This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.
The smile that erupts onto Fabiola Méndez’s face just as she launches into her first tune says everything about the joy she finds in making music that explores her culture.
Her instrument is the Puerto Rican cuatro, the national folk musical instrument of Puerto Rico. She started on the instrument at age 6 in her native Caguas, Puerto Rico, and carried it with her as the principal instrument for her studies at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston.
What makes her take behind the Desk with her four-piece band stand out is not just her dexterity on the instrument, but also how she incorporates tradition into a very contemporary musical setting. You can hear that musical vision and dedication to storytelling through both Méndez’s vocals and also in the song “Tributo A Mis Abuelos,” an instrumental that conjures up visions of the pastoral Puerto Rican countryside where the jibaro (rural) culture thrives.
In Méndez’s hands, the cuatro becomes not just an example of a rich, Afro-Caribbean culture, but also an instrument to spread joy.
SET LIST
- “Seis Chorreao”
- “Lamento en Celinés”
- “Tributo a Mis Abuelos”
- “Canción de Amor”
- “Aguinaldo Jíbaro”
MUSICIANS
- Fabiola Méndez: vocals, Puerto Rican cuatro, tiple
- Juan Maldonado: bass
- Miguel Martínez: percussion
- William García: drums
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Felix Contreras
- Director/Editor: Kara Frame
- Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant
- Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
- Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
- Photographer: Sofia Seidel
- Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
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