Afropop Worldwide Folgen

Bachata is a music of the people. Recalling the American blues, bachata was infamous as the anthem of the hard-drinking, womanizing, down-on-his-luck man, vilified as the entertainment of the brothels and the cabarets, and worshipped by the down-trodden poor as the deepest expression of their feelings. Today it is an international sensation. Alex Wolfe, director of the film "Santo Domingo Blues: The Story of Bachata" brings us live ambience and stories of bachata stars Luis Vargas, Antony Santos, Luis Segura, Adridia Ventura. Produced by Alex Wolfe APWW #388

Afropop Worldwide's Journey from Colombia to Ecuador begins in Cartagena on the Caribbean coast, the most African part of the country. We hear vallanato and star singers Joe Arroyo and Carlos Vives. We also hear Shakira - before she was an international star. Traveling to Ecuador, we meet artists Milton Arias and Maricio Vicencio, who work in Afro-Ecuadorian traditions. We also visit with Altiplano - who in their words, create cosmic Andean music. This episode concludes with an amazing live recording of the one and only Paulina Tamayo live in Quito, Ecuador. Produced by Michael Jones APWW #285

Much has been made of Mexico's rich Spanish and indigenous heritage, but until recently there's been little talk of Mexico's so-called "Third Root": Africa. Africans came to Mexico with the Spanish as soldiers and slaves -- so many that by 1810, the black population of Mexico was equal to that of the United States. Today, African heritage persists throughout Mexico, yet for a variety of reasons, black history has long been silenced. In this Hip Deep episode, we use music to explore that history as we take a road trip across the country in search of sonic traces of Afro-Mexico. We visit the state of Veracruz to learn the history of the Afro-Mexican son jarocho sound, made famous by Ritchie Valens' 1958 hit cover of "La Bamba," a traditional jarocho tune. Then, we visit the Costa Chica of Guerrero, where Afro-Mexican communities are fighting for government recognition to help preserve faltering musical traditions. And we'll stop by the golden-age halls of Mexico City, where the Afro-Cuban danzón thrives far from its ancestral home in Havana. Along the way, we hear from top scholars in the field such as Ben Vinson III and Alejandro Madrid, as well as Afro-Mexican music stars past and present, from Los Cojolites to Las Cafeteras. ¡Que padre! Produced by Marlon Bishop APWW #658