Olivia Flores Alvarez

Ozomatli's latest effort, Don't Mess with the Dragon, is a fusion of Spanish rock, hip-hop, reggaeton, and funk, the perfect crossover release. The nine-man Ozomatli has put together a dozen tunes for the group's fourth full-length CD, most of them happy dance tracks. The opening song, "Can't Stop," is polished...

Poor Tommy Castro was born 40 years too late. He really should have been going to elementary school with folks like John Lee Hooker and Wilson Pickett. That way he could have donated to the golden era of blues, when monsters like B.B. King and Buddy Guy were seemingly in...

Latin/Anglo crossover is what Latin American artists have always dreamed of and what American artists are beginning to realize they need to pull big sales numbers out of a shrinking market. Crossover success means jackpots in both concert tickets and CD sales, so expanding a fan base across genres, countries,...

Pitbull's newest CD, El Mariel, includes lines like "Welcome to the real Dade County/ Where we're soldiers from birth to the hearse/That's why my childhood included a bulletproof vest," and "Welcome to the real Miami/Where we live to die." Typical rapper throwdown boasts, yes, but that's the only thing typical...