An interview with young, accordion virtuoso Dwayne Verheyden. Born in The Netherlands, Dwayne grew up listening to Tex-Mex music. He created his own band, “Dwayne and the Texmexplosion,” and eventually got to perform with Flaco Jiménez and other legends of Tejano music. This year, Dwayne created a sensation at the Tejano Music Awards in San […]

This Holiday edition features an interview with young accordion virtuoso Dwayne Verheyden. Born in The Netherlands, Dwayne grew up listening to Tex-Mex music. He created his own band, “Dwayne and the Texmexplosion,” and eventually got to perform with Flaco Jiménez and other legends of Tejano music. This year, Dwayne created a sensation at the Tejano […]

The Pasatono Orquesta, a band in the traditional style of the highland villages in Southern Mexico, recently toured the largest US metropolis, promoting their new album. The album, Maroma, was named after a popular travelling circus, and recreates the sounds of Gypsy marches and the ambience of clown performances. Pasatono’s brand mixes festive music with […]

The mariachi world lost an icon this year. Mariachi pioneer Natividad “Nati” Cano died at age 81, leaving in the US a legacy of excellence in mariachi music and authentic sound of traditional mariachi. For more than fifty years, he was the leader of Grammy-winning Mariachi Los Camperos. In 1990, Nati was awarded a National […]

An ensemble of accomplished jaraneros from California took the son jarocho music tradition to the nation’s capital, where they performed as part of the Homegrown Music Series. Masters of this music tradition, rooted in the Mexican state of Veracruz, filled the prestigious Kennedy Center Millennium Stage with festive music, dance and poetry. Hosted in English, […]

A conversation with Mexican-American singer, composer and actress Carmencristina Moreno, recipient of NEA’s National Heritage Award, the nation’s top honor for master folk and traditional artists. Carmencristina, heir of a rich family musical tradition, talks about her book “My Father and the Mexican Revolution,” where she shares memories of her parents, Luis M. and Carmen […]

In this Holiday edition, Mexican-American singer, composer and playwright Agustín Lira talks about his music and comments on social issues. Lira is co-founder with Luis Valdez of El Teatro Campesino and winner of the lifetime honor of the National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. Guest: Agustín Lira, Master Folk Singer, Composer […]

On the day the nation marks the Thanksgiving holiday, this is a conversation with Roberto Rodríguez about his book “Our Sacred Maíz is Our Mother.” In his newly-released book, Rodríguez submits that corn has been central to the traditional diet of Mexicans since ancestral times and, despite attempts by Spanish conquerors and modern-day assimilationist forces, […]