Felix Contreras
Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.
In addition to his post behind the mic, Contreras programs music from the Latin diaspora for the acclaimed Tiny Desk concerts and hosts a weekly Instagram Live interview with a wide-ranging roster of guests.
A knowledgeable international ambassador for Latino heritage and arts, "Tio Felix '' travels extensively in search of new talent and new music and captures important legacy performers in jazz and Latin genres. Various national and international publications have quoted his expertise on the contemporary influences of Latin culture, music, and media.
His a recovering TV journalist whose first post at NPR in 2001 was as a Producer/Reporter for the NPR News Arts Desk. He is also NPR's resident Deadhead and performs around the DC area with his Latin music Beatles cover band, Los Day Trippers.
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The song "Afilando Los Cuchillos" was a major feature during the protests in Puerto Rico that led to the resignation of Gov. Ricardo Rossello last week.
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NPR's Alt.Latino music podcast shares suggestions for summer listening.
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The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, wraps up this weekend. Band after band filled the stages, including more Latin artists.
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Latin artists at SXSW 2019 Festival have traveled from Brazil and Venezuela where speaking out against government officials can be dangerous.
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NPR Music's Alt Latino host Felix Contreras shares some new tunes via a "musical blindfold test" with Lulu.
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There's a new box set of rare Cuban music recordings from the 1950s and 60s. The set is called The Complete Cuban Jam Sessions. Hear an interview with co-producer Judy Cantor-Navas on Alt. Latino.
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After a week of relentless and emotionally taxing news, Alt.Latino gives us a playlist of soothing songs to wash away the stress.
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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.
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The norteño band became the first major Latin band to play at Folsom Prison since Johnny Cash did in 1968.
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NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael and Felix Contreras dish about their favorite new discoveries at South by Southwest 2018 over a plate of barbecue.