All Songs Considered

Alt.Latino: A Brazilian summer and a lost Mexican masterpiece

February 18, 2026

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  • The episode of *Alt.Latino: A Brazilian summer and a lost Mexican masterpiece* features a diverse selection of new music, heavily focusing on Brazilian artists exploring fusions of indigenous and contemporary styles. 
  • The first featured album, *CRIOLO, AMARO E DINO*, is a significant collaboration between Brazilian giants Amaro Freitas and Criolo, and Portuguese artist Dino D'Santiago, aiming to connect diverse Brazilian cultural roots. 
  • The episode highlights Javier Jara's album *Our Rhythms, Our Voices* as a powerful, multi-platform project profiling Latin American immigrants and their stories, and unearths the lost 1970s Mexican rock relic *La Onda Pesada* by Ernan Roch Con Las Voces Frescas. 

Segments

Host Return and Brazilian Summer Theme
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(00:00:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Felix Contreras returns to Alt.Latino after a hip replacement, immediately launching the episode’s theme: a summertime journey through the sounds of Brazil.
  • Summary: Felix Contreras confirms his return after taking time off for a hip replacement. Ana Maria Sayer introduces the episode’s theme, which is a focus on Brazilian music, suggesting a summertime journey. The hosts express excitement about the variety of new music accumulated over the break.
Amaro Freitas Collaboration Deep Dive
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(00:01:34)
  • Key Takeaway: The first featured album is a collaboration between Brazilian jazz pianist Amaro Freitas, hip-hop/MPB legend Criolo, and Portuguese Afro-electronic artist Dino D’Santiago, exploring Brazil’s cultural diversity.
  • Summary: Amaro Freitas’s work is driven by a curiosity about Brazil’s diversity, leading him to explore indigenous and African cultures, which he seeks to represent musically. Criolo, a hip-hop/MPB artist, connected Freitas with Dino D’Santiago, a Portuguese artist blending Cabo Verdean traditions with electronic sounds. Their collaborative album is titled Criollo Amaro Edino.
Javier Jara’s Immigrant Profiles
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(00:09:45)
  • Key Takeaway: Javier Jara’s album Our Rhythms, Our Voices is a multi-platform project profiling Latin American immigrants through song, using various folk traditions to highlight human lives.
  • Summary: Javier Jara, an Ecuadorian folk singer based in Austin, Texas, created a project profiling Latin American individuals through song, using music from various folk traditions. The album Our Rhythms, Our Voices is accompanied by a website featuring photos, bios, and live performances of the subjects. The track ‘A Juan or Tu Juan’ tells the story of a Bolivian miner impressed by U.S. cleanliness and civic engagement, emphasizing the human element threatened by anti-immigrant actions.
Infinito Latente’s Rural Sound
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(00:13:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Infinito Latente, a new band from Brazil’s rural Valle de Paraiba region, blends strong independent songwriting with indie pop and lo-fi textures, contrasting urban Brazilian music.
  • Summary: Infinito Latente is a new duo formed by singer-songwriter Maira Bastos and musician Jaul Dusam, rooted in the strong independent songwriting culture of the Valle de Paraiba region. Their music translates existential restlessness into song, balancing rural influences with contemporary sounds like indie pop and MPB. They recorded the album Sem Início Nem Fim between São Paulo City and the historic town of São Luis de Pataringo.
Lost Mexican Rock Re-release
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(00:21:13)
  • Key Takeaway: The 1971 album La Onda Pesada by Mexican artist Hernan Roch Con Las Voces Frescas, heavily influenced by late 60s US rock and sung in English, was suppressed after the Avandaro festival crackdown.
  • Summary: Hernan Roch, from Monterrey, was heavily influenced by 1970 US rock releases like Let It Be and Working Man’s Dead during his time in the U.S., leading him to sing in English. The album was released in 1971 but saw limited distribution and disappeared due to the Mexican government’s crackdown on rock music following the Avandaro festival. The re-release is handled by the archival label Vampi Soul/Monster Records.
Hybrid Brazilian Collaboration
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(00:27:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The album Coisa Híbrida is a ‘superposition of different universes’ created by composer João Menezes from Northern Brazil and Latin Grammy winner Paulo Novaes from São Paulo, blending distinct regional sensibilities.
  • Summary: The album Coisa Híbrida (Hybrid Thing) is a collaboration between João Menezes, a composer from Brazil’s northeast, and Paulo Novaes, an established artist from São Paulo. Their meeting resulted in a project evoking summer and sunshine, benefiting from the contrast between Menezes’s northern coastal sensibility and Novaes’s city sensibility. The hosts note that music’s beauty transcends language barriers, as demonstrated by the instrumental focus of this track.
Líber Terán’s Country Folk
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(00:31:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Líber Terán, former lead singer of ska band Los del Abajo, is exploring Mexican folk and North American country traditions on his upcoming album Canciones Del Desierto.
  • Summary: Líber Terán, also known as Western Guitano, is releasing the album Canciones Del Desierto which leans more intentionally into country music than his past work. The track ‘Deja el Ayer’ showcases how Spanish phonetics fit perfectly over a banjo riff, reflecting his exploration of folk traditions from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Terán has previously collaborated with members of Café Tacuba.