This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an ‘El Tiny’ takeover.
As Gloria Estefan embarks on a 50-year retrospective of her career, this Tiny Desk takes on the same tone, heart and air of reflection. After all, the pioneering vision, authentic insistence and undeniably captivating rhythms of Estefan created the path for Spanish-language music to thrive in the U.S.
In the 1980s, Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine proved to a broader audience that Latin American sounds are so magnetic and our souls so on fire that the rhythm at some point did get everyone. At the Tiny Desk, their level of artistic savvy shines brighter than ever. In spotlighting Cuban percussion and the gorgeously refined vocal acumen of the hailed pop star, this set gives space for the mountainous musicianship of forever hits and Latino cultural staples like “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” and “Conga.”
This joyous performance is another example of what many of us have always known to be true: Gloria Estefan transcends borders, unites communities and gets people on the dance floor.
SET LIST
- “Rhythm is Gonna Get You”
- “Raíces”
- “Mi Tierra”
- “Chirriqui Chirri”
- “La Vecina (No Sé Na’)”
- “Wrapped”
- “Conga”
MUSICIANS
- Gloria Estefan: vocals
- Clay Ostwald: keys, music director
- Javier Concepcion Jr.: keys, assistant music director
- Adrian Gines: drums
- Edwin Bonilla: percussion
- Yeismel Grandal: percussion
- Yorgis Goiricelaya: bass
- Lindsey Blair: guitar
- Julio Martinez: tres
- Osvaldo Fleites: trumpet, percussion
- Teddy Mulet: trumpet, percussion
- Robbie Elias: background vocals
- Claudia Lopez: background vocals
- Leesa Richards: background vocals
- Emilio Estefan: conga
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Anamaria Sayre
- Director/Editor: Kara Frame
- Audio Technical Director: Josephine Nyounai
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Kara Frame, Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Sofia Seidel
- Audio Engineer: Neil Tevault
- Production Assistants: Dhanika Pineda, Dora Levite
- Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
- Tiny Desk Team: Josh Newell, Ashley Pointer
- Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Executive Director: Sonali Mehta
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton