Deep in the heart of Old San Juan you can hear live salsa music playing most any night at the Nuyorican Cafe. We stepped into the alley for a breather and had a little chat with two lovely salseras to get an insider view of what brings them back to the dance floor night after night.

As it turns out the young Arturo Vega, Mexican emigré actor and artist in New York, lived below a girl who was seeing a young man named Douglas Glenn Colvin (who would come to be known as “Dee Dee Ramone”). The two visionaries got to talking…

Dhira brings a heavy Hindu and Indian influence to the European club scene’s take on American hip-hop and club music. These late night party animals are said to be vegetarians who enjoy cheese sandwiches when they are not busy rapping.

Miguel, Alvaro and David have teamed up once again to tell us a little something about the weather and overall climate found in Mexico City and its environs. Pay attention to the words and vocabulary, as they will certainly be of use no matter where you travel!

“Rock en español” is what we refer to the relatively new movement of musicians from Spanish speaking countries singing in their native language. Back in the sixties and seventies, these musicians were taken up with rock like much of the rest of the world, but they sang in English. Puerto Rican Carli Muñoz explains while looking back over his career.

A little spot to build, to create, to listen to the sea, what more do any of us really need? Francisco takes a beautiful public space and makes it his own through conservation, beautification, and an open invitation to all to come, enjoy and treat nature’s work with care and respect.

In beautiful Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, the local cooks know their fruit! Let’s drop by the lovely Casa Mar as Gloria prepares a glorious multi-colored fruit salad made with local sandía (watermelon), melón, and plátano (banana). You may soon find yourself blending melon seeds into a delicious horchata.

Al gusto means, literally, “to the taste,” but in English we usually express this as “to taste.” So Gregoria doesn’t add honey to the avena (oatmeal). She puts it on the side of the plate. The person eating can can put it on al gusto, a little or a lot, however they like it. We often do this with salt, syrup, hot sauce… anything where individual palates vary considerably.

Division Minuscula hails from Matamoros, a Mexican border town just to the south of Brownsville, Texas. Despite having disbanded for five years while members finished their degrees and helped out with family businesses, the group is back and not yet forgotten, with this hit song, Sismo (Earthquake), shaking the airwaves.

Nelly Ocacia and Benjamín Moldonado are both 19-year-old university students, and enjoy dancing with the Ballet Folklórico Guamanique when not studying. We caught up with them at the airport in San Juan, where they were welcoming new arrivals and seeing off departing passengers, much to the delight of travelers.

If you have ever seen Almodovar’s Matador you are familiar with the “black widow” phenomenon. Javier García explores the same territory here, tongue firmly in cheek, in his remix video for Me Gustaría, which might make you think twice before chatting up that sexy pole dancer you meet at the airport.

Imagine the shock to Natalia’s parents when they first saw another couple on the TV claiming that she was their child. Unfortunately, such a thing was not, in fact, entirely impossible. A blood test, however, proved the sad couple wrong. Natalia’s starring role in Ricos Y Famosos would soon bring Natalia, and her actual mom and dad, back to the top of the world.

Belanova is appreciative and proud that so many of Latin America’s and Mexico’s biggest stars, such Joselo and Coti saw fit to take the time to join them on their tour. The band is humble, but not without ambition; they have set their sites beyond the habla hispana, seeing potential fans in Australia, Italy and even Japan.

Armando David Ortigosa decided that something needed to be done to motivate the young people of Mexico to participate in its presidential election. He looked north for inspiration, where the “Rock the Vote” campaign used pop stars to try and get young voters to the polls. The Mexican equivalent became known as Tu Rock Es Votar.

¿Qué bolá? That’s ¿Qué pasa? (What’s Up?) in Havana, where your “homeboy” is your “monina,” your “consorte,” or simply ‘asere.’ Here we find musical giants Orishas back in the old barrio of Vedado.