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Devendra Banhart is one of two artists featured on this week's episode.
Lauren Dukoff/Courtesy of the artistThe conversation around Alt.Latino World Headquarters continues: does the term "Latin music" still has any value? As we've seen over the last decade of paying very close attention to music with roots in Latin America, more and more artists are completely busting down the walls of categorization in the name of individual expression.
This week's show drives that point home by featuring two artists whose music could not be any more different.
John Santos is a respected, veteran band leader and educator from California's Bay Area; his form of musical expression and family roots are Afro Caribbean. You will hear familiar sounds and beats, but even within tradition, Santos pushes the boundaries with his sextet on the new album Art of the Descarga, released on the prestigious Folkways Records.
Devendra Banhart has family roots in Venezuela and he has carved out a place for himself in the international musical landscape as an enigmatic thinker. He defies category; it's all just Devendra Banhart music. This week we talk about his new EP, Vast Ovoid, and his love for the Grateful Dead with the help of NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento.
This kicks off our annual block of Latino Heritage Month programming. Yes, every month is Heritage Month on Alt.Latino, but the national designation allows us to do something a little extra special. So stay tuned to this space through the middle of October.
