Articles I've written and radio segments I've been in.
2009
Swine Flu, Viral on YouTube Quickie comment on insta-response swine flu related songs. (Weekend Edition, 5/3/09)
Flexing his urban muscle Feature written before Panamanian reggae romántico singer Flex won eight Billboard Latin music awards, but alas was held until after. (Viva, 4/28/09)
Farruco show at NY Flamenco Festival A preview of weeklong flamenco fest. (Viva, 2/10/09)
2008
The Tertulia Lives On A piece about the poetas y locos organizing book activities in El Barrio. Includes mentions of La Casa Azul, Cemí Underground and Camaradas' tertulia. (Morning Edition, 12/24/08)
Best Latin Indie Music Jewels from 2008 My real year-end list, all indie releases and totally idiosyncratic. Miti Miti rules! (Viva, 12/24/08)
Best of 2008 in Latin Music That time of the year again, basically a reprise of the Viva piece above. (Soundcheck, 12/18/08)
Live from NYC: Best Latin Music Moments of the Year I get bored with lists. So this year I split mine into two, live music and indie recordings (see above). (Viva, 12/10/08)
Framing AIDS To commemorate World AIDS Day, a piece on a grassroots multimedia art exhibit in Queens by a tireless public artist, Hector Canonge. (Weekend Edition, 11/30/08)
Thanksgiving "a la americana" is back Goofy story about an Irish-Puerto Rican couple who switched pavochón and arroz con gandules for a more all-American feast to sorta celebrate Obama's victory. (Viva, 11/26/08)
Chicas vs. rock at Latin Grammys Overview of Latin Grammys. Café Tacuba has 6 nominations, but Juanes will probably kick their butt. (Viva, 11/12/08)
Girl's Night Out in Houston Latin Grammy sidebar focusing on the non-token presence of chicks in top categories: Julieta Venegas, Kany García and Ximena Sariñana. (Viva, 11/12/08)
New York's 21st Century explorers A Columbus Day Día de la Raza piece about Mexican artist Felipe Galindo's funny Manhatitlán project. (Morning Edition, 10/12/08)
Sen Dog Still Learning New Tricks In case you were wondering whatever happened to weed-addled rappers Cypress Hill, here's an interview with Sen Dog. (Viva, 10/8/08)
Paquita la del Barrio: Diary of a Mad Mexican Woman My Mexican streak continues, with a preview of a concert by black-mustachioed ranchera king Vicente Fernandez and amazing cult singer Paquita la del Barrio, who has great man-chastising songs like "Rata de Dos Patas" (two-legged rat). (Viva Update, 10/1/08)
Calpulli Dance: Pre-Columbian tradition meets avant-garde Preview of fifth anniversary show by Calpulli Mexican Dance group, one of the few strong, Mexican arts groups springing up in NY. Most interesting is that they want to look simultaneously to the past -- indigenous traditions -- and the future -- the expression of New York's new generation of Chicanos/Mexican-Americans. (Viva Update 9/24/08)
'Piss Christ' Artist Returns Interviewing Andrés Serrano was a hoot. The guy is not just a great photographer -- he's always been dismissed as a provocateur, I think -- but an old-school NY bohemian. Plus it was fun to write a piece about a show called "Shit" with pictures of shit without using the word "shit." (All Things Considered, 9/16/08)
Top 10 signs of the New York taco-over I swear, we had a long discussion about what the headline should be. How to be funny and still not fall into food clichés? In either case, my take on how New York has adapted some Mex culture as its own. (Viva, 9/10/08)
Restaurant Week "Grito" Style Focus on the culinary part of the Celebrate Mexico Now! fest, prix-fixe at 16 great Mexican eateries in town through Sept. 15. Ajúa! (Viva, 9/10/08)
Queen of Mambo Graciela Throws a Birthday Party for the Ages Long title for a short piece previewing 93rd Birthday Tribute concert for Mambo Queen Graciela (who sang in brother Machito's band). The doña is a riot! (Viva, 8/13/08)
Guerra makes Latin Beats Tropical and Topical Preview of Juan Luis Guerra's MSG concert, the first solo tour in a decade. Guerra's people made me sweat the interview till the last possible second. The fun quote? He wanted to see "In the Heights." (NYDN, 7/18/08)
Taco lovers rejoice as Red Hook vendors return Quick hit based on news that Latin American street food vendors are allllllmost back. (Viva 7/16/08)
Welcome to Chanatown LAMC-related profile of up-and-coming Dominican-American singer Chana, who started her career in a WB reality show (Viva, 7/16/08)
'In the Heights' Sounds as Good on Record as Onstage A review of the original cast recording of that musical with 13 Tony nominations -- in every category it's eligible for, except for Featured Actress (Viva, 6/4/08)
Art and Life Come Together at El Museo del Barrio A belated review essay about a kick-ass show on Latin American/Latino performance art. Brought back a lot of memories, seeing so many friends from the identity politics 90s. (Morning Edition, 5/10/08)
The Belkys cult: Fake Dominican Beauty Salon is a Web Hit About the popularity of a YouTube video depicting Salon Belkys, basically to promote a t-shirt that looks suspiciously like the Wendy's logo. I think this is the first time I've allowed myself to be photographed for a story I wrote. (Viva, 5/7/08)
Author Abraham Rodriguez delves into Barrio Noir Interview with the Puerto Rican writer, now living in Berlin, about his Hitchcockian detective novel South by South Bronx (Viva Update, 4/30/08)
Why "Wao"'s Pulitzer Matters Commentary on the significance of Junot Diaz's Pulitzer win for not just Dominicans, but for Latinos, immigrants and all those forgotten by history. (New American Media, 3/9/08)
Welcome to the Migrant Cabaret A preview of Karina Casiano's one-woman show, "Rootless: La No-Nostalgia" (Viva Update, 3/9/08)
Argentinian club music hits New York The second piece I did on Zizek, this time for radio and focusing more on the sounds of nueva cumbia. My producer said my new nickname in the station is "EBP -- effective booty propeller." When is WNYC going to post the mp3?!? (Morning Edition, 3/15/08)
Zizek, Buenos Aires cumbia party My take on the epicenter of the Buenos Aires nueva cumbia scene, the weekly party Zizek, and the crew's stop at SOBs in NY as part of a five-city US tour. (Viva, 3/12/08)
Consolidation in Latin music I talk about Universal swallowing up Univision music and thereby owning most of the Latin music market, with Tomás Cookman from Nacional Records. (Soundcheck, 3/6/08)
