José Simián
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Lemus & Boullosa
A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune of interviewing Mexican literary critic Rafael Lemus and Mexican-cum-New-Yorker writer Carmen Boullosa. Among other thoughtful things, Lemus —who had recently published a collection of short stories— said he saw no difference between writing fiction and book reviews: just a leap from text form to another. Boullosa,…
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Federico Aubele
In 2004 I was surprised by the elegance of Federico Aubele’s LP debut, Gran Hotel Buenos Aires. On his third record, Amatoria, the Argentinean musician has moved from downtempo and electronic tango to pop ballads, and replaced the female singers with a (deep) voice of his own. Watch the interview (with Aubele performing a fragment…
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Went To See The “Astrologist”
Andrea Valeria, a Mexican writer who prefers to be called an “astrologist” before “astrologer,” makes a brave an intelligent effort to defend the study of the stars as a source for self-knowledge. She has Galileo on her side, she claims. Watch.
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CuCu Diamantes
Yerba Buena’s lead vocalist CuCu Diamantes has released what promises to be one of the best Latin pop records of the year: her solo debut “CuCuLand.” The opening track, “Más fuerte,” is an amazing blend of chanson, flamenco, tango and go-go horns. I recently had the chance to interview CuCu Diamantes at NY1 Noticias. Watch…
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The Rising Star of Paulina Gaitán
Paulina Gaitán may well be the next great thing to come from South of the Border: an incredibly talented girl behind what at first seems like the Latina next door. And there are those dark eyes, too. Here is an interview for the Daily News on her striking performance as Sayra in the upcoming film…
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Kinky in NYC: A review
Review of Kinky’s presentation at the Blender Theater, published on Billboard en Español.
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Kinky: The Little Mexican Band That Could
Mexican quintet Kinky‘s crossover success is almost unprecedented for a Latino indie band, earning both commercial and critical acclaim. Their appeal comes from a balanced blend of musical talent, global ambitions, and an ear for market savvy moves, such as moving to California and licensing music for anything from videogames to commercials and TV series. Here…
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Cosmic Sex
It is hard to remember any other television interview I have made that has generated more feedback than this one, with astrologist Andrea Valeria. Perhaps it was the fact that it had to do with sex and she mentioned the number of erections that men are supposed to have everyday (11); perhaps it was the…
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Andrés Calamaro, “Nada se pierde”
Billboard en Español, February 6, 2009 (Complete version) Editado por revista efe eme Fecha de lanzamiento: 22 de enero de 2009 Producido por Andrés Calamaro Seguir la carrera de Calamaro se asemeja a ser fanático de un equipo de fútbol: hay temporadas llenas de gloria y otras para el olvido, pero el equipo tiene que…
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TV Interviews
Interview with José José, NY1 Noticias, December 2008 Interview with Bill Santiago on Pardon My Spanglish, NY1 Noticias, September 2008 Interview with Junot Díaz on The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, NY1 Noticias, September 2007 Part one Part Two Interview with Daniel Alarcón on Radio Lost City, NY1 Noticias, September 2007 Part One Part Two Interview…
José Manuel Simián 