Alt.Latino: Sofia Kourtesis, Lucrecia Dalt, more

All Songs Considered

NPR

Music

4.4 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

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Summary

Some might call it whiplash, the way we sometimes zip from one genre of Latin music to another in our New Music shows. But I like to think of it as an expression of the richness and vitality of all music made under what is known as Latin music.
This week's selections reinforce the idea that trying to identify this music under one heading is impossible. Let's just call it Good Music.
Featured artists and songs:
Harold Lopez-Nussa, “Niña Con Violin”
Sofia Kourtesis, "Canela Pura” and "Ballumbrosio"
Lucrecia Dalt, “caes” and “cosa rara”
goodtoknow (paula prieto, benjamin walker, sir hope), "Mareas,” "October," and "I’ll stay"
Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet, “Panabe”
Natanael Cano, “Presidente” and “El Juez”
Gabito Ballesteros and Carin Leon, “Regalo de Dios”
The audio for this episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the Executive Producer of NPR Music and the madrina of Alt.Latino.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	From NPR music, this is Alt Latino, I'm Felix Contreras.
0:06.8	And I'm Anna Maria Sayer. Let the Chisemay begin.
0:13.4	Okay, the Chisemay this week is new music.
0:16.2	Got a ton of stuff.
0:17.6	And as usual, it's from all over the place.
0:19.9	And I, since I wrote the script I wrote myself
0:22.7	going first so there wow I actually like this better I like to be the closer you can start
0:29.4	okay I wrote some jazz surprise surprise I don't even react anymore Felix well you know well I know, well, I'm glad because then you're being... I'm being indoctrinated. Yeah, you're being introduced. Jazz, jazz, jazz, jazz, jazz, jazz, jazz, jazz, jazz. That makes it sound like a punishment. This is another chapter in the adventure of pianist Harold Lopez Nusa. He is originally from Havana.
0:55.1	He's based here in the United States now
0:56.3	with his brother, Rui Lopez Nusa on drums
0:58.8	and Luchess Curtis on bass.
1:01.2	This is Nina con violin,
1:02.9	and there's a very, very cool story behind this track.
1:06.5	But let's hear the music first.
1:07.5	Music. let's hear the music first. I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm So Harold Lopez-Musa comes from two traditions.
1:57.3	The Cuban piano, which goes back to really to the turn of the 20th century,
2:00.6	when piano is used to interpret and define Cuban music with classical music and Afro-Cuban traditions and from the Lopez-Nusa tradition or legacy, because their family has generations of amazingly talented and respected musicians from Savannah.
2:15.2	This track was written by his uncle Ernan, very, very famous pianist in his own right.
2:20.2	He wrote it for a friend of the family in Havana,
2:22.5	who was a young violinist.
2:24.2	Harold heard it often throughout his childhood
2:26.0	and as he studied music.
	...

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