Beat Latino (Wednesday 9PM CST)

A weekly exploration of the past, present and future of the Latino musical universe.

Airs on Vocalo 89.5 FM and Vocalo.org every Wednesday at 9pm CST.

Catalina Maria Johnson, the host and producer of Beat Latino is also a feature writer for HOY (Tribune Media), Revista Contratiempo, Arte y Vida and Gozamos, and a contributor to the Official Afropop World-Wide blog.

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Tonight on Vocalo Beat Latino goes to the Sacred Music Festival Fés! The theme for this year’s fest is “Reflections of Andalucía” and we are going to share the beauty and spirit of the music to be experienced. We’ll also hear from Chicago Gospel artists going to showcase at the festival. Tune in!

tune in at 9PM! The Beat Latino Mother’s Day Special! ¡Feliz Día de la Madre!
Like everything else that’s important in Latin & Latino culture, nuestras madrecitas – our mothers – have a special niche in our music. There’s songs about a mother’s special love, leaving Mom to go elsewhere, returning to Mom and to one’s hometown, following Mom’s advice, and the consequences of not doing so!

Let’s celebrate Mother’s Day Beat Latino style, with lots of singing and dancing! 

tune in at 9PM! The Beat Latino Mother’s Day Special! ¡Feliz Día de la Madre!

Like everything else that’s important in Latin & Latino culture, nuestras madrecitas – our mothers – have a special niche in our music. There’s songs about a mother’s special love, leaving Mom to go elsewhere, returning to Mom and to one’s hometown, following Mom’s advice, and the consequences of not doing so!

Let’s celebrate Mother’s Day Beat Latino style, with lots of singing and dancing! 

Tonight at 9PM! Beat Latino goes to Marseilles, France and shares the grooves we discovered at Babel Med Music 2013 - from cumbia via Paris and Marseilles (yes, cumbia! with a little je ne sais quoi!) to Iberian percussion to merengue from the Dominican Republic and Montreal - it’s the Latin side of the Mediterranean on Beat Latino tonight!

from Africa with love! African salsa, Congolese rumba and other Latin-influenced African melodies and rhythms on Beat Latino - tune in right now!

Tonight on Beat Latino - we’re celebrating International Women’s Day and Women´s History MonthBeat Latino style! This hour of Beat Latino presents a musical tribute to women with classic odes of every kind that sing the praises of  the ladies.

There’s grooves and beats from salsa to currulao to norteño to nueva trova, hailing from Cuba to Mexico to Spain and the Latino USA - all of which say, ¡Viva la mujer!

 

Tune in right now!!  Yes, it certainly is that time of year again!!

Every March, tens of thousands of music lovers will descend upon Austin, Texas for the South By Southwest Festival, an annual indie music-avaganza.This week’s Beat Latino takes you along for the ride!

A one hour preview of the many-hued musics of Latinos from Spain, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico and por supuesto, the USA that will grace the stages of SXSW 2013 - truly a magnificent testament to the many melodies and rhythms we can call our own.

Enjoy!

It’s Oscar’s season and everyone’s thinking about films! This hour of Beat Latino celebrates music in the movies about and by Latinos, including tunes from the soundtracks of “Beautiful”, “Brokeback Mountain”, “Motorcycle Diaries” and “West Side Story”. The sounds of movies a la Beat Latino!

Tune in right now! an hour of songs about “el beso” - the kiss - just in time for a little prep for a Happy Valentine’s Day!

It’s all about kisses on Beat Latino this week - from the first one, to the ones we dream about, to all the kisses we can’t quite forget… Tunes from Argentinean indie songstress Juana Molina, traditional Tejano grooves, Flamenco beats, Puerto Rican hip hoperos Calle 13 and more!

Grammy awards 2013 coming our way this Sunday! Tonight’s Beat Latino takes a musical paseo through most of the categories, which includes Tropical, Latin Jazz, Latin Pop, Urban/Rock/Contemporary and Regional Mexican. Which kinds of Latin sounds are your favorites?

What wonderful Latin music can we hope for in 2013?

Beat Latino takes a peek at its crystal ball and sees we are in for some marvelous surprises….

Balkan beats in unexpected places! Lots of future sounds that harken to the past, from soulful Latin to romantic eras! The emergence of global electronic dance music!

We love it all, especially because we hope that the more we cross borders with our music, the much much less we will need them in our world.

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Happy New Year!