I am a Chicago-based music journalist who loves to write and radio about music!

My radio show, Beat Latino celebrates in every hour a different facet of the extraordinary diversity of the Latin & Latino musical universe – from traditional, roots music to the most cutting-edge avant garde, Beat Latino shares the best of our music with you!

You can find my author pages and socials here. The one-hour radio program I host and produce, Beat Latino, airs on Vocalo (Chicago Public Media), in Berlin and is archived weekly. Beat Latino segments airs weekly in select cities and Beat Latino specials are also licensed in well over 20 states throughout the U.S.A. through the Public Radio Exchange.

I have to credit the tenacious insistence of a Mexican mom and a German/Swedish dad for the extraordinary gift of a bilingual and bicultural heritage. Thanks to them, I grew up between two cities named St. Louis, one in Missouri, and the other, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Having traveled extensively and lived in Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Honduras, Colombia, and other Latin countries, as well as having circled the globe at least once, visiting most of Europe, India, Japan, Kenya and Senegal, my work in radio and writing highlights the extraordinary diversity of the global music scene with a particular emphasis on Latin and Latino music – from the most traditional roots music to cutting-edge electronic grooves.

All of this, because I truly believe that the creative art of music is central to humanity, as it holds an enormous revelatory and transformative force that brings different peoples together, and shares the best parts of us as we use melodies and rhythms to express our hearts and cultures.

Follow me  on twitter  and instagram also!

Many thanks to Beat Latino’s collaborators, whose assistance makes the show possible.

Roberto García edits the shows.

Paulina Olivares Neumann is Beat Latino’s Website and Social Media Coordinator.

Adam Akbani, Camille Bacon, Joshua Nagel,  Darius Patrick, Benjamin Rodriguez-Johnson and Teresa Rodriguez-Johnson assist with website research and production.