Felix Contreras

When Carlos Santana was asked on this week's Alt.Latino where the new album fits into his legendary career, he compared it to the lamp on the top of the Statue of Liberty: it connects directly to the inspirations of the very first album released 50 years ago. The common denominator, he says, is reflected in the album's title, Africa Speaks.

This week on Alt.Latino's Spotify and Apple playlists (now celebrating one year!): a pioneering Puerto Rican punk band re-emerges and R&B continues to influence musicians from throughout Latin America.

We cast our net very wide this week and bring music to both get you onto the dance floor and do a bit of self reflection.

There is a quiet Latinx revolution going on in television drama these days. Well, maybe not so quiet. But the status quo is definitely being shaken up.

The folks at the cable network Starz have just released the second season of the Latinx drama Vida, a pioneering production that pushes the boundaries of story telling and representation. The show presents the queer and straight Latinx community of the very real East Los Angeles community of Boyle Heights.

This week, new music came in from the around the globe and it settled on our weekly playlist. And as you would expect, they are stylistically all over, but in a very good way. Buenos Aires, Havana, Mexico City and Santo Domingo are all represented, with the sounds of folk, reggae, pop and Cuban guaguancó.

Dig in and enjoy!

Haydée Milanés, "Identidád (feat. Ibeyí)"

It's been a fascinating journey following the trajectory of Rodrigo y Gabriela as they rose from self-imposed exile from their native Mexico on the streets of Dublin to international acclaim and admiration.

All with just two acoustic guitars.

On one hand, Latin pop is an endless stream of singles from a handful of talented musicians who just dominate that arena. On the other, Latinx musicians are tearing down the walls of genre and creating music that sounds both familiar and new.

Such is the state of things as we present our picks for New Music for the week.

At this point, Lila Downs now has the kind of artistic stature among her fans that she has for the women she has celebrated throughout her career. She has always paid tribute to great voices and artist such as Chavela Vargas, Mercedes Sosa and even Joan Baez.

Personally, I like messages with my music. Some of my first experiences with music beyond the Top 40 format took place during the heat of the Vietnam War which became a high watermark for protest music in this country. It's how I discovered musicians like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Later on, the great voices of protest from Latin America became part of my playlist as songwriters began to speak out against poverty, inequality and racism.

New music makes it way to the Alt.Latino inbox from a variety of sources. This week, one new track comes by way of the popular HBO phenomenon Game of Thrones. Spanish vocalist and Alt.Latino favorite Rosalía and Peruvian musician Alejandro Chal make it onto a taste-making compilation of music inspired by the uber popular show and that's just the tip of the iceberg of a collection of new music.