311 Is Underrated!

For the better part of two decades, 311 has been cranking out album after album and trotting almost nonstop around the globe. Of the band’s eight albums, four went gold, one went platinum and one triple platinum. And oh yeah, it had seven singles that hit the Top 10 on…

Tiempo Libre Helps Give Café Bustelo a New Face

Café Bustelo’s iconic can is getting a makeover. That’s right, the instantly recognizable red and yellow facade that cafecito drinkers have groped for first thing in the bleary-eyed morning for the past 80 years will look somewhat different as the recently unveiled cans begin to pop up around the country. …

SESAC Live at LIV

It’s that time of year again, party people.  No, not when your ass sticks to your car seat from the heat and humidity (though it’s annoying that we’re to that, isn’t it?).  I’m referring to the Billboard Latin Music Awards and Conference.  And we all know what that means?  Um…yes…I…

Bachaco Live at Poprox This Sunday

Thirsting for a new place to satiate your unquenchable thirst for strong drink and enjoy some good tunes?  Rack your brain no further.  You may already have heard of Poprox, a new club that opened on SoBe at the start of the month, named after everyone’s favorite mysteriously crackly candy…

AterciopeladosWith Curumin

Aterciopelados are more than just a Latin alternative band. Rather, these contemporary musical legends provide a loud, clear voice on social issues and hope to spur the kind of deep thinking that inspires change. And ours is a world badly in need of change, says Hector Buitrago, half of the…

Miami Rock en Español Fest at La Covacha

If you’re a fan of great Latin alternative music, you’re in for a treat this weekend, because this Saturday, April 18, the Miami Rock en Español Fest is going to put La Covacha’s half-open-air palapa structure to the test in ways that hurricanes of past years have only tried to…

El Gran Combo in Miami: Class is in Session

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico has been dubbed La Universidad de la Salsa (The University of Salsa) for a reason.  QuiGranCombo.jpgte simply, because they’re an institution.   They’ve released over 40 albums throughout the course of their 47 years and their alumnus has ever been a who’s who of standouts…

Palo! Wants You To Shake Your Ass

Palo! plays the sort of music that all at once soothes the soul while giving you fever.  For more cowbell?  Hell no — to shake your ass. Theirs is a savory blend of Latin jazz, funk and Afro-Cuban with modern twists, not unlike some of their uber-funky local contemporaries Spam…

DJ Le Spam & the Spam Allstars

Led by DJ Le Spam, the Spam Allstars will be performing live, delivering their trademark improvs blending funk, jazz, hip-hop, electro, Afro-Cuban, Latin jazz, and dub to get you and your honey shaking your asses into the wee hours. >p>The ensemble released a new album in late August of last…

Marc Anthony

No disrespect to Ruben Blades, Hector Lavoe, or any of a handful of salsa singers who undoubtedly merit consideration, but Marc Anthony may very well deserve the title “King of Salsa.” That comment may spark some sharp disagreement, and if so, so be it. Sure, there have been other men…

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs formed in 1985, stumbling into the dimly lit bars of their native Buenos Aires. Back then, they were just a ska group poised on the crest of a Latin rock revolution still far from shore. The following year saw the release of their debut album, Bares y…

Fanny Lu to Perform at Bongo’s Cuban Cafe

Do you recognize the super-sexy blond cutie in the picture you see at left? You should. This little Colombian bombshell is Fanny Lu. Her 2006 release Lágrimas Cálidas won her all sorts of acclaim, including a nod in the Latin Grammy, six for the Billboard Awards and two in Premios Lo…

La Lupe A One Woman Show Opens on Miami Beach

Guadalupe Victoria Yolí Raymond, better known as La Lupe, is perhaps one of the most iconic figures in Cuban music.  She was a singer of boleros and guarachas and known the world over as the Queen of Latin Soul.  Her command of the stage was renowned and her emotional range…

Marc Anthony LOVES South Florida!

So yesterday I headed to the beach to bop up and down Collins, checking out some of the hotel parties for WMC.  I hit the Raleigh for a penthouse party given by AX, where the Belvy was flowing like sweat on the pool deck at the Shelborne, which is where…

Latin Digital Music Summit Today at the Gibson Showroom

Industry insiders or civilians who just happen to be fans of Latin music may find themselves wanting for panels and performances specifically addressing their interests during Winter Music Conference.  But there is an event for them.  Though it is not exactly a WMC sanctioned event, it has all the right…

WMC Preview: The Ting Tings

Since their inception two years ago, the Ting Tings have enjoyed unbridled success, laying siege to charts and hearts in both the UK and the United States. So much so, that even a reporter could become nervous when speaking for the first time to one half of the British outfit,…

WMC Preview: Santigold

Santigold isn’t pop. She isn’t electro. And she sure as hell isn’t hip-hop or R&B, despite what some narrow-minded critics have implied. It’s a position she continues to defend, though just listening to her music should allow her to rest her case. Rather her music is a blend of underground…

WMC Preview: The Presets

The Sydney, Australia-based duo the Presets has been dubbed, variously, industrial, psychedelic, techno, and dance-punk, among various other genres. There’s some truth to all of those, though none is 100 percent accurate. Imagine if Trent Reznor produced New Order’s latest album, and you’ve got the first inklings of it, but…