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End of Summer Already? New Music For Cooler Temperatures

Pianist/composer David Virelles provides new music to end the summer on this week's AltLatino.
Shawn Peters/ECM Records
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Courtesy of the artist
Pianist/composer David Virelles provides new music to end the summer on this week's AltLatino.
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As we get older the summers seem to go by quicker, don't they? Or is it just me? It feel like I was just sharing Alt.Latino's Mid-Year Best Of list, and here we are buying school clothes for the kids and thinking about sweaters.

Ni modo.

As long as we continue our journeys around the sun above ground, we should have joyful, life affirming music to go accompany us. And that seems to be a theme running through the songs selected for this exploration. Joy, affirmation, celebration and wonder. Sometimes set to a seriously booty shaking groove.

I've asked two of Alt.Latino's fab contributors to share the mic this week: Marisa Arbona-Ruiz and Catalina Maria Johnson, who each bring something different to their music writing. Marisa is an accomplished singer-songwriter (among other things) who brings a musician's ear to her listening; and Catalina is an intrepid music explorer who literally spans the globe seeking out new sounds and voices. Catalina is also the host of the fabulous podcast Beat Latino, while Marisa recently published an interview with Carlos Santana for NBC Latino.

They both bring it this week with music that is new to them and to us as well, in addition to some familiar names in a new context. (And I brought the jazz to the party this week!)

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.