Felix Contreras
Felix Contreras is co-creator and co-host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010 and a curator for the acclaimed Tiny Desk Concert series.
A knowledgeable international ambassador for Latino heritage and arts, "Tio Felix" travels extensively in search of new talent and new music and captures important legacy performers in jazz and Latin genres. He appears regularly on NPR's award-winning newsmagazines, All Things Considered and Morning Edition. Various national and international publications have quoted his expertise on the contemporary influences of Latin culture, music, and media.
He's a recovering TV journalist whose first post at NPR in 2001 was as a Producer/Reporter for the NPR News Arts Desk.
He is also the other NPR Music resident Deadhead and an Afro Caribbean percussionist who performs around the DC area with various jazz and Latin jazz bands.
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This summer marks a moment of transition in the Grateful Dead's long, strange trip: the first in many years where there is no clear center of the band's universe. Where do Deadheads go from here? -
Several entries in the Latin music category were among the highlights for judges in the 2026 Tiny Desk Contest.
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Vocalist Victor Willis, the former lead singer of the disco band The Village people, has died. He was not only the front man but he also co authored several of the group's hits.
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This week, the jazz world celebrated what would have been Miles Davis' 100th birthday. The late trumpet player is widely considered one of the most innovative and influential jazz musicians of all time.
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The tight and powerful group breathes fire into a Grateful Dead classic and smolders on a Hank Williams song. -
Salsa legend, Willie Colon, has died at age 75. Colon was a key part of salsa's development in the 1970's as an instrumentalist, songwriter and producer.
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The South Bronx bandleader took the Latin genre to new heights while recording for Fania Records. -
The Grammy winner and Blue Note label head recalls the unique challenges and rewards he faced when the late Bob Weir recruited him for an intimate new project in 2018. -
We remember guitarist Bob Weir, founding member of the Grateful Dead, who died Saturday at 78.
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For three decades with the Grateful Dead and three more after the group ended following the 1995 death of his bandmate Jerry Garcia, Weir helped build and sustain the band's legacy across generations.
