Farruko Performs Intimate Tiny Desk Concert as part of NPR’s Latinx Heritage Month Celebration

Posted on October 15, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Farruko is celebrating a tiny moment…

The 31-year-old Puerto Rican singer and rapper performed a Tiny Desk concert as part of NPR’s Latinx Heritage Month celebration.

During his 15-minute performance, Farruko performed reimagined takes on his hit singles like “Pepas” and “En La Mia (Remix),” as well as launched his new single “Viaje.”

Farruko, real name, Carlos Reyes has undergone a spiritual transformation, even renouncing the message of his smash “Pepas” and taking the time to focus on his family and his developing relationship with God.

His Tiny Desk concert reflected that new perspective.

The concert included the participation of Armando Sanchez (guitar), Keriel Quiroz (keys), Juan Diaz (drums, percussion), Franie Laracuente (vocals) and Aaron Gonzalez (vocals).

Lido Pimienta to Take Part in Pop Conference 2022 Keynote Panel on Navigating Race & Borders

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Lido Pimienta is opening up about race and borders…

The 36-year-old Colombian Canadian musician, singer and songwriter will be taking part in a special opening keynote panel at this year’s Pop Conference 2022 to kick off the four-day online conference.

Taking place on Thursday, April 21 at 8:00 pm EST, the event is being held in collaboration with Billboard and New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.

Titled “The Way Back Home: How Musicians Navigate Race and Borders,” the panel will feature Grammy-winning acclaimed musicians Youssou N’Dour, Arooj Aftab and Pimienta. It will be moderated by NPR music critic Ann Powers.

Each will explore how their respective music crosses borders of all kinds, and in turn, transforms those borders and allows audience members to rethink notions of home and homelands, as well as race and identity.

Pimienta foregrounds Afro-Indigenous traditions and explores the wider politics of race, gender, motherhood, and identity through her work.

In their own unique ways, each of this year’s panel participants has been a leader in reimagining the role and power of popular music as it circulates in a rapidly globalized world.

“One of the most powerful things about popular music has always been the way that it travels, bringing people together across far-flung places in solidarity and affirmation,” said Jason King, Chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. “This year’s Pop Conference is an amazing opportunity to deeply consider the work that pop music does to create those connections across borders and racial divides and to think more deeply about its relationship to place.”

As the longest running music writing and pop music studies conference of its kind, from April 21-24, Pop Conference 2022 will bring together the world’s leading pop scholars, journalists, writers and musicians for four days of virtual events exploring pop music’s role in shaping the way we think about borders, race and home.

Other events include original concert performances by Jamila Woods and Aurelio Martinez, a special tribute panel to legendary music writer Robert Christgau and two closing keynote panels on Sunday (April 24) paying homage to the written and musical legacies of beloved writer/bandleader Greg Tate, who passed away in December 2021.

Pop Conference 2022 is free and open to te public with advance registration here.

NPR Releases The Linda Lindas’ NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Posted on April 11, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a tiny accomplishment for The Linda Lindas…

The Mexican & Asian rock group returned their breakthrough-inducing space for their brand new NPR Tiny Desk (Home) concert: the library.

After becoming viral sensations with a performance at an L.A. public library in early 2021 that got them signed to legendary punk label Epitaph Records, sisters Mila de la Garza (11) and Lucia de la Garza (15), their cousin Eloise Wong (14)and their family friend Bela Salazar (17) returned to the comfy confines of the L.A. Public for a show at the Los Angeles Central Library for the NPR gig.

The show begins with the pummeling pop-punk of “Growing Up,” the title track from the group’s just-released full-length debut, snarled by guitarist Lucia de la Garza as her band mates rock out amid shelves of books.

“We’ll dance like nobody’s there/ We’ll dance without any cares/ We’ll talk ’bout problems we share,” she sings in a perfect deadpan through braces as the band churns behind her.”

And, because they’re still kids, in honor of their Tiny Desk show, the Linda Lindas folded up some colorful construction paper to form a tinier, tiny desk. “We’re super-excited, we’re so happy to be here,” Lucia says at the beginning of the 14-minute blitz. “Just [a] cool space, we’re playing in the library once more.”

Drummer Mila de la Garza takes over for the pogo-worthy pop gem “Talking to Myself,” grabbing lead vocals on the bouncy tune, with bass player Wong totally missing the planned funny stage banter setting up her doomy lead vocal on the teen lament about the perils of young love, “Why.” Mila’s drum teacher, Bleached member Spencer Lere, joins the ladies for the bubbling, wistful Spanish-language tune “Cuántas Veces,” which shows off their versatility, with Salazar taking taking lead vocals on the song about being “tired of feeling this way.”

The set, of course, ends with the song that helped the group explode into stardom last year, the biting blitzkrieg “Racist, Sexist Boy,” about a racist incident from early in the pandemic that Mila turned into their signature song. “Here we go — let’s blow the roof off,” Lucia says with a smile. “I live for danger.” And, as advertised, they bring the hammer down on a boy who says “mean stuff” to them with Mila and Eloise trading off lead vocals.

In addition to dropping Growing Up last week, the band recently dropped the spooky video for “Talking to Myself.”

Camilo Performs “Tiny Desk (Home) Concert” for NPR

Posted on March 12, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a tiny moment for Camilo…

The 27-year-old Colombian singer has performed a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert for NPR.

During the performance, Camilo sang a medley of his hits like “Índigo,” “La Mitad,” “El Mismo Aire” and “Vida de Rico.”

Wearing an oversized pink shirt and pearl necklaces, Camilo performed in the middle of an idyllic setting covered with pink, yellow and white flowers that decorated the entire room.

He was also accompanied by nine musicians who played a variety of instruments including the ronroco, chekere, bass, cello and trumpet, among others. I

In the middle of his set, Camilo stopped the music to recite a poem he wrote where he invites his fans to be profound thinkers and look beyond his lyrics. His 15-minute, soothing set was directed by Evaluna Montaner, an artist in her own right and Camilo’s wife.

Most recently, Camilo announced dates for his upcoming North American trek, which opens August 27 in New York.

Dubbed the Camilo Tour, which will be produced by Loud and Live, the 23-day jaunt will follow his 2021 Mis Manos tour, which marked his first-ever trek in the U.S.

The 2022 tour will take the singer-songwriter across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada with stops in cities like Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and San Juan.

Tickets are now available at CamiloTour2022.com.

“My heart is filled with joy, and I’m so proud of this tour that we’re about to experience,” the Latin Grammy-winning artist said in a statement about his upcoming performances, which include stops in Paris, London, Zurich, Milan and 16 cities in Spain starting June 23. “While I write this, my heart races as I imagine being together again. La Tribu has grown.”

Camilo is currently working on his upcoming album, set to follow his chart-topping Mis Manos, which peaked at No. 5 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart dated March 20, 2021.

Mon Laferte Delivers Impassioned Tiny Desk (Home) Concert for NPR

Posted on January 12, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a nice day for a white wedding-like performance for Mon Laferte…

In a church-like setting surrounded by white candles for a divine ambiance, the 38-year-old Chilean singer, songwriter and musician delivered a spiritual Tiny Desk (Home) Concert for NPR this week.

An impassioned Laferte sang some of her most well-known songs, including “Tu Falta de Querer,” “Por Qué Me Fui A Enamorar de Ti,” “Se Me Va a Quemar el Corazón” and “Placer Hollywood.”

Accompanied by a 10-piece orchestra, with instruments ranging from a jarana, an oboe, a tuba and violins, Laferte recorded her Tiny Desk Concert from Tepoztlán, Mexico, where she currently lives.

Dressed in all white from head to toe with red roses adorning her hair, Laferte’s baby bump was also in full display.

This isn’t the first time Laferte has appeared in a Tiny Desk Concert.

Back in 2018, she made her debut in the Juanes and Mon Laferte Tiny Desk Concert, where together they performed “Amárrame” and “Fotografía.”

“It’s a pregnancy I looked for,” Laferte told Billboard during a red carpet interview at the Latin Grammys in November.

“While I was in the process of getting pregnant, I began writing songs and it’s completely different. I was very hopeful but at the same time anxious and fearful and all of that was captured in my new album (SEIS). It’s so different to create from this new place.”

Laferte’s SEIS, her first regional Mexican album that’s home to “Se Me Va a Quemar el Corazón,” is up for best regional Mexican album at the Grammys.

At the Latin Grammys, the 14-track set won best singer-songwriter album.

“The entire writing process [for the album] was very solitary, bleak and melancholic, because I was like everyone else, just filled with uncertainty about what was going to happen,” she previously told Billboard. “So I clung onto my music and my guitar because I thought, if the world ends, I at least want people to know how I was feeling. I wanted to sing about personal experiences, past and future loves, the love I have for my mom and other women.”

Penelope Cruz Named Best Actress by National Society of Film Critics

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Penelope Cruz is the Society’s choice…

The National Society of Film Critics has announced the winners of its 2021 film awards, with the 47-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actress among the honorees.

Cruz was named Best Actress for her performance in Pedro Almodovar’s Spanish-language film Parallel Mothers, with 55 points.

The NSFC features elected and eligible members from major media outlets. The annual awards honors the best in acting, direction, writing, cinematography and more across onscreen and streaming releases in the US.

Any film that opened in the US on a screen or streaming platform during the year is eligible for consideration.

The 60-members NSFC include critics from major papers and outlets in Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago including from outlets Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, the New Yorker, the Christian Science Monitor and NPR.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Best Picture:

WINNER: DRIVE MY CAR (48 points)

RUNNERS-UP:
PETITE MAMAN (25 points)
THE POWER OF THE DOG (23 points)

Director:

WINNER: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, DRIVE MY CAR and WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY (46 points)

RUNNERS-UP:
Jane Campion, THE POWER OF THE DOG (36 points)
Céline Sciamma, PETITE MAMAN (28 points)

Actress:

WINNER: Penélope Cruz, PARALLEL MOTHERS (55 points)

RUNNERS-UP:
Renate Reinsve, THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (42 points)
Alana Haim, LICORICE PIZZA (32 points)

Actor:

WINNER: Hidetoshi Nishijima, DRIVE MY CAR (63 points)

RUNNERS-UP:
Benedict Cumberbatch, THE POWER OF THE DOG (44 points)
Simon Rex, RED ROCKET (30 points)

Supporting Actress:

WINNER: Ruth Negga, PASSING (46 points)

RUNNERS-UP:
Ariana DeBose, WEST SIDE STORY (22 points)
Jessie Buckley, THE LOST DAUGHTER (21 points)

Supporting Actor:

WINNER: Anders Danielsen Lie, THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (54 points)

RUNNER-UPS:
Vincent Lindon, TITANE (33 points)
Mike Faist, WEST SIDE STORY, and Kodi Smit-McPhee, THE POWER OF THE DOG (26 points)

Screenplay:

WINNER: Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, DRIVE MY CAR (46 points)

RUNNERS-UP:
Pedro Almodóvar, PARALLEL MOTHERS (22 points)
Paul Thomas Anderson, LICORICE PIZZA (20 points)

Cinematography:

WINNER: Andrew Droz Palermo, THE GREEN KNIGHT (52 points)

RUNNERS-UP:
Ari Wegner, THE POWER OF THE DOG (40 points)
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, MEMORIA (35 points)

Nonfiction Film:

WINNER: FLEE (41 points)

RUNNERS-UP:
PROCESSION and THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (28 points)

Film Heritage Award:

The late Bertrand Tavernier and Peter Bogdanovich, distinguished critic-filmmakers who never lost their passion for other people’s movies and film history. Both crowned their careers with invaluable chronicles of their engagement with the cinema: Tavernier with the books “50 Years of American Cinema and American Friends,” and Bogdanovich with the books “Who the Devil Made It” and “Who the Hell’s In It?”

Maya Cade for the Black Film Archive, which expands knowledge of and access to Black films made between 1915 and 1979, and includes her critical essays that define the project and consider the films in relation to each other and to the cinema overall.

Special Citation for a Film Awaiting U.S. Distribution: Jean-Gabriel Périot’s documentary “Returning to Reims,” which draws on Didier Eribon’s 2009 memoir about his French hometown and the inequities of class and education that shaped him and his family.

Erick Galindo Developing “Mexican Beverly Hills” for CBS

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Erick Galindo is punching a ticket to California’s Mexican Beverly Hills…

The Latino award-winning writer, producer and journalist is developing the family comedy Mexican Beverly Hills for CBS alongside Aaron Izek and Wilmer Valderrama.

The single-camera project is inspired by Galindo’s New York Times essay of the same name.

Mexican Beverly Hills tells the story of a working-class Mexican-American family that moves to the wealthy, heavily Latinx city of Downey—also known as the Mexican Beverly Hills—where they both fit in and stand out in ways they never have before.

Galindo and Izek will write and executive produce; Valderrama and Kaitlin Saltzman will also executive produce under Valderrama’s WV Entertainment banner.

Galindo is a five-time Telly Award-winning writer, director, and producer known for his personal essays. He regularly writes about culture for LAist, NPR station KPCC, and The New York Times, and was the first managing editor of L.A. Taco, where his work won a James Beard Foundation award.

His co-written pilot Hot in Carson was a finalist for the Black List’s inaugural Latinx TV List, and his dark comedy script Legends was selected for the 2020 NHMC Latinx Screenwriters Showcase. He just launched Sin Miedo Productions with Patty Rodriguez.

Nicki Nicole Presents NPR “Tiny Desk (Home) Concert”

Posted on October 16, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

It’s a tiny moment for Nicki Nicole…

Joined by an 11-member band, the 21-year-old Argentine rapper and singer presented her NPR “Tiny Desk (Home) Concert” this week, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

The rising Argentine star gave a select performance of her hits a different twist, kicking off with a tango-infused version of “Colocao.”

She continues to flaunt her effortless swagger and soulful, powerhouse vocals in tracks such as “Mala Vida,” “Wapo Traketero” and “Freestyle.”

Nicki also performed her stripped-down, ultra-personal ballad “Parte de Mi” and wrapped up with the groovy, chachacha “Baby.”

J Balvin Kicks Off NPR’s “El Tiny” Home Concert Series in Celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month

Posted on September 18, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Size doesn’t matter for J Balvin…

The 36-year-old Colombian singer has kicked off NPR‘s “El Tiny” series in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Balvin’s performance on September 16 was the first of 10 “El Tiny” concerts that will feature Latin artists like Camila Cabello, Prince Royce, Sech, Nicki Nicole and Silvana Estrada. The series will run through October 15, the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Backed by the Brooklyn Bridge in the middle of the East River, the chart-topping artist kicks off his 15-minute mini concert, singing new tracks off his latest and most personal album yet, Jose. He kicks off the set with “Vestido” and goes on to perform “Que Locura,” “OTRO FILI,” “F40” and closes with fan favorite “In Da Getto.”

“Even though we have some of the biggest names in Latin music scheduled, our ‘El Tiny’ takeover of the Tiny Desk (home) concerts is more than just entertainment,” Felix Contreras, host of NPR Music‘s Alt.Latino, said in a statement. “I firmly believe that music has always been an accurate barometer of what’s going on in the Latin communities here in this country. Reggaetón hip-hop, soul, Afro Latino, jazz — it’s all reflected in our lineup and shows how diverse our listening habits, and our community, is.”

The nine-time finalist at the 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards recently spoke to Billboard about his 24-track set released on September 10. “The album was made thinking about myself and what I like to do,” Balvin said. “When I realized I didn’t have to box myself into a concept, like I did with Colores, I said, ‘The concept is me.'”

Bacardi Family’s Trials & Tribulations in 1950s Cuba Getting the Television Treatment

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

The life story of Facundo Bacardí Massó and his family is heading to the small screen…

MiLu Entertainment and Ian Reichbach are developing a television series based on the Bacardi family’s experiences in 1950s Cuba.

Reichbach is adapting NPR correspondent Tom Gjelten’s well-received book Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba, which fuses the story of the Bacardi family’s famous rum business with Cuba’s tumultuous experience over the last 150 years, including Cuba’s fight for freedom, its tortured relationship with America, and the rise of Fidel Castro.

Andre L III of MiLu Entertainment is producing the bilingual English-Spanish series with 6GEN Films, which consists of Bacardi family members Mari Aixalá, Pepin R. Argamasilla and Juan Bergaz Pessino of Bergaz Productions.

“It’s time to tell the untold story of the Bacardi family,” said Andre L III of MiLu. “Authenticity and passion are the key to great storytelling and it has been a privilege to collaborate with the foremost authorities on the history of the most iconic Cuban family.”

Reichbach is a regular collaborator with Aaron Sorkin, having served as a writer and executive story editor on The Newsroom, and a researcher on movies including Charlie Wilson’s War, Moneyball, The Social Network and The Trial Of The Chicago 7.

MiLu Entertainment’s slate includes features The Thicket, which has Noomi Rapace, Peter Dinklage, Sophia Lillis and Charlie Plummer attached.

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