Every week, La Alternativa sponsored by Sparkly Clean Co. 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.
The crew is back with a playlist packed with new music that takes us from Chicago to Ecuador and plenty of places in between. But it all starts in Puerto Rico with Chuwi and a track from their debut album, Libertad.
The band’s consistent EP drops the last few years make it feel like this isn’t their first full-length, especially with it serving as the third and final installment of a project that started with the Pan and Tierra EPs. Those chapters sonically travelled through the Caribbean, and Libertad concludes that journey in Cuba. Collaborating with artists like Wampi and Dayme Arocena, their style brings together Timba, Cuban Son and Salsa, including on the track we share to lead things off.
Waiting for you at the end of the playlist is Girl Ultra, the project of Mariana de Miguel that was synonymous with R&B but ventures into new territory on RRRomeo. She taps into new wave, pop, funk and lots of sensuality while collaborating with Chromeo on the new album, which was a long time coming.
Dave 1 of Chromeo and de Miguel started working on the project in 2021 after a shared admiration of each other’s work turned into friendship. Now, with the album, it seems like Girl Ultra has turned their sound into something entirely new.
Episode playlist
- Chuwi, “Máquina”
- Victor Internet, “sin ti”
- LATIN MAFIA & Fred Again, “Te Estoy Correteando”
- Marte, “Olvidalo”
- Estamos Perdidos, “Puchinbolo”
- Nina Dioz, “Brillo”
- LUEME, “Blithe”
- Macario Martinez, “Estar Sin Ti”
- Maia Reficco, “amapola”
- Lia Kali & Chanela Clicka, “24/7”
- Wampi, “AWI”
- Sparklmami, “si”
- Matt louis, “Juanga”
- Trucha, “Dossier”
- Ninos Del Cerro, “Cuando Vas al Trabajo”
- Niko Rubio, “kitty”
- Girl Ultra & Chromeo, “Denisse”
