Afropop Worldwide

Bachata is a music of the people. Recalling the American blues, bachata was infamous as the anthem of the hard-drinking, womanizing, down-on-his-luck man, vilified as the entertainment of the brothels and the cabarets, and worshipped by the down-trodden poor as the deepest expression of their feelings. Today it is an international sensation. Alex Wolfe, director of the film "Santo Domingo Blues: The Story of Bachata" brings us live ambience and stories of bachata stars Luis Vargas, Antony Santos, Luis Segura, Adridia Ventura.

Produced by Alex Wolfe

APWW #388

Afropop Worldwide's Journey from Colombia to Ecuador begins in Cartagena on the Caribbean coast, the most African part of the country. We hear vallanato and star singers Joe Arroyo and Carlos Vives. We also hear Shakira - before she was an international star. Traveling to Ecuador, we meet artists Milton Arias and Maricio Vicencio, who work in Afro-Ecuadorian traditions. We also visit with Altiplano - who in their words, create cosmic Andean music. This episode concludes with an amazing live recording of the one and only Paulina Tamayo live in Quito, Ecuador.

Produced by Michael Jones

APWW #285

Much has been made of Mexico's rich Spanish and indigenous heritage, but until recently there's been little talk of Mexico's so-called "Third Root": Africa. Africans came to Mexico with the Spanish as soldiers and slaves -- so many that by 1810, the black population of Mexico was equal to that of the United States. Today, African heritage persists throughout Mexico, yet for a variety of reasons, black history has long been silenced. In this Hip Deep episode, we use music to explore that history as we take a road trip across the country in search of sonic traces of Afro-Mexico.

We visit the state of Veracruz to learn the history of the Afro-Mexican son jarocho sound, made famous by Ritchie Valens' 1958 hit cover of "La Bamba," a traditional jarocho tune. Then, we visit the Costa Chica of Guerrero, where Afro-Mexican communities are fighting for government recognition to help preserve faltering musical traditions. And we'll stop by the golden-age halls of Mexico City, where the Afro-Cuban danzón thrives far from its ancestral home in Havana. Along the way, we hear from top scholars in the field such as Ben Vinson III and Alejandro Madrid, as well as Afro-Mexican music stars past and present, from Los Cojolites to Las Cafeteras. ¡Que padre!

Produced by Marlon Bishop

APWW #658

Born on the Colombian coast, cumbia is an exuberant music style that blends African and Indigenous elements. We visit the Copacabana—New York City’s premier Latin dance club—to hear cumbia maestro and accordion king Lisandro Meza in concert. The program also features cumbia masters Andrés Landero and Mexico's Celso Piña. Afropop Worldwide has long championed cumbia. To discover more of this fantastic music, visit afropop.org and search "cumbia."

Produced by Alex Wolfe in 2003

APWW #413

Highlife—West Africa’s pioneer popular music of the late colonial and independence periods—has mostly faded from popularity in 21st century Nigeria. However, highlife is alive and well in Edo State, 300 kilometers east of Lagos, and the center of the former Benin Kingdom. Edo highlife musicians fill the role of traditional musicians by animating community ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, and praising prominent members of the community, in exchange for “financial love.” This traditionalism is also progressive: Edo highlife music draws on traditional genres like asonogun, ojeke, agbi, ivbiagogo, and ekassa, and musicians continue to incorporate instruments and styles from neighboring Yoruba communities and Western popular music. In this Hip Deep program, we'll hear how Edo highlife musicians have found sustainable careers by simultaneously rooting their music in their local communities and appealing to diasporic enclaves in Europe and the United States. Their local support has even allowed certain musicians to broach political themes, singing in support or in critique of specific politicians, a rare occurrence in contemporary Nigeria. We’ll hear from legends and innovators including Sir Victor Uwaifo, Ambassador Osayomore Joseph, and Alhaji Waziri Oshomoh as well as current stars including Dr. Afile, Akogbehian and Johnbull Obakpolor. Produced by Morgan Greenstreet and Austin ‘Maro Emielu.

APWW #751

In our visit to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, we go beyond the handful of artists who have achieved international careers and dive into the local scene. We visit azmaribets, down home music clubs featuring vivacious women artists and their ensembles of traditional players. We catch Mimi and Besat live. Competition between the leading music producers in Addis is fierce. We visit the studio of recording studio of Abegasu Shiote who breaks down the Ethiopian pop sound track by track. And for the finale we go to a performance by the revered elder singer of the classic Addis sound - Mamoud Ahmed.

Produced by Sean Barlow

APWW #532

Cumbia, bullerengue and stories of Colombian music in New York. A 59-minute Afropop Worldwide program featuring Combo Chimbita, Bulla en El Barrio, Gregorio Uribe and more.

Explore the artists and continue listening on Afropop.org: https://afropop.org/audio-programs/colombia-in-nyc

Originally broadcast January 12, 2017.

New York City is home to a diverse community of Colombian musicians and groups who create in a wide range of traditional, popular and experimental music styles for diasporic communities and beyond. "Colombia in NYC" takes us from independence day celebrations in a chic Manhattan club with accordion virtuoso Gregorio Uribe, to vallenato parties and street parades in Jackson Heights. We'll hear from hip cumbia groups including Combo Chimbita; traditional Afro-Colombian bullerengue group Bulla en El Barrio; salsero, folklorist and educator Pablo Mayor; innovative dance bands MAKU Soundsystem and Grupo Rebolú, and harp virtuoso Edmar Castaneda. Along the way musicians weave in stories about nationalism, identity, place and diaspora, and discuss the challenges and opportunities New York City offers for Colombian musicians.

Produced by Morgan Greenstreet

APWW #736

For some 50 years, Leo Sarkisian was a worldwide staple on the overseas radio broadcast of Voice of America. A talented musician, raised in the Armenian community around Boston, Leo began traveling the world with his Nagra tape recorder and microphones for Tempo International, a Hollywood record label. His intrepid work in remote corners of Afghanistan and in newly independent Ghana and Guinea won him the attention of Edward R. Murrow, then at VOA. So began Leo’s epic career as a documenter, archivist and popularizer of African music. He once said he had worked in every African country but one.

In recognition of his passing in June, 2018, we revisit Leo’s rich, fascinating conversation and music-sharing session with our own Georges Collinet. Expect lively exchanges between two radio icons, and some rare audio, including Leo's 1965 recording of Fela Kuti during his jazz years.

Produced by Sean Barlow and Banning Eyre

APWW #783

As the 21st century rolls on, more and more of the musical artists who are making a difference cannot be pinned down to any one national identity.Migration, intermarriage, and the hurly burly of our globalized planet are creating new and growing generations of change-makers with hyphenated identities. In this program we hear from Ayo (Nigerian/Roma/German), Meklit Hadero (Ethiopian-American), Weedie Braimah (Ghanaian-American), La Dame Blanche (Cuban-French), Pascal Danai of the band Delgres (Guadeloupean-French) and others, as we sample the rich music and hear the stories, challenges and triumphs of this fascinating new generation of global musical creators.

Produced by Banning Eyre

APWW #772

From his Cameroonian roots, to his DJ days in Paris, his global broadcast career on VOA from the 1960s into the ‘80s, and his 38-year career hosting Afropop Worldwide, Georges Collinet is living an extraordinary life. On this program we celebrate the man, his stories, his passions, his wit and humanity. You’ll experience Georges as never before, an African music legend, and a very funny guy.

Produced by Banning Eyre

APWW #881