March 11th, 2010 | by Alex Avila | published in Cultural Reporting
Photo by Harry Lopez.
Cuban drummer, composer and educator Dafnis Prieto arrived in New York in 1999 and has since spent more than a decade influencing Latin and jazz music. At a summer concert in 2009, the New York Times said this of…
March 5th, 2010 | by scollins | published in Cultural Reporting
If you’ve ever wondered what the soundtrack of Maria’s life sounds like, you’re in luck: it’s the music of Pacha Massive. The cool and funky bilingual sounds of Ramon Nova and Maya Martinez have been in her iPod for years…
February 25th, 2010 | by Alex Avila | published in Cultural Reporting
StoryCorps Historias is an initiative to record the diverse stories and life experiences of Latinos in the United States. Sharing these stories celebrates our history, honors our heritage, and captures the true spirit of our community. It will also ensure that…
February 11th, 2010 | by Alex Avila | published in Cultural Reporting
Max Baca on the 12-string bajo sexto and David Farias on the accordion comprise the ‘conjunto’ elements of San Antonio-based Los Texmaniacs.
Max Baca formed his San Antonio-based conjunto band Los Texmaniacs in 1997. In Tejano music circles, conjunto is the pairing of a twelve-string…
February 4th, 2010 | by Alex Avila | published in Cultural Reporting
The role of Jack Sculley (Sam Worthington) in the sci-fi action film ‘Avatar’ is a ‘messianic’ figure.
Earlier this month, Avatar, the big-budget science fiction space adventure film was nominated for nine Academy Awards. Just a few days later, it became…
January 28th, 2010 | by Alex Avila | published in Cultural Reporting
Each month Latino USA airs interviews from the StoryCorps Historias, a nation-wide radio project that’s recording Latino stories. The full-versions of these interviews are archived at the Library of Congress becoming part of the history of the United States.
This week…
January 21st, 2010 | by Alex Avila | published in Cultural Reporting
Daniel Bernard Roumain, aka DBR, is a self-proclaimed Haitian-American musician with a growing reputation as a composer, performer and bandleader. (Photo by Julieta Cervantes)
The American experience shares one thing musically with the Haitian experience in that it is a fusion…
January 14th, 2010 | by Alex Avila | published in Cultural Reporting
Video Still from the music video ‘Ponte el Mameluco’ by Paquito Hechevarría.
Paquito Hechevarría was already an accomplished musician by the time he arrived in Miami as a teenager in the early 1960s. Encouraged by his father, a career military man…
January 8th, 2010 | by scollins | published in Cultural Reporting
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December 17th, 2009 | by Alex Avila | published in Cultural Reporting
Michele Serros was a staff writer for the George Lopez Show in 2002.
With all the focus on a national health care bill, writer Michele Serros recalls her excitement when, as a writer for a little known comedian for a new sitcom…
