Radio Menea

We put together a few new finds for y’all, and it shaped up to be muuuyyy de verano! We are on the precipice of summer, we’ve had a few unseasonably warm days care of climate catastrophe, the Mr. Softee truck is starting to make its first few appearances… we can almost taste the raspados and smell the ocean air. Hope you’re as ready as we are! Featuring music by Sebastián Yatra, Manuel Turizo, Beé...

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned es lo que dicen ¿no? We have had some momentos virales lately with women who have been done dirty by their boo - ::cough:: Shaki ::cough:: - so we decided to dig into the genre. We love a woman scorned señora vibe, so we dug up some older tracks for y’all, but people stay acting a fool throughout time, so we have some more current tracks for y’all too. Featur...

How did the brassy sounds of the Mexican countryside suddenly start dominating the charts? For people who are new to following Mexican Regional music, this rise might seem out of left field. But the ascent of this new generation of Mexican Regional artists has been in the making for years. This week we delve into the Regional Mexican artists who are leading this pop moment, how they got here, and...

Arguably North America’s first boy band, Menudo found epic success before the Backstreet Boys were even out of diapers. The group’s career spanned four decades and involved 32 young men, many albums and a lot of controversy. In this week’s episode we explore the impact, trajectory and dark side of Menudo. Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of sexual assault and rape involving minors...

The rises on jeans were low, mp3 players were new, and the president was lying about the existence of weapons of mass destruction to invade a whole country to avenge his daddy and make his VP some cash. The year is 2003, and twenty years ago (!!!) the musical landscape looked….vastly different. We were coming off the end of the Latin boom era of the late 90s. Meanwhile, reggaeton was on the precip...

April 17th would have been Chavela Vargas’ 104th birthday. We’re taking this opportunity to do a deep dive into her legendary career. An unofficial queer icon, Chavela lived outside of gender norms during a time when it was risky to do so. Despite this, she made a name for herself in Mexico with her incredible voice, becoming especially known for her renditions of classic rancheras. A complicated...

Hallelujah! Amen! Our Women’s History Month content is spilling into April, ¿y porqué no? The best kind of April shower this week - musiquita nueva by dope ass mujeres. Featuring music by Olga Tañon, Xenia Rubinos, Karol G, Tei Shi, La Santa Cecilia, Pedro Hidalgo, Salt Cathedral, Nicole Manzo, and Kali Uchis. Show notes: bit.ly/3UerVwV Become a Radio Menea member: bit.ly/2s2RQhS Follow us: instag...

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, we wanted to highlight four trans Latina musicians. Especially given the increasing attacks on trans people, it felt important to celebrate and honor these women and their musical contributions. Featuring music by Linn da Quebrada, Liniker, Arca and Villano Antillano. Show notes: bit.ly/3TUUNKt Become a Radio Menea member: bit.ly/2s2RQhS Follow us: instag...

It’s been seven years of Radio Menea. Increíble no? This week, to celebrate our birthday, we go through our favorite songs on each of those seven years. It’s been some jams - travel in time con nosotres! Featuring music by Manuel Turizo, MULA, Daddy Yankee, Joyce Santana, Bad Bunny, Arca, Yahritza y Su Esencia, and Lucrecia Dalt. Show notes: bit.ly/40r9XsM Become a Radio Menea member: bit.ly/2s2RQ...

This week, Vero guides us through a dive into a Latinas making electronic music today. A genre - or set of genres! - that transcends boundaries of style and sound, music produced electronically has expanded how we perceive music, who can make it, and even what is sonically possible in endless and amazing ways. Show notes: bit.ly/3FxhpKZ Become a Radio Menea member: bit.ly/2s2RQhS Follow us: instag...

A legendary artist, Susana Baca is also responsible for bringing Afro-Peruvian rhythms to the world stage. An incredible singer, dancer and activist, Baca’s extensive catalog honors the deep legacy of Afro-Peruvians both thematically and rhythmically. In honor of Black History Month, we take a deep dive into Baca’s life and career, bringing shine to this incredible woman who, at 78, continues her...

In the USA, Valentine’s day is exclusively focused on romantic love. Pero en América Latina es el día del amor y la amistad, and this Valentine’s day we wanna honor the love and care in friendships. The way our social structures are set up, romantic relationships seem to be set up as the ones that deserve to become the most valuable ones in our lives. We reject that premise. This week, we talk abo...

This week we’re bringing you the awards categories you never knew you needed. The best song for cleaning your house? For getting ready to turn up? For feeling feelings that you aren’t actually feeling? We may never make it to the Latin Grammy’s, so we decided to bring the award show to you. Featuring music by Luisito Ayala y La Puerto Rican Power, Juan Gabriel, Wisin y Yandel, Alexis y Fido, Pepe...

This week we have a nice lil variedad of new finds for y’all: sentimental ballads, trippy morphing boleros, healing-vibes R&B y mucho más. Featuring music by Yahritza y su Esencia, Kali Uchis, Willy Chirino, NOIA, Buscabulla, Ximena Sariñana, Melov, Soy Emilia, Geogy Mills, Nicky Jam, and Andrea Bell. Show notes: bit.ly/3HBTuf4 Follow us: instagram.com/radiomenea twitter.com/radiomenea tinyletter....

As Shaki breaks the internet with her BZRP freestyle dissing her cheating ex, we decided to explore the genre of the diss track. This week - in addition to the Shaki’s viral session with producer Biza por su puesto - we explore all manner of diss tracks and tiraeras. Do we love the mess o nos da pena ajena? But it’s more than beefs and pettiness - the art of the creative insult, the lyrical skill,...

New year, new…hookups? 2023 is here and we are thirsty! Okay not really, but the songs we are bringing this week definitely are. It isn’t hard to find Latinx songs with horny undertones, and this week we have a few of our favorites. Featuring music by La Lupe, El Alfa, Nicky Jam, Tomasa de Real, Speedy, RaiNao, Brray, Leslie Grace, Noriel, Bad Bunny, ñengo flow and Yomil y El Dany. Show notes: bit...

Last week you gave us your faves of 2022 - now it’s our turn. Featuring music by Bad Bunny, Lucrecia Dalt, Yahritza y Su Esencia, Oksana Linde, Manuel Turizo, Villano Antillano, Rauw Alejandro, Natti Natasha, Daddy Yankee, and Wisin y Yandel. Show notes: bit.ly/3V7WMKd Follow us: instagram.com/RadioMenea twitter.com/RadioMenea tinyletter.com/RadioMenea

This week, it’s about you. You told us your favorite song by a Latine artist from this year - in person at Lánzate in Philly - Latinx organizing hub Mijente’s conference - and via IG desde sus casitas. We can’t say we are surprised that y’all have impeccable taste. Featuring music by Elsa y Elmar, Bad Bunny, Shakira, Ozuna, Silvana Estrada, Arca, Safety Trance, Esty, Bomba Estero, Kaina and Carla...

2022 isn’t over yet, and we’re rounding it out with some new new for your end of year consideration! Ya saben, our usual combo of some weird shit and some pop. Featuring music by Grupo Firme, La Ventaja, Mala Fama, Karlos Rose, Mabe Fratti, Bacilos, Timo, Rauw Alejandro, Maricuir, and Lorena Orlando. Show notes: bit.ly/3iO4lZk Follow us: instagram.com/RadioMenea twitter.com/RadioMenea tinyletter.c...

Legendary Brazilian singer Gal Costa passed away last week, leaving behind an incredible legacy of musical innovation. Along with others in the Tropicália movement of the late 1960s, they created a new genre that married traditional Brazilian rhythms with international sounds. Gal was a central voice in the tropicalimso movement, and that work laid the foundation for a career spanning over 50 year...

Luzmila Carpio is a luminary of indigenous music in Latin America and beyond. Her songs, inspired by the sounds of bird song, streams, and the land she grew up on, have brought Quechua and Aymara sonic traditions and stories of indigenous resistance around the globe. This week, as we start a month rife with revisionist histories about colonization, we offer you this antidote. Show notes: bit.ly/3G...

On November 1, 2002, Tego Calderón released El Abayarde, his groundbreaking and genre-shifting debut album. 20 years later, we reflect on Tego’s legacy and what this album’s celebration of Blackness and enduring musical impact has meant for reggaeton, Puerto Rico and Latin music worldwide. Featuring music by Tego Calderón. Show notes: bit.ly/3E0uSuD Follow us: instagram.com/RadioMenea twitter.com/...

You know what time it is. Spooky sounds, spooky themes, and general jaloguín vibes for one of our fave holidays! We have demons and devils, calaveras y muerte, and notorious ghosts. Spooky as sexy, spooky as a metaphor for moral panic, and some really beautiful spookiness too. Featuring music by Six Sex, Calle 13, La Lupe, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Rubio, Ángela Aguilar, and Café Tacvba. Show notes...

We might be exaggerating a little bit, but we are running ragged from traveling, so this week we’re just haciendo lo que nos da la gana (thanks Bad Bunny!). We brought whatever songs we wanted to with no theme to unify them, and it’s a pretty great mix if we do say so ourselves. Show notes: bit.ly/3TorfDW Follow us: instagram.com/RadioMenea twitter.com/RadioMenea tinyletter.com/RadioMenea

Esta semana it’s all about y’all: we asked for your picks, and you sent them! We love it when y’all put us on, and send us stuff that are outside of our purview or what we generally tend to seek - and y’all delivered. Featuring music by Tachi Waves, Mazzy Star, Laguna Pai, La Dame Blanche, Maria Gadu, and La Doña. Show notes: https://bit.ly/3T2MqLH Follow us: instagram.com/RadioMenea twitter.com/R...