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Garage-Rocker AJ Davila Unplugs In A Hair Salon

There's a joke that says the biggest town in Puerto Rico is called New York. Several waves of diaspora have created a deep and complex relationship between Puerto Ricans and the city. Boricuashave had an immense influence on the Big Apple — its music, its literature, its landscape, and even its cuisine.

If you listen to Alt.Latino, you know we're excited about a Puerto Rican music and arts scene that's spilling into the continental U.S. and across Latin America. AJ Davila is one of our favorite musicians from that new wave.

Just in time for fall, we recently asked Davila to delight a Spanish Harlem beauty salon with a summer song. It's appropriate: He's one of the warmest souls I know — someone with whom it's a pleasure to discuss art and music, argue about politics or tell silly jokes. He's also a uniquely talented musician, with a style that combines garage-rock, punk and even elements of hip-hop.

SET LIST

  • "Es Verano Ya"
  • CREDITS

    Producers: Mito Habe-Evans, Jasmine Garsd; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Mito Habe-Evans, Colin Marshall, A.J. Wilhelm; Supervising Producer: Jessica Goldstein; Special Thanks: Tere's Beauty Salon, Mark and Rachel Dibner of the Argus Fund; Executive Producer: Anya Grundmann

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Jasmine Garsd is an Argentine-American journalist living in New York. She is currently NPR's Criminal Justice correspondent and the host of The Last Cup. She started her career as the co-host of Alt.Latino, an NPR show about Latin music. Throughout her reporting career she's focused extensively on women's issues and immigrant communities in America. She's currently writing a book of stories about women she's met throughout her travels.