Alt.Latino: A Tiny Desk chat with Silvana Estrada

All Songs Considered

NPR

Music

4.4 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 15 October 2025

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

There is no question that Mexican vocalist and composer Silvana Estrada is special to Alt.Latino. Ever since she launched her 2022 album "Marchita" with a series of revelatory singles, she seemingly spoke directly to Alt.Latino co-host Anamaria Sayre.

Since those earliest days, the two have been able to spend quite a bit of time together in interviews and other public gatherings, which only brought them closer on a personal level. Now, as Estrada releases her new album, "Vendrán Suaves Lluvias," and celebrates the publication of her Tiny Desk Concert, it seemed like a good time to sit in on the ever-flowing conversations between the two of them.

The result is a conversation that is probably a lot more personal than you’re used to. And that’s OK. Because Silvana is a performer of complex emotions, and while you can experience those emotions through songs, sometimes you have to hear things for yourself. Enjoy.

This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From NPR Music, this is Alt Latino. I'm Felix Contreras.
0:06.0	And I'm Ana Maria Sayer. Let the Chisemate begin.
0:10.0	And the Chisemate today, Felix, at long last, this is, I don't, how do I, how do I describe the level of excitement we brought in
0:22.0	Silvana Estrada to do a real life in our office tiny desk
0:27.6	so appagued yeah the loces now do
0:32.8	my world's enterlas are the piernas for carino Okay, Anna, yes it is a very, very special day.
0:46.3	Silvan, his tiny dust concert just came out.
0:48.5	And it's the last one in our 2025 El Tiny Series.
0:52.3	And that's the music you're hearing right now.
0:55.2	It's a stunning performance. And even better is that we got a chance to talk to Silvana after the concert.
1:00.1	So for today's episode, we're going to play that extended conversation. But first I'll introduce
1:04.6	people to Silvana Estrada, if by chance they don't know who we're talking about.
1:07.8	Silvan Estrada, if by chance, they don't know who we're talking about because I have brought
1:11.5	her many times on this show, is a singer-songwriter from Veracruz, Mexico.
1:18.4	The way I would describe her voice is, it's one of those things where you hear it once and you
1:24.9	truly never forget it.
1:26.6	Let me if I'm you hear it once and you truly never forget it.
1:49.0	Her music is deeply emotional and also personal and also political. She's one of the few artists out of Mexico right now I know of who's talking about actual
1:54.0	realized political issues, pains, things that most of the time people aren't super excited
2:00.0	or ready to talk about in the music, and she does it.
2:03.4	I'm a huge admirer of her. I'm also a dear friend of hers, and it means the world to me to have her come play a tiny desk for us.
2:11.5	I think that once people hear this interview, it'll be pretty clear that you guys are very good friends.
	...

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