LatinaLista — If the names Manu Chao, Café Tacvba and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs sound familiar then you’re probably a fan of Latin alternative music.
The folks at Albany’s public radio station WEXT 97.7 are hedging their bets that there are a lot of Latin alternative music fans and want to reach them with the launch of the first nationally syndicated hour-long weekly radio show dedicated to the music genre.
“We recognize that Latinos are becoming an important part of the public radio audience, and we also know that non-Latin audiences love the Latin alternative genre. When we launched the station in 2007, we were surprised to discover that there were no syndicated Latin alternative public radio shows we could pick up to air. So we thought ‘why not create one ourselves?” said Chris Wienk, WEXT’s program director.
Dubbed “The Latin Alternative,” the show will elevate the profiles of “crossover-friendly” Latin alternative musicians from rock to electronic to hip hop, as well as, spotlighting U.S.-based Latin alternative acts.
The show is co-hosted by two of the genre’s leading experts, Josh Norek (co-founder of the Latin Alternative Music Conference and frontman of Latino-Jewish rap group Hip Hop HoodÃos) and Ernesto Lechner (contributing writer for Rolling Stone, LA Times, & Chicago Tribune and author of the book ‘Rock en Español: The Latin Alternative Rock Explosion’).
The Latin Alternative starts airing July 4 at 8 p.m. EST and can be listened live on the station’s website.
