José Roberto y sus amigos Live Radio Interview in Spanish 00:00 José Roberto Hernández was born in Tabasco, México. He learned to play a multitude of instruments from the real masters: his pueblo’s street musicians. Early on in his musical education, he learned to play the baroque flute. Soon, however, he turned his attention to what he describes as his lifelong companion, the guitar. As a young adult refining his musical abilities at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Música in Mexico City, José Roberto continued to add more and more instruments to his musical arsenal including the charango, cuatro, traditional flutes, tres, vihuela, violin, and countless percussion instruments. Today, José Roberto masters over forty traditional Latin American instruments. From his pre-hispanic compositions to his mastery of trova cubana, or Cuban New Song, José Roberto’s diverse musical education is ever-present in his performance work. As musical director of both José Roberto y Sus Amigos and Vinic-Kay, José Roberto has surrounded himself with musicians whose musical visions are complimentary to his own. By incorporating violin, traditional Latin American percussion, and impressive vocalists with his multi-instrumental dexterity and gifted arranging and composing abilities, José Roberto creates music that communicates the true spirit of Latin America.

Growing Up with Telenovelas Audio Feature 00:00

Celebrating Silvio Rodríguez Audio Feature 00:00 Silvio Rodríguez  (born 29 November 1946) is a Cuban musician, and leader of the Nueva Trova movement. He is widely considered Cuba’s best folk singer and arguably one of Latin America’s greatest singer-songwriters. Rodríguez, musically and politically, is a symbol of the Latin American left. His beautiful music is widely known thought Latin America without radio stations’ promotion.

Mind, Body, and Energy: A Conversation About Qigong Audio Interview 00:00

Camilo Mejía, Consciencious Objector Radio Interview 00:00 In 2003, Camilo Mejía left the United States Army during the Iraq War on conscientious objector grounds. In May of 2004, Mejia was convicted of desertion by the US Military. In May of 2004, Mejia was convicted of desertion by the US Military — a charge which can be punishable by death — and sentenced to a year in jail. He served his time at Fort Sill military prison in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. During his incarceration, Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience and the activist organization Refuse and Resist gave him their Courageous Resister Award. Since his release in February of 2005, Mejia become an anti-war activist.