Felix Contreras
Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.
In addition to his post behind the mic, Contreras programs music from the Latin diaspora for the acclaimed Tiny Desk concerts and hosts a weekly Instagram Live interview with a wide-ranging roster of guests.
A knowledgeable international ambassador for Latino heritage and arts, "Tio Felix '' travels extensively in search of new talent and new music and captures important legacy performers in jazz and Latin genres. Various national and international publications have quoted his expertise on the contemporary influences of Latin culture, music, and media.
His a recovering TV journalist whose first post at NPR in 2001 was as a Producer/Reporter for the NPR News Arts Desk. He is also NPR's resident Deadhead and performs around the DC area with his Latin music Beatles cover band, Los Day Trippers.
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The Brazilian singer and guitarist, who won wide acclaim for his abundant technical skill and minimalist style, was behind one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, 1964's Getz/Gilberto. -
Spanish-language artists like Ozuna, J Balvin and Bad Bunny dominated YouTube with billions of plays. Alt.Latino host Felix Contreras and contributor Stefanie Fernández explain how we got here. -
NPR Music's Felix Contreras creates a round up of the sounds of modern Mexico. -
Rapper Cardi B's song "Bodak Yellow" hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This marks only the second time in history that a female rapper has topped the charts unaccompanied.
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Felix Contreras joins NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro to share three standout Latin-alternative albums from the first half of the year. -
Father-daughter duo Willie and Bethany Pickens, along with husband-wife duo Bill Charlap and Renee Rosnes, played holiday favorites live at the Kennedy Center in Washington Dec. 10. -
Alt.Latino goes mining for new sounds in the less prominent categories of this year's Latin Grammys. -
Brazil's rich musical history is interwoven into Alt.Latino's weekly musical explorations. Just in time for the opening ceremonies, we collected some of our favorite Brazilian music moments. -
Alt.Latino host Felix Contreras shares some classic gems and some new tunes that both pay tribute to Puerto Rico's traditional sound and expand the island's musical tradition.
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Alt.Latino host Felix Contreras teams up with NPR classical music maven Tom Huizenga to talk about composers from Mexico, Puerto Rico and Brazil, delighting host Linda Wertheimer.
