Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Fonseca is known for his letras pegajosas (sticky lyrical hooks) and happy rhythms. Fonseca became a sensation after attending Berklee School of Music in Boston—a move that he claims gave him the ability to stand out among his musical peers.

Angeles lives a normal life in Burgos, but what’s a normal life? She has a husband, a wonderful kid, and she works as a secretary. She also has a secret internet identity… as a Spanish teacher!

Chambao introduce themselves in this way: The sound of waves, smooth sand, friends and music, a “chambao” is not just a fleeting space set up on the seashore with rugs and cushions, lit up by a bonfire; it is also a place where the simple joy of being alive is the important matter.

Finally, Ivo acts on his threats. He asks his grandmother—the refined Señora Angelica—to fire her maid Milagros. Why? Because Milagros is una cloaca, un desastre and, well, casi salvaje. But Grandma has some of her own ideas cooking…

In Bogotá’s flea market, children help out in their parents’ businesses. We stop at a stall of handcrafted wood figures and chat with the artisan’s daughter.

Franco de Vita, born in Venezuela to Italian immigrants, is probably Venezuela’s most popular musical export; he’s considered Latin music’s most consistently popular singer-songwriter. At 53 he has 25 years in the limelight to prove it. Mil y Una Historias En Vivo is his newest album.

Zoé, an experimental pop-rock quintet from Mexico, brings us this surreal video featuring Japanese teenagers. No Me Destruyas casts a sweet, harmless-looking jovencita as a dangerous villain with colmillos afilados.

Puerto Rican half-brothers Residente (René Pérez Joglar) and Visitante (Eduardo José Cabra Martínez)—nicknamed for their respective roles in their weekly step-family visits to 13th Street—together make Calle 13. The music of Calle 13 is a sort of hip-hop/reggaeton with a sense of humor and playfulness. Watch out for the bleeped naughty words.

Meet David Bisbal, one of the newest faces of Spanish Pop, willing to take us backstage to the very center of his latest tour: Premonición. A one time only opportunity to peek inside the darkest secrets and brightest moments of his show.

Always with a light touch, often with full force, Bersuit Vergarabat dishes out social commentary and political activism. "Madre Hay una Sola" is no exception, as Gustavo Cordera apologizes to Mother Nature for the damage done to her by the human race.

Belanova, the electropop band from Mexico, sounds like it was influenced by nightclub epiphanies, Japanese anime and sweet lollipops. "Niño", one of the songs off their album Dulce Beat, is a painful goodbye, adios, au revoir, arrivederci—but it’s somehow lightened by the constant use of the word “boy” (niño) to address the unlucky target of the bad news.

After all the bean sorting, cleaning, grinding and toasting we witnessed in our previous segments of Una Historia de Café, it’s finally time to boil up some water and do a little tasting, or “cupping,” as it’s known in laboratory circles. You might want to fire up your percolator; we have a feeling you’ll be craving some caffeine any moment now!

La Vela is a small town in the state of Falcón, on the northwest coast of Venezuela, where every December 28th Los Locos [“The Crazy Ones”] arrive wearing colorful and elaborated costumes. The whole town becomes a party, with businesses closing and people dancing in the streets. It’s a tradition that could be in any magical realism novel and that desperately struggles to not fall into oblivion.

We’ve already seen some interesting, fabulous and downright curious things in the “mercado de pulgas” (flea market). But what about the people in there? They’re as colorful, amusing and charming as the goods in any stall.

Moenia may be considered one of the first modern, successful, experimental Mexican groups, finding commercial viability in a market normally dominated by old-style Latin crooners, Ranchera and Cumbia. Heavily influenced by ‘80s bands like Depeche Mode and The Cure, Moenia surged in ‘92 but fell out of public favor in the mid ‘90s when a key member quit. More recently, the reunited band has won over new fans with songs infused with ‘80s-style electronica.