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Festivo Alt.Latino: A Latin Alternative Holiday Party

Medellín, Colombia is famous for its Christmas lights.
Raul Arboleda
/
AFP/Getty Images
Medellín, Colombia is famous for its Christmas lights.

'Tis the season.

I know what some of you are thinking, because I've thought it too: It's the season for materialism and incessant holiday songs played everywhere you go.

When we decided to do a holiday show on Alt.Latino, we wanted to make sure we did something really different. So we stripped down the concept of the holidays to the basics. These are times to reflect, remember and share your affection for those you love — and eat a lot of good food! Every single culture across the world has a designated time to do these things, because they are so necessary to our continued survival as communities.

We were also keenly aware of the challenges of making a great hourlong special with holiday music that is actually bearable. So we invited some of our favorite Latin alternative artists, from Cafe Tacvba to La Santa Cecilia, to share their favorite holiday music and memories.

The result is a pretty awesome mix of traditions (from Mexican-American Catholic to Jewish-Brazilian ceremonies), good laughs, amazing music, mouthwatering food descriptions and a remembrance of the love that brings us together. Sounds like the kind of party I want to be at.

Oh, and you only have to listen to Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" once.

Happy holidays from the Alt.Latino gang!

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Se que muchos de ustedes esta hartos del materialismo que ha invadido de estas fechas- la Navidad, el año nuevo, y los Reyes Magos. Yo también lo estoy.

Al decidir hacer un programa especial navideño, quisimos hacer algo realmente distinto: volver al concepto más básico de esta época del año. Se trata de un momento para refleccionar, para recordar y para expresar el amor hacia los seres queridos. Y por supuesto, comer buena comida. Alrededor del mundo, todas las culturas tienen un momento designado para hacer todo esto, porque es tan necesario para poder existir como comunidades fuertes.

Este año, quisimos volver a esa idea. Y estabamos muy concientes de lo difícil que es hacer un especial navideño de una hora, que no sea insoportablemente cursi- es mas, que se pueda disfrutar. Para lograrlo, invitamos a algunos de nuestros artistas favoritos, como Café Tacvba y La Santa Cecilia, y les pedimos que compartan su música favorita y sus mejores recuerdos navideños.

Nos salió un programa bastante increíble, lleno de variedad (desde las tradiciones católicas mexicanas e incluyendo las ceremonias judías en Brasil). Nos reímos, disfrutamos de buena música, comida y celebramos el amor que nos une en estas fechas. Suena como la clase de fiesta en la cual yo quisiera estar.

Ah, y solo tendrán que escuchar "Feliz Navidad" de José Feliciano, una vez. Se los prometo.

¡Feliz Navidad y próspero año nuevo!

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Jasmine Garsd is an Argentine-American journalist living in New York. She is currently NPR's Criminal Justice correspondent and the host of The Last Cup. She started her career as the co-host of Alt.Latino, an NPR show about Latin music. Throughout her reporting career she's focused extensively on women's issues and immigrant communities in America. She's currently writing a book of stories about women she's met throughout her travels.
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