Let’s talk about podcasts. This type of audio content created in the early ‘00s has been growing dramatically and has gained tremendous popularity in the last couple of years. Whether the podcast focuses on ideology, personal stories or promoting a business, this method of disseminating information has reached audiences around the world. With the boom of podcasts, there has also been an increasing demand and supply of Latinx centered podcasts, highlighting the cultural and political landscapes of the often-underserved Latin and Spanish speaking communities in the U.S. Podcasts come in a variety of formats and are centered around a variety of topics, all including the complexities of having a Latinx perspective, are beginning to pop up. Here are some of my favorite Latinx centered podcasts and why they mean so much to me. This is only a small portion of all the great content out there, listen and learn about the richness of our communities and what makes them so beautiful.
Latino USA
NPR’s only Latino focused news and cultural weekly radio program was founded by the award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa and is produced by the Futuro Media Group. This podcast concentrates on representing the diverse country we live in, focusing on stories often overlooked by the mainstream media. Their episodes cover everything from recent conversations on DACA to the intersections between black and Latino identities. A great episode to check out focuses on producers spending an entire day at a bodega in Harlem, NYC. They discuss everything from the immigrant community, nutrition, and how gentrification is changing the role of the bodega in New York City.
Radio Ambulante
Another podcast distributed by NPR, Radio Ambulante is a Spanish-Language podcast telling Latin American stories anywhere that might take them. Anywhere Spanish is spoken, including the United States where Spanish speaking Latin American stories can be found in every corner of the country. Produced by novelist Daniel Alarcón and media entrepreneur Carolina Guerrero, this long form journalism allows such stories as the political shift that occurs in your life when you’re brown and move to small-town Maine, to punk-enthusiasts crossing the U.S.-Mexican border brought together for their love of the music, to a Chilean man reliving his childhood through the cassette tapes his father sent to him from exile to be told.
Tamarindo
Dubbed “a socially conscious talk show with a Latino vibe,” Tamarindo is a podcast created by friends Brenda and Luis who both immigrated with their families from Mexico to California during childhood. The podcast tackles all areas of life including politics, food and music. Their podcast takes on the events in Charlottesville, rape culture, the representation of people of color in media and the very underreported Day Without Immigrants and how their immigrant journeys played a role on that day.
Latino Rebels Radio
Latino Rebels has been gaining popularity over the last few years, covering topics important to the U.S Latino community. Self-sustained and dedicated to dismantling the establishment by telling the stories mainstream media won’t; it is able to cover topics in the arts, humor, fashion, politics and immigration to name just a few. Some great stories the podcast has produced include a history of low-riders, a discussion on undocumented immigrants and paying taxes (yes, they do), and one of my favorites on Queer Latino culture and how mainstream media’s coverage of the Pulse shooting failed to recognized the magnitude of this attack on the queer Latinx community.
Latinos Who Lunch
Latinos Who Lunch is a podcast hosted by Las Vegas contemporary artist Favy Fav and Curator and doctoral candidate in Ibero-American colonial art history at the University of New Mexico Babelito. Their conversations can range from pop culture to art and identity politics and everything in between. Some of their best conversations include their episode following the terrorist attack in Charlottesville and the history surrounding monuments, a conversation with art curator Maria Elena Ortiz from the Perez Art Museum here in Miami and Frida Fantasy where they discuss the cultural significance of Frida Kahlo in Mexico and how much of her image was a cultural fabrication.