We round up the greatest boleros ever, with help from artists and listeners
FELIX CONTRERAS, HOST:
From NPR Music, this is ALT.LATINO. I'm Felix Contreras.
ANAMARIA SAYRE, HOST:
And I'm Anamaria Sayre. Let the chisme begin.
(SOUNDBITE OF LUIS MIGUEL SONG, "EL RELOJ")
CONTRERAS: (Singing) Reloj, detén tu camino...
SAYRE: Oh, no, Felix. No more singing. We're not normalizing singing on the show (laughter).
CONTRERAS: OK, I (laughter)...
SAYRE: That's what we have the artists for.
CONTRERAS: Especially my singing - OK, I'm singing a bolero because it's February, and it's time for Valentine's Day. So we want to do a nice little special show for Valentine's Day.
SAYRE: And you know we love love here at ALT.LATINO.
CONTRERAS: We do love love.
SAYRE: If the people knew, Felix, how much time we spend unpacking, dissecting, analyzing...
CONTRERAS: Yes, you know. No, they don't want to know.
SAYRE: OK. But for now, we're doing this podcast.
CONTRERAS: And what we're going to do is we're going to feature bolero. And here's why. Because I don't know if you noticed, but in late last year, in December, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, recognized the song form known as bolero as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity and their quote was, "they are an indispensable part of the Latin American sentimental song, and they have served as a means of expressing emotions and feelings for over a century," end quote. And it's something they do every year to preserve cultures and artifacts around the world in need of protection. And this year they chose bolero. I couldn't be happier.
SAYRE: Wow, Felix, I don't know if I've ever heard a more accurate description of bolero. I mean, that's what it is. It's become something so important across all of Latin America. I mean, I don't know anyone who can't get struck in the corazón with a bolero.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOSE SANCHEZ'S "TRISTEZAS")
CONTRERAS: And I've always believed that boleros were from Mexico because, growing up, there were so many great boleros attributed to Mexican composers. But as I got older and I discovered more about music - they actually originated in Santiago de Cuba. In 1883, there was a composer named Jose Sanchez who was credited with writing the first bolero, called "Tristezas."
(SOUNDBITE OF JOSE SANCHEZ'S "TRISTEZAS")
CONTRERAS: Some of the most well known and loved boleros are by Mexican composers, and I don't want to start any fights or anything here. But who has...
SAYRE: I was going to say, Felix...
CONTRERAS: Hey.
SAYRE: I mean, not to - you know. But who sings love like Mexicans?
CONTRERAS: OK. Don't send us any letters. Hear us out. Go ahead.
SAYRE: But, but, but, but, all that to say...
CONTRERAS: Yeah.
SAYRE: ...I mean, that is the beauty of this music is because, A, the letra and the music of it is so transcendent. And I think everyone in Latin America, regardless of where it's come from, has fallen in love with this form of music. I mean, we're featuring artists on this show who come from all parts of Latin America - from Colombia, Ecuador, you name it.
CONTRERAS: The way that it's reflected in so many different cultures - it's the fact that you can have a bolero with a mariachi. You can have a bolero with an Afro Caribbean big band. You can have a bolero with a Colombian guitar trio. You know, I mean, it's like it's everywhere. It's the song form. It's the emotion. It's the slow pace. It's the personal and heartfelt communication. That's the essence of bolero. But it's everywhere.
SAYRE: And it's so complex, Felix. I think that's what's so addictive to me about boleros is you can't have just pure love or pure heartbreak in a bolero. Everything is tinged with either, like - happy heartbreak. It's like, you're sad. You're melting. You're depressed. But there's something glorious about it. Or you're happy, and you're in love, but there's a tinge of sadness there. It's like everything is melancholy. And what's more Latino than that (laughter)?
CONTRERAS: That's definitely the case, man. OK, here's how we're celebrating the bolero this week. Now, we spoke with four artists - names that you'll recognize - and we gave them the impossible task of choosing just one of their favorite boleros to talk about. And we're going to hear why they chose that song. And then we're going to hear the song.
SAYRE: But don't worry - we too put ourselves through the horrible, painful, terrible task of having to pick just one bolero, which is maybe the most difficult thing you have ever made me do on this show, Felix.
CONTRERAS: (Laughter) You could write a bolero about having to choose a bolero...
(LAUGHTER)
CONTRERAS: ...About how painful it is because you love them so much.
SAYRE: Woe is me...
CONTRERAS: (Laughter).
SAYRE: ...My love, my intense affection for the bolero (laughter).
CONTRERAS: OK, we're going to start with you. What song did you choose?
SAYRE: Oh, man, Felix, I was in agony over this choice. I could probably rattle off, like, 30 favorites right now. But to help myself, I cheated a little bit, OK. I did post on my Instagram, just, like, what boleros are on people's mind today? And oh, my God, the speed of the responses - I think everyone has a bolero in their back pocket. And one artist who people pointed me towards who wasn't at the top of my brain, is Julio Jaramillo, who encapsulates so much of the beautiful transnational identity of this music.
(SOUNDBITE OF JULIO JARAMILLO SONG, "ÓDIAME")
SAYRE: Now he's famously from Ecuador but spent time in Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico and Uruguay. Like, he was active towards the end of the golden era of the bolero, so from the early '50s to the late '70s. And he's done everything - he did boleros, tango, rancheras. So he's adopted it all and done it with this beautiful, transcendent, influential vocal. I mean, if you listen to it, the emotion - because that's key to a good bolero. You have to have the emotion in those vocals. So I'm going to let you listen to this song that I chose, which in particular to me embodies all of the agony and the contrast that is a bolero. It's "Ódiame," which means, hate me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ÓDIAME")
JULIO JARAMILLO: (Singing) Ódiame, por piedad yo te lo pido. Ódiame sin medida ni clemencia. Odio, quiero más que indiferencia. Porque el rencor hiere menos que el olvido. Ódiame, por piedad yo te lo pido. Ódiame, sin medida ni clemencia.
SAYRE: If you listen to these lyrics, Felix - it blows my mind. I'll read them to you in English, just the first verse.
(Reading) Hate me, for pity's sake, I beg you. Hate me without measure or mercy. Hate I want more than indifference because resentment hurts less than oblivion.
CONTRERAS: Oh...
SAYRE: Yeah.
CONTRERAS: Oh, ho...
SAYRE: No, I know.
CONTRERAS: Oh, my God.
SAYRE: These guys - they're so tortured. I mean, it's definitely like un poquito toxico. It's like, oh, wow. OK. So this is how we're thinking about love. But it makes you kind of proud, a little bit, that we can feel love with such depth.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ÓDIAME")
JARAMILLLO: (Singing) Lo querido...
CONTRERAS: Now let's hear from your first artist.
SAYRE: My first artist is someone who was absolutely raised on tradition - Vicente Fernández's granddaughter, the amazing mariachi singer Camila Fernández.
CAMILA FERNÁNDEZ: Well, my favorite bolero is "Reloj."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL RELOJ")
LOS PANCHOS: (Singing) Reloj, no marques la hora, porque voy a enloquecer. Ella se irá para siempre cuando amanezca otra vez.
FERNÁNDEZ: "Reloj" tells the story of, like, a love that you have to enjoy every moment because it's, like, so romantic. And I also love, like, every note of it. And I just enjoy singing it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL RELOJ")
LOS PANCHOS: (Singing) Mi irremediable dolor. Reloj, detén tu camino.
SAYRE: Have you heard the story of "Reloj" - like, what the story is about?
FERNÁNDEZ: Yes. Do - have you?
SAYRE: Well, I've heard multiple versions, so I was curious what you've heard - like, why he wrote it.
FERNÁNDEZ: I mean, people have told me about the story about "Reloj," but they've told me, like, but don't say the real story about "Reloj," you know? And I'm like, I don't know if I should say this right now, but you tell me the story, the real story about "Reloj." Is that...
SAYRE: OK, I'll tell you my two versions. Ready?
FERNÁNDEZ: Yeah, you tell me, you tell me.
SAYRE: Primero, the beautiful romance of - his wife was dying or in the hospital.
FERNÁNDEZ: Oh, yeah.
SAYRE: And so he was like, I wrote a song about, like, my love, and only having so much time with your love. And then the second one was that he found a lover on tour, and so he wrote it about not wanting to leave her. Have you heard either of those?
FERNÁNDEZ: I heard the first one. I heard the first one. Because they say that in the living room that was in - at the hospital, there was, like, a huge clock in front of him. And then they say that he started writing down the song when he had the huge clock in front of him. El famosísimo reloj. And then, yeah, he started writing this song, like, reloj, no marques las horas, porque voy a enloquecer...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EL RELOJ")
LOS PANCHOS: (Singing) Para que nunca amanezca…
FERNÁNDEZ: And yeah, it's one of my favorite songs, but I have two - two favorite boleros. Also "Bésame Mucho," which was one of the first bolero ranchero that I started singing when I was super little, when I was like 3 years old at parties and stuff, that my grandma would say, oh, yeah, sing this one, or my dad and my grandpa. And I would always sing that song. And I love that song with my heart. It's so special to me.
SAYRE: That is perfect.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BÉSAME MUCHO")
LOS PANCHOS: (Singing) Bésame, bésame mucho. Como si fuera esta la noche la última vez.
SAYRE: What are your favorite versions?
FERNÁNDEZ: Ooh, I mean, well, the original one from - "Bésame Mucho" - a lot of people don't know that a Mexican woman wrote that song. And I'm pretty proud of that - girl power, yes. And, I actually really fell in love with the story that she wrote the song to a man she was in love with because she had never been kissed before. So that's why she wrote that song. I love the story behind it, and she sings it beautifully. And there has been a lot of versions which I really like. But I think - yeah, I mean, I think the true love of a bolero, of a good bolero is how you make your own version of a bolero, right? You make it sound as if your soul was into it, right? So that's what I love - really love about boleros, too.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BESAME MUCHO")
LOS PANCHOS: (Singing) Perderte después...
SAYRE: Next up, I spoke with El Macha. He's from a group called Macha y El Bloque Depresivo, which is a band coming out of Chile who's currently reimagining boleros.
EL MACHA: Soy del Bloque Depresivo y la canción bolero que ahora escucho, porque tengo muchas favoritas, se llama "Sin excusas."
SAYRE: OK. OK. ¿Y qué significa este bolero para ti?
EL MACHA: Es un bolero quizás (inaudible) y habla un poco de las rupturas, este, amorosas, pero desde otro punto de vista, como queriéndolo hacer más que sufriendo por eso que se acabó. Y eso me gustaba porque le daba una vuelta al clásico sufrimiento.
SAYRE: El clásico sufrimiento. ¿Tenía algo - tenía como un bolero que escuchaste mucho cuando eras chiquito, algo así, con tu familia en casa?
EL MACHA: Se llamaba "Vergüenza ajena."
SAYRE: ¿De quién?
EL MACHA: De un grupo chileno que se llama "Los Jaivas."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VERGÜENZA AJENA")
LOS JAIVAS: (Singing) Vergüenza, cada día más vergüenza de este amor enloquecido...
EL MACHA: Es un grupo que no hace boleros, pero que le pidieron hacer música en una película y, en esa película, quisieron interpretar a la señora que hacía (inaudible) y le pusieron un bolero cuando aparecía ella. Es un clásico. Siempre como una cosa bien como clasista que se le asigna a la gente más pobre el amor por el bolero o a las cumbias.
SAYRE: ¿Y por qué crees que ustedes escucharon este bolero mucho?
EL MACHA: Ah, porque es hermoso, lo hicieron muy bien ellos. Es una canción muy, muy bonita con una sonoridad única porque le metieron como la guitarra de palo le decimos en Chile, como la guitarra acústica. Tiene una sonoridad muy bonita y el cantante era extraordinario.
SAYRE: ¿Crees que este bolero fue parte de tu inspiración para empezar a tocar, tocar boleros, cosas así?
EL MACHA: Seguro que sí, como todas las canciones de boleros. Igual a mí lo que me hizo como un punch en la cabeza fue cuando escuché por primera vez el disco, el primer disco, de José Feliciano. Contrabajo, guitarra, bongó y la voz de él, y eso lo escuché y dije, "Guau." Se me había olvidado que esto era lo quiero hacer. Es el primer disco entero. Está "La copa rota," del (inaudible), del (Singing) "Salud, salud, cariño, porque mañana siempre exista la alegría…" Todas esas canciones son hermosas.
CONTRERAS: We'll be back with more boleros right after this.
SAYRE: And we're back with our favorite boleros.
CONTRERAS: OK. The first artist I spoke to is Louie Perez, one of the founding members of Los Lobos.
OK, Louie, I gave you the impossible task of choosing just one of your favorites to talk to me about. What did you come up with?
LOUIE PÉREZ: Well, yeah. You said - you warned me it was a difficult to come up with that one definitive favorite one because there's many, you know? But I came up with "Pa' Todo El Año" by Jose Alfredo Jiménez.
(SOUNDBITE OF JOSE ALFREDO JIMÉNEZ SONG, "PA' TODO EL AÑO")
CONTRERAS: What is it about this song that speaks to you?
PÉREZ: Well, for one thing, it's a hugely popular song. And he's about the most quotable lyricist songwriter of all Mexico, as far as rancheras is concerned and beyond that. And lyrically, it's just so beautifully put together. He can turn a phrase, and the feeling - this song, it happens in real time.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PA' TODO EL AÑO")
JOSÉ ALFREDO JIMÉNEZ: (Singing) Si te cuentan que me vieron muy borracho...
PÉREZ: It's about a heartbreak, but it's, like, happening right now. He's talking about sitting at a bar thinking about, you know, I'm seriously going to get drunk tonight. I'm going to get drunk tonight.
CONTRERAS: (Laughter).
PÉREZ: And if you hear about me being drunk - he's speaking to the woman at this point. If somebody tells you that they saw me drunk, then you should take a lot of pride knowing that it was because of you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PA' TODO EL AÑO")
JIMÉNEZ: (Singing) Porque sé que de este golpe ya no voy a levantarme. Y, aunque yo no lo quisiera, voy a morirme de amor.
PÉREZ: He finishes by saying, porque sé de este golpe no voy a levantarme, from this blow, I know I will never been able to get up. And whether I like it or not, I'm going to die from love. And you just say, wow, I mean, get out of here. You know, even - OK. We know that Spanish to English, it creates this big divide. It doesn't resonate. But even in good English, this thing sounds beautiful. Can you just imagine it in Spanish. And then the melody and then the mariachi in the background, it just - it's got everything that I love about Mexican music.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PA' TODO EL AÑO")
JIMÉNEZ: (Singing) Voy a morirme de amor...
CONTRERAS: I spoke to iLe - Ileana Cabra - from her home in Puerto Rico about her pick.
ILE: Well, it was very difficult, but I had to - I think it was easier for me when I focused on my beginnings when I started listening to bolero and the first female bolerist (ph) that I knew was La Lupe.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA TIRANA")
LA LUPE: (Singing) Según tu punto de vista, yo soy la mala. Vampiresa en tu novella.
ILE: She was, like, my biggest female mentor in bolero. So I feel that I learned a lot listening to her songs. And this song, "La Tirana," is very special because it was written by Tite Curet Alonso. That is one of the biggest Puerto Rican composers in salsa and bolero, as well. So I appreciate Tite and we as Puerto Ricans, I appreciate his work a lot. And my dad, I remember when I first listened to this song, my dad told me that it was originally written for a man, and I don't remember what the situation was exactly, but then suddenly, I don't know if someone suggested it to be for a woman or if it was Tite himself, I don't know that part, but suddenly, that - they gave the song to La Lupe.
So, I mean, there's no way back, like, you listen to that song and it was - I mean, I don't know how it was written for a man. Like, it should have always been written for a woman, and especially La Lupe, and I feel that it gives the song so much of a bigger power, you know? And I love the message of the song, especially coming from a woman. So I've always loved that story. And I remember when I listened to it, like, I was in my teenage years. So it was, like, very important for me at last to listen to female voices with a female empowerment. It was amazing.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA TIRANA")
LA LUPE: (Singing) Según tu punto de vista, yo soy la mala. La que te llegó hasta el alma, la gran Tirana. Para mí, es indiferente.
CONTRERAS: So most of us listen to boleros and listen to music, but specifically boleros as a listener, and we relate to the lyric, to the emotion, to the sentiment. But as a vocalist, what does it take to successfully sing a bolero so that I can feel, maybe even cry? What does it take?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA TIRANA")
LA LUPE: (Singing) Fui yo quien salió ganando...
ILE: It takes a lot of connection. And I know that maybe - for me, it's an incredible exercise, but I know that it might be difficult for some people. I mean, it is difficult because it takes a lot of dedication and energy. But when you read the song especially and you try to analyze word by word and you try to visualize the story behind it, even if it's something that you don't know exactly where the song comes from but you try to connect it to some situation in your life or in someone else's life that you feel connected to. I mean, and as women, I feel that we have a lot of different connections that we can feel identified with even if we haven't gone through the same situation.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA TIRANA")
LA LUPE: (Singing) Dice que yo no soy fácil, y qué aburrido sería...
ILE: It's a very introspective exercise that I love because, like, even if the situation can be similar, it never comes from the exact same place. So maybe to some other singer, it can - they can feel, like, a very rage energy, but maybe this other singer can feel it softer. And they're both great, but even if they're different, the important thing is to transmit that honesty, you know, that the song expresses. So I feel that it's that, you know? You have to feel a lot of connection to this song and try to disconnect a little bit with technicalities, maybe. I think it's more of a intuition or an energy vibe.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA TIRANA")
LA LUPE: (Singing) Haciéndome que le quiero...
CONTRERAS: I remember reading an interview with Ella Fitzgerald, who said that, for her, it was like she had to become like an actor, like an actor does to find inspiration. Like, you lose yourself in a role. So she would lose herself. She would put herself in the lyrics because she was interpreting the lyrics. And that made all the difference for her to be able to deliver such a powerful emotion. You have to - like you were saying, you have to put yourself in that spot and imagine that it's your life.
ILE: Yeah, definitely. And we as singers can be storytellers, you know? And if it's important for you that people connect as much as possible with that story of the song, then you have to do your best to feel connected to it. And it has to be authentic, and it has to come from the heart. And you really don't know exactly how it's going to come out because it's a very deep feeling. And suddenly, like, your voice can transform into something new that you never expected. But that's what's the magical part of interpreting a song, you know?
And even if it's yours or not, I feel that it's - both things are incredible because sometimes you can write your own song, and you don't even know how or from where this song came from. And suddenly when you get to the studio, you start to interpret it differently. And then you try to understand sides of yourself, and you go back to that moment that you never knew what was going on. But then suddenly in the studio, you understand everything better. And it comes out differently sometimes than when - the time you wrote it.
SAYRE: OK, Felix, I know you've been on the edge of your seat, waiting, jumping up and down. I've been watching you this whole time. What is your bolero pick?
CONTRERAS: Some say this is the world's most famous bolero. It was written in 1959 by Mexican composer Alvaro Carrillo. It's been covered by countless vocalists, bands, mariachis, conjuntos in Spanish. It's also been recorded in English, French, German, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Italian and even Zapotec from Oaxaca.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SABOR A MÍ")
EYDIE GORMÉ: (Singing) Tanto tiempo disfrutamos de este amor. Nuestras almas se acercaron, tanto así. Que yo guardo tu sabor. Pero tú llevas también. Sabor a mí.
TRIO LOS PANCHOS: (Singing) Si negaras mi presencia en tu vivir.
CONTRERAS: A little bit about the artist - Eydie Gormé was not Latina. She was born in New York and grew up in the '30s and the '40s. She and her family were Sephardic Jews, and they grew up speaking Ladino, which is a language based on medieval Spanish. So they spoke Ladino. They spoke Spanish. They spoke English - completely trilingual. She had success in the '50s and the early '60s as a mainstream big band singer. And in 1964, a record producer suggested she record with Trio Los Panchos, which is a very, very popular vocal and guitar group in the United States and Mexico. This album, "Amor," broke all kinds of sales records. It went viral on steroids back then. Sales all over the U.S. and Latin America were the equivalent of billions of streams. It was a cross-cultural mega-success, so popular that, in 1965, they recorded a follow-up and called it "Mas Amor."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SABOR A MÍ")
GORMÉ: (Singing) En la boca llevarás. Sabor a mí.
CONTRERAS: Eydie Gormé, an artist who doesn't get the recognition she deserves for creating space for Latin music among non-Spanish speakers. I have three favorite versions of "Sabor A Mí." It was really hard, but I chose this one.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SABOR A MÍ")
GORMÉ: (Singing) Sabor a mí.
SAYRE: You know, Felix, how I told you I cheated a little bit in the beginning - just, like, you know, put a few feelers out? So I had so many people reply to that message because, again - I don't know - something about boleros. No one gets more excited than over boleros. So we actually compiled a few of our favorite responses to this. And we're going to play them for you. So you're going to get a little bit of a taste of the energy, the excitement and why some of these boleros mean so much to people like you.
SAYRE: Hello. My name is Hector, and my favorite bolero, I think, will be "Vamos A Darnos Tiempo," originally by Jose Jose, but my favorite version is by Alejandro Fernández.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VAMOS A DARNOS TIEMPO")
ALEJANDRO FERNÁNDEZ: (Singing) Sin decirme que al momento...
HECTOR: My grandpa was a musician, and he used to sing many songs to me when I was a baby. But they say every time he started singing this specific song, I started crying. And they used to say, like, in my past life, a lover broke my heart or something.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: My favorite bolero of all time is "Un Poco Más" by Los Tres Ases...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "UN POCO MÁS")
LOS TRES ASES: (Singing) Un poco más...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: ...Because I think it perfectly captures how painful and all-consuming loving somebody can be.
(SOUNDBITE OF DANIEL, ME ESTÀS MATANDO SONG, "DIEZ PASOS HACIA TI")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Hi, NPR Music. My favorite bolero is called "Diez Pasos Hacia Ti" by Daniel, Me Estás Matando. They have been responsible for making the bolero evolve and remain in Mexico and, in my opinion, the world.
(SOUNDBITE OF LOS TRES CABALLEROS SONG, "NOCHE NO TE VAYAS")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: “Noche no te vayas” es mi canción favorita de boleros. (Singing) Noche no te vayas. Quédate con nosotros, para siempre.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "NOCHE NO TE VEYAS")
LOS TRES CABALLEROS: (Singing) Tú que sabes que somos dos amantes que vivimos dos vidas.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Singing) Diferentes...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: "Con Los Años Que Me Quedan" de Gloria Estefan.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CON LOS AÑOS QUE ME QUEDAN")
GLORIA ESTEFAN: (Singing) Sé que aún me queda una oportunidad. Sé que aún no es tarde para recapacitar.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: Para mí, uno de los boleros más bonitos es "Caminito" interpretado por la dulce voz de Eydie Gormé y Los Panchos.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CARMINITO")
GORMÉ: (Singing) Caminito que el tiempo ha borrado que juntos un día.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: Esta basado en una pareja de enamorados, la cual fue separada por circunstancias de la vida. El compositor de esta canción se la escribió basada en el amor que le tenía a esta chica. Con el tiempo, la chica cantaba la canción, sin saber que estaba compuesta en su propia historia. "Caminito," una canción muy bella.
JUDITH GOMEZ: Hi. I'm Judith Gomez from Springfield, Va. I've been the director and violinist of Mariachi Estrellas based here in Washington, D.C., for close to 40 years. While there are many great boleros, one of my favorites is Pedro Infante's "Flor Sin Retoño"...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FLOR SIN RETOÑO")
PEDRO INFANTE: (Singing) Sembré una flor.
GOMEZ: ...Because both its musicality and lyrics evoke the pain and longing we've all felt at one point or another in our lives. ¡Ay, papi,lloro por ti!
SAYRE: Thank you to Judith Gomez and Mabel Espadas, (inaudible) De la Rosa, Hector Rodriguez Bosh, Luis García, María Urtaneta Gonzalez, and (inaudible) Gallardo.
CONTRERAS: I heard a number of songs I like on those messages. And if you heard something that you like, you can hear them on a playlist that we put together with the songs you heard on this episode on Apple and Spotify. Check them out.
SAYRE: And that playlist is linked in the description of this episode.
(SOUNDBITE OF LUIS MIGUEL SONG, "SABOR A MÍ")
CONTRERAS: You have been listening to ALT.LATINO from NPR music. Our audio producer for this episode is Joaquin Cotler.
SAYRE: Our editor is Hazel Cills. And the woman who keeps us on track is Grace Chung.
CONTRERAS: Thank you to Suraya Mohamed, and congratulations on her new position as executive producer for NPR Music.
SAYRE: And to our jefe in chief Keith Jenkins, VP of music and visuals.
CONTRERAS: I'm Felix Contreras.
SAYRE: And I'm Anamaria Sayre. Thank you for listening.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SABOR A MÍ")
LUIS MIGUEL: (Singing) Tanto tiempo disfrutamos de este amor.
CONTRERAS: (Singing) Tanto tiempo disfrutamos de este amor.
SAYRE: Hit the music, Joaquin.
CONTRERAS: (Laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SABOR A MÍ")
MIGUEL: (Singing) Nuestras almas se acercaron, tanto así. Que yo guardo tu sabor. Pero tú llevas también. Sabor a mí. Si negaras mi presencia en tu vivir. Bastaría con abrazarte.
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