Every week, La Alternativa delivers the very best from the Latin alternative scene by curating a blend of emerging and established artists within the Latin diaspora, while providing a platform to champion our growing local music scene. Listen on demand here and on 88Nine from 10-11 p.m. every Wednesday.
For this episode, we leaned into one of our favorite parts of the show: discovery — that moment when a song finds you before you know much about the artist behind it.
Maia Reficco gave us one of those moments by catching our ears with “amapola.” Born in Boston and raised in Buenos Aires, she’s been performing since her teens and first gained a following as the star of Nickelodeon Latin America’s Kally’s Mashup. Her career has since stretched across film, television and theater, including Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Do Revenge and a Broadway run as Eurydice in Hadestown.
Now, Reficco is centering her music background with tracks like “amapola,” which plays with freedom and emotional chaos while introducing a more confident and focused musical side. It’s an interesting move for an artist who has moved between Argentina and the United States, and who now seems ready to let more people know her as more than an actor.
We also spent some time with Yoshi’s “ARDER,” a track that began simply with guitar and voice before growing into the finished product. The song offers another glimpse into Yoshi’s evolving sound following projects like 1UNAMORSUPREMO and PD. NOS VEMOS, both of which we’ve been playing on La Alternativa this year.
Then there’s Isabel Isabel with “ayuda divina,” released through Casa Funk. There isn’t a huge digital trail to follow yet, which makes discovery even more fun — because sometimes all we need is the song. That’s part of what we love about La Alternativa: following the sounds bubbling up across the Latin alternative landscape and introducing you to artists you may not know yet but probably should.
Episode playlist
- Natxo & CHini Tacchini, “flores”
- MXKA & JM4C, “Xclusiva”
- Buscabulla, “El Aprieto”
- Maia Refficco, “amapola”
- Julieta Venegas, “La Linea (feat. Yahritza y su Esencia)”
- Nina Lobo, “Flores Celestes”
- Rosa Pistola, “Flauta Nahua”
- Daniela Andrade, “i see red”
- Yoshi, “ARDER”
- Judeline & DELLAFUENTE, “Tiempo Pasa”
- J. NOA & LOWLIGHT, “Traficando Rap”
- Ronda Machetera, “Cumbia De Sol”
- BRONCO, “Adoro”
- Chico Rivera, “Despiertame”
- Isabel Isabel, “ayuda divin”
