NPR : Weekend Edition Sunday

Funky, En Español: Groovy New Latin Beats From Panama To Puerto Rico

By: Jasmine Garsd // November 13, 2011
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Word travels fast here at NPR, and we'd been hearing rumors that Weekend Edition Sunday was in need of some funky new beats. Which is why my Alt.Latino co-host Felix Contreras and I put on our ski masks, scaled the walls with our mountain climbing gear and busted into the studio in the funkiest way possible.

OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit (we didn't wear ski masks), but we did sit down with Weekend Edition Host Audie Cornish to share some of our favorite new Latin funk.

Puerto Rico's Mima dances with ghosts in a tune reminiscent of Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me." Oakland's Goapele teams up with Panamanian rappers Los Rakas for a steamy tune that would've made Marvin Gaye proud. And we revisit Illya Kuryaki, an Argentine funk group that just reunited.

You can check out these songs in their entirety and other groovy tunes in our own recent show about Latin funk.

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