My writing focuses on culture in context. My work has taken me to Spain, where I currently live, to South America, the Caribbean, and throughout the Latino U.S., and it extends to anywhere I can make a discovery, follow history, get involved in a debate, and fundamentally, record the stories of art and lives. I write regularly about the legacy, evolution and business of Latin music, art and activism, women in music, and life in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. Film, art and food are other frequent subjects.
What do I do? I write articles, scripts, liner notes and artists’ bios; I make playlists, curate recording catalogues and consult on music projects and music for films. I speak at conferences and on the radio.
I was nominated for a Grammy in the album notes category for my notes for The Complete Cuban Jam Sessions, a 2018 Craft Recordings box set reissue of five historic recordings originally released on Cuba’s Panart label; I am also the co-producer of the box set. A new Panart Box Set which I am currently producing is on deck for future release.
A Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Research Grant has helped me to continue my work researching and reviving the story of Panart, Cuba’s pioneering record label.
Other recent projects include serving as Cultural Music Consultant for Walt Disney Animation studio’s Oscar-winning feature “Encanto.”
I worked for Billboard Magazine for over a decade, and am now a regular contributor to the web site of the Gladys Palmera Collection in Madrid and to the long-form music journal No Depression. I also write about travel and culture for other publications.
Previous awards for my work include a National Journalism Awards First Prize for Feature Writing, a Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade prize for criticism and an Inter American Press Association Fellowship to Buenos Aires.
I have been a reporter, critic and staff writer for the Associated Press (New York City desk and Spain correspondent), the Buenos Aires Herald, the Miami New Times and the Miami Herald, as well as Billboard (New York, L.A. and Barcelona). My work has been published in newspapers, magazines, and on websites including Travel & Leisure en Español, The New York Times, Food Republic, GRAMMY magazine, Dwell, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, El Nuevo Herald, Harper’s Bazaar, Artnews and Art in America.
I also tell stories through music. I have created playlists, organized music catalogues, created radio stations, and written editorial features for MTV Digital, Google Play, Rhapsody/Napster, Songza, Music Choice and other music companies. I have appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, World Café and Alt.Latino, as well as WKXLU Los Angeles' legendary Latin show Alma del Barrio, BBC and CBC Radio and SiriusXM. In television, I have worked as a consultant to the BBC and CBS Sixty Minutes.
As a Latin music and Cuba expert, I speak to university students, give talks and workshops at cultural centers and book stores, and participate on panels at international conferences; including the Billboard Latin Music Conference, SXSW, Primavera Sound, BIME and the Latin Alternative Music Conference. I have been a "Global Music Ambassador" at Berklee College of Music's Valencia Campus, and a professor at Pompeu Fabre's Global Music Business Masters program in Barcelona.
El Pequeño Circo de Asno y Camello, an illustrated book for children, created in collaboration with artist and animator David Navas, my husband, was published by Barcelona's Alba Editorial in 2016. David and I also create non-fiction comics, which have been published in international magazines. Our artists' books include Taking the Subway to Russia.