ECOS DE BORINQUEN – HOLIDAY SPECIAL. Narrated by guest host Chelis López, this program showcases a concert of the Grammy-nominated Puerto Rican ensemble Ecos de Borinquen. The concert was recorded this summer, at the Smithsonian Institution’s Las Americas Festival in Washington, DC. Ecos de Borinquen brings the best of today’s música jíbara, music from the mountainous regions of Puerto Rico, interpreted by six top-flight musicians from the island. Stringed instruments and sung poetic forms that date back hundreds of years to Spanish prototypes are combined with the Caribbean percussion sounds of the güiro rasp and hand drums.
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MARIACHI LOS CAMPEROS DE NATI CANO - Native of Ahuisculco, Jalisco, in Mexico, and National Heritage Fellow, Nati Cano celebrates more than forty years of directing his highly accomplished Mariachi Los Camperos of Los Angeles. In addition to preserving a rock solid "mariachi sound," Grammy-award winner Cano has been a pioneer in his musical acts, as well as in his business endeavors.
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CANTADORAS DEL PACIFICO - The marimba is a vivid legacy of African presence in Latin America. Only on the Pacific coast of southern Colombia and northern Ecuador does it keep its close ties to a strongly African culture. Hailing from small towns along the Colombian coast, the seasoned women singers of Cantadoras del Pacífico raise their voices to the accompaniment of marimba and drums, performing their distinctive musical styles known collectively as currulao.
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MARIACHI CHULA VISTA - In 2001, Mark Fogelquist founded the mariachi program at Chula Vista High School in San Diego, California. In learning to play traditional Mexican mariachi music, Fogelquist’s students have developed a sense of self, heritage, and pride. Now one of the best student mariachi groups in the country, the Chula Vista Mariachi performs in over one hundred shows a year.
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LA CHANCHONA LOS HERMANOS LOVO - A Northern Virginia spin-off of an award-winning group in their home country of El Salvador, Los Hermanos Lovo perform danceable cumbias and rancheras at family events and restaurants in the area. The seven-piece ensemble—with its two violins, two guitars, percussion, and bass—takes its name from its large bass, which resembles a chanchona, or sow.
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LOS CAMPEROS DE VALLES - A trio of Mexico's finest musicians in the son huasteco style from the northeastern Mexican cattle-herding region known as La Huasteca. Their sound is marked by hard-edged, improvised violin playing, driving guitar rhythms, and high-pitched singing with falsetto breaks. Dance forms an integral part of the son huasteco. Renowned lyricist and dancer Artemio Posadas, accompanied by Dolores García, performs with the trio.

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LOS TEXMANIACS - A modern spin on the traditional conjunto sound from South Texas. The quartet adds blues and rock-and-roll influences to the traditional pairing of button accordion and bajo sexto. Moreover, Los Texmaniacs explore their instruments to find new ways of interpreting the sounds of the Texas-Mexico border.
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