The Cuban singer and bandleader Daymé Arocena is best known for her massive voice, a throaty bellow that has invited comparisons to Aretha Franklin and Celia Cruz, the queen divas themselves. But ...

 This week we listen to some Afro-Cuban mambo from its beginnings in the 1940’s, through its high point in the 1960’s, to the present day. Like the words bongo and… Next we hear Pérez Prado’s biggest ...

As the cofounder of the important Cuban music label Qbadisc and coproducer of public radio's Afropop Worldwide, Sublette is a well-known figure among elite mambo aficionados. Still, the sheer size and ...

Orquesta Akokán takes its name from the Yoruba word meaning "from the heart." The group's self-titled debut album, released in March, draws deep from the soul and history of Cuba, reviving the spirit ...

Veteran broadcast journalist Betto Arcos just returned from his fourth trip to Cuba, sampling the latest sounds, sights, and cuisine from La Isla. This week, I welcomed Betto back to Rhythm Planet for ...

Ry Cooder’s 1997 collaboration with a group of septuagenarian Cuban musicians, Buena Vista Social Club, sold 8 million copies and earned a Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Performance. It also earned ...

Producer Jacob Plasse teamed up with the beloved mambo singer Jose “Pepito” Gomez and an all-star group of Cuban jazz players last year. Their aim was to make a mambo record that could sit alongside ...

The energetic Broadway musical Buena Vista Social Club, which opened on Wednesday night, has been praised for its representation of the rich cultural history of Cuban music. The name “Buena Vista ...

Cuban bassist and composer Israel "Cachao" Lopez, who is credited with pioneering the mambo styleof music, died Saturday. He was 89. Known simply as Cachao, the Grammy-winning musician had fallen ill ...

Listening to this recording is similar to having a knowledgeable friend spin some tunes that fit together in many likely though not necessarily expected ways. It is a “mix tape” of sorts that features ...

The distance between New Orleans (Louisiana, USA) and Havana (Cuba) is almost exactly 670 miles, about a two-hour flight. But it takes only one listen to Putumayo Records' anthology New Orleans Mambo: ...