the "quintessential American girl." → Read More
Hermanos Gutiérrez: How their cinematic guitar music reconnected them as brothers
Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with Alejandro and Estevan Gutiérrez to talk about their musical legacy, sad songs and creating strong familial bonds through music. Show notes: You can help us improve Alt.Latino by taking some time to answer questions about the show. Please tell us what you like and how we could improve by going to npr.org/altlatinosurvey. → Read More
Silvana Estrada: On cultivating intimacy and generosity in her live performances
Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with Silvana Estrada to talk about vulnerability, bringing light into her shows and the lessons her parents have given her.Show notes: You can help us improve Alt.Latino by taking some time to answer questions about the show. Please tell us what you like and how we could improve by going to npr.org/altlatinosurvey. → Read More
Natalia Lafourcade: How making original music again helped grow her 'inner garden'
Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with Natalia Lafourcade to talk about interpreting old songs, taking things slow and releasing her first album of original material in seven years. → Read More
Angélica Negrón: The genre-subverting composer on embracing all sides of her identity
Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with Angélica Negrón to talk about the importance of representation, making music with plants and what inspired her to begin composing. → Read More
NPR's favorite music of October, from ancestral grooves to hip-hop nostalgia
Open Mike Eagle confronted the past, Natalia Lafourcade returned to original songwriting, Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson collaborated as Plains, Víkingur Ólafsson intimately played piano and Maral deconstructed an ancestral groove.Featured Tracks and Artists:1. Open Mike Eagle: "Burner Account" and "For DOOM" from Component System with the Auto Reverse 2. Natalia Lafourcade: "María la… → Read More
Carlos Santana: Why 1972's divisive, spiritual 'Caravanserai' wasn't 'career suicide'
Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with Carlos Santana to talk about nurturing his spirit, growing as an artist and 50 years of Caravanserai, an iconic album he co-produced with drummer Michael Shrieve. → Read More
iLe: How the rhythms and resilience of Puerto Rico shape her music
Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with iLe to talk about salsa music, Puerto Rico's role in her art and being la bebé of the family. → Read More
Our Favorite Spooky Seasonal Songs
Halloween and Dia de los Muertos are creeping up on us, which means it's peak spooky music season. In this episode the hosts of NPR Music's Alt.Latino podcast share some of their favorite seasonal songs. → Read More
Farruko: How a religious transformation led the rapper to retire his partying persona
Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre sit down with Carlos Efrén Reyes Rosado to talk about creating the character of Farruko, developing a relationship with God and spreading a message of love. This episode is in Spanish, please find an English translation of the conversation at NPR.org. → Read More
How Rosalía found her confidence
The Pop Culture Happy Hour team is off today, so we're bringing you an episode from our pals at NPR Music's Alt. Latino podcast. In each episode, hosts Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre talk with a different living legend or rising star to discuss Latinx culture, heritage, and the shared borders of our experiences. In this episode, Anamaria talks with Spanish pop superstar Rosalía, who released… → Read More
Carla Morrison: Tiny Desk Concert
The Mexican singer-songwriter gives a mesmerizing and emotional El Tiny performance. → Read More
Carla Morrison: How a break from music and a move to Paris led to a personal rebirth
Felix Contreras sits down with Carla Morrison to talk about her new sound, the importance of mental health and the art of the Parisian non. → Read More
Omar Apollo on making music and being a role model for queer Latinx kids
NPR's Alt.Latino gets a reboot, and for its first episode, they speak with R&B darling Omar Apollo. Apollo shares what it's been like being a role model for queer Latinx kids and the pressure of having to watch what he says now that he's famous. → Read More
'Los Espookys' is a very odd and very good show
Los Espookys is very odd and very good comedy series about a group of horror-loving friends who start up a business that provides scary experiences for their clients. It's co-written by two of its stars, comedians Julio Torres and Ana Fabrega. The second season is currently airing on HBO so we thought it would be a good time to encore our episode about the first season. → Read More
Alisa Amador: Why the Tiny Desk Contest winner almost gave up on music
Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras sit down with Tiny Desk Contest winner Alisa Amador to talk about intentionality in community building, almost quitting music and finding nourishment in her art.Correction: An earlier version of this episode incorrectly said Linda Diaz won the 2021 Tiny Desk Contest. She won in 2020. → Read More
Rosalía: How the genre-bending pop star found her confidence
Anamaria Sayre sits down with Spanish superstar Rosalía, who just earned eight Latin Grammy nominations, to talk about her musical inspirations, divine sensuality and constant pull to transform. → Read More
Carin León: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
A four song performance from the Mexican Regional artist captures a society in transition. → Read More
Alt.Latino kicks off Latinx Heritage Month on World Cafe
Felix Contreras and new co-host Anamaria Sayre discuss the evolution of Alt.Latino and give a preview of their month-long takeover of the Tiny Desk Concert series, El Tiny. → Read More
'El Tiny' takeover returns for Latinx Heritage Month
This year we celebrate our second "El Tiny" takeover of the Tiny Desk concerts to honor the wide range of sounds and experiences that make up Latinx heritage. → Read More