José Simián
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Judging La Jueza
Before the confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor, NY1 Noticias aired a three part series on her nomination, which I produced for my friend and former co-blogger Juan Manuel Benítez. Click on the stills for the chapters of “Nominación histórica.” FIRST EPISODE: How the nomination of Sotomayor united a fragmented Hispanic community. SECOND EPISODE: What is…
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Those güeyes at Guanabee
I discovered Guanabee being nominated for a certain contest. Soon I became addicted to their shameless mash-up of pop culture and all things Latino—particularly their mockery of Latino stereotypes. A few weeks later, after losing in the first round of their competition —and just in time for the release of their macho spin-off Anygüey—, I…
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The Sounds of the Saints
Santero lived all over Central and North America before becoming a Lukumí priest and releasing his solid second album, “El hijo de Obatala.” Visiting the city to participate in the LAMC, the Guatemalan-born singer came to NY1 Noticias to explain why he sees no conflict between his religious duties and the urban music he makes.
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The Zizek Phenomenon
Texas-born Grant Dull has generated a little miracle. After moving to Buenos Aires, he started the Zizek collective, a group of DJs and electronic musicians devoted to a blend of digital rhythms and cumbia. What started as weekly parties is now a record label and a touring troupe. Watch my interview of Grant clicking…
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Very Be Careful
To watch my interview with Arturo Guzmán, bass player of L.A.-based vallenato band Very Be Careful, click here. To listen to their music, click here.
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From the Pages of El Mercurio
[Translation of text published by Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, as part of an article on Chileans living in New York. For the Spanish version, click on the image above.] We all came to New York to try our luck, attracted to the myth of the city: the spell of its skyscrapers, the scenes from our…
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Catarina Over the Sea
Meet wonderful Portugese singer Catarina dos Santos, who just released her debut album “No Balanço do Mar.” [VIDEO] [Sorry, no music in the interview, but you can listen here.]
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A Swinging Goodbye
Before the Daily News’ Viva New York section entered zombie mode by losing one of its key writer/editors, Carlos Rodríguez, and having its webpage frozen, I got one article published: an interview with Chilean jazz singer extraordinaire, Claudia Acuña.
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More than boom-ch-boom-chick
Relishing the rich and varied canon of Latin music, I could not believe my bad luck when I moved to New York in 2004 and all you could hear blasting from cars, delis and bars was Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina.” Not only was it the dance-du-jour, ready to spread like fire throughout the continent, but somehow…
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Álvaro Enrigue and the Problem of Literality
The Dalkey Archive Press recently published The Best of Contemporary Mexican Fiction, a stunning bilingual collection of 16 short stories by writers born after 1945. Álvaro Enrigue contributed with “On the Death of the Author,” which begins as an anecdote —a writer trying to tell the story of the last pure American Indian—, and seems…
José Manuel Simián 