La Brega – Season 3

2. Our Cuatro (And Why It Makes Us Cry)

When the musician Luís Sanz showed up for a mystery recording session last year, he didn’t know that he’d be playing a cuatro solo for “Lo que le paso a Hawaii,” a lament about the dangers of statehood. Benito’s instruction was simple yet heart-wrenching: “play the cuatro as though it’s bleeding out.” 

In this episode, cuatristas show us that the cuatro is more than a musical instrument: it’s the soundtrack to the Puerto Rican experience. We follow the cuatro as it travels all over the world with the diaspora, as it fights against displacement, and as it adapts to a new global spotlight.

Read the episode transcript here.

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Original art by Raysa Rodriguez. You can see their Instagram here.

Can’t wait for the next episode? Join Futuro+ for early access to the whole season, ad-free listening, and exclusive bonus content for La Brega http://futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.

For more information: 

• Check out the Orquesta Jíbara Dr. Francisco López Cruz
• Explore The Cuatro Project
• Watch Irvin Santiago’s Youtube channel
• Explore Luís Sanz’s music 
• En Fabiola Mendez’s Tiny Desk show

Additional material by:

• Bayahibe Music Inc.
• Canal 11
• Dharmi Music
• Fania Records
• Luis Sanz
• MostlySadSongs
• MTV
• NPR Music
• Rimas Entertainment
• Universal Music Latino

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