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La Dame Blanche: Hip-Hop Urbano Cubano

Pepe Escarpita
/
Courtesy of the Artist

It's bee a while since Alt.Latino has published an all Spanish podcast and we were way overdue. And what an artist to start with: La Dame Blanche is a cigar-smoking, classically trained flutist who is making a name for herself as a rapera in the ever expanding and fascinating world of Cuban hip-hop.

La Dame Blanche is a product of Cuba's renowned music academies and in this episode, she explains how she made that transition to include hip-hop in her narration and what it takes to be a triple threat on flute, vocals and Afro Cuban percussion.

She also offers a beat by beat breakdown of how she mixed in vocal references to flamenco into the album's title track "Bajo El Mismo Cielo." In fact, her walk through of half a dozen of songs from newest album are insightful and helpful to understand how Cuban music is evolving in the hands, and voices, of a new generation of Cuban talent.

So dust off your Spanish lesson books or simply enjoy your native language in this special extra edition of Alt.Latino.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Felix Contreras is co-creator and host of Alt.Latino, NPR's pioneering radio show and podcast celebrating Latin music and culture since 2010.