Arts & Culture

From Edgar Varèse to Pierre Schaeffer to John Cage, many composers throughout the 20th century had a tendency to search for unconventional sounds and non-traditional instruments that could be incorporated into their musical compositions. These early pioneers helped to establish the broader sonic palate available to contemporary composers. Angélica Negrón, for example, continues this experimental...

Orlando Marín is 80 years old and he and his timbales still speak with the gods. The language Orlando speaks is mambo, a word originally from the Kikongo language of the Bakongo and Bandundu people of the Congo region of Central Africa. The word means “a conversation with the gods.” Mambo, the music, traces its roots back to slavery days, and the Kikongo language still exists in creole form in...

“We, as a Puerto Rican people, we want to move up,” states internationally-lauded soprano, Eva de la O. Eva spreads her arms and looks around her. “Why should we be limited to a thimbleful of space when we have all this?” Eva de la O has made a life of reaching out and finding space for herself. As a featured artist, she has won praise for her work with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, the...

Malín Falú is a much-loved Spanish-language journalist whose trailblazing work for Spanish-speaking women of color has drawn affectionate comparisons to Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters. “My decision to carve out a career in journalism and communication was a casual one—it was not planned. I moved from one experience to another, but my decision to pursue this career path was based on the...