You may know the baraja española, the Spanish deck of cards, with its classic renderings of kings and knights in four suits. Our illustrator friend Antonio Vargas created a uniquely Mexican baraja with native imagery drawing from the pre-Columbian Aztec, Olmec, Toltec and Mayan cultures.

Meet Rubén Blades, a Salsa superstar. He helped mix Cuban and Caribbean rhythms with Jazz in New York City. Rubén Blades (or, Rubencito here among friends) composed some salsa classics while also excelling as a singer. But that’s not all. Moviegoers may recognize him as one of the victims in Predator 2. He also has a law degree and ran for president of Panama. When this video with Calle 13 was filmed, he was Panama’s Tourism Minister.

Singers Hanna and Ashley of Ha*Ash were born in Louisiana but are now based in Mexico. When they were 11 and 13, they got their first taste of success at a school talent show. Since then, Ha*Ash have gone far mixing Latin pop with country music. With a gold disc and platinum album in the bag, Ha*Ash are flying close to the stars they used to admire when they were just chicas.

We learn more about summer fruits, thanks to our friends at Fruteria Los Mangos. So many varieties, colors and recipes to explore. Anyone up for a colorful pomegranate margarita?

Our surf-loving friend Antonio Vargas is a talented illustrator with a varied career. Here we see some of his more commercial work and some of what he does for fun—like an illustrated magazine and notebook doodles.

This Calle 13 video not only features the group’s classic tongue-twisting lyrics but also some surreal touches. The enfants terribles (or, niños terribles) of reggaeton are never afraid of mixing genres—or metaphors.

We visit a simple fruit stand in Mexico to find tasty avocados, smallish watermelons from the third harvest and two types of sweet mangoes. Ah, a bit of nature’s bounty found under the mango trees.

Cholito prefers the gentle beauty of nature to any colossal modern hotels. There are some plans to develop Cholito’s favorite Panamanian beaches, but he (and many other locals) love the way things are. After our boat ride around the islands, we understand why!

Collecting, restoring and “souping up” Volkswagens is a passion shared by Latin Americans from Baja to Buenos Aires. They love the mechanics and the mechanical lingo. But what’s as clear as the Adicora sky, is that what keeps them united is not pipes and motors but friendship.

Can you tomar en serio a group called Circo? This Puerto Rican rock band gives us advice about how to leave behind bad moments at the speed of light. But should we trust them? What if they are payaseando?

What happens when you put beautiful and beautiful together? The amazing beaches of Guerrero, Mexico get an extra lift when Puerto Rican singing sensation Kany Garcia sings to her loved one. The song in this video is titled "Estigma de Amor"(Stigma of Love), and its lyrics fit perfectly with such a romantic setting.

Antonio Vargas is a versatile Mexican artist living in Los Cabos. He has done cartoons, commercial drawings, paintings and a lot of sculptures. In this episode Antonio is going to show us some of his cartoons containing the adventures of Surfo.