From the streets to stardom

Musical duo Rodrigo and Gabriela's story is so unlikely you probably wouldn't make it up for fear of being laughed at. They started as teens in an underground heavy metal band in their native Mexico City, took off for Ireland in their early 20s, and made a living playing guitar on the streets of Europe. Even now that they've become world music stars -- they'll hit the Fillmore Miami Beach on Saturday -- their uncategorizable mix of metal, flamenco, blues, jazz and other genres, played without vocals, is outside any kind of traditional formula for music or success. 1269066963

CONCEPCION, CHILE

Father, girl survive despite 13-story fall

A father and daughter had only scrapes and bruises even though they plummeted 13 stories.
MUSIC

Bobby Carcasses opened door to jazz in Cuba

With his dark blue velvet suit and carefully groomed white hair, Bobby Carcasses does not look like a rebel, but like a man who is happiest at the center of an old-fashioned cultural salon. On a sunny afternoon last week, he seemed right at home in CubaOcho, the plush Little Havana gallery and lounge, talking softly about the infinite dimensions of art.
LATIN MUSIC

Univision award show celebrates fan favorites

Are you a big fan of salsa and merengue? Or is there more reggaeton in your iPod? Whatever the case, here's your chance to celebrate all genres of m�sica latina.
DOWNTOWN MIAMI

More fans than foes come for Los Van Van

The controversial Cuban dance band Los Van Van performed in downtown Miami Sunday night, attracting fewer protesters than it did during its last visit in 1999.
Los Van Van rocks downtown Miami

If Cuban band Los Van Van's 1999 Miami concert was a turning point, marked by controversy so intense that it closed the doors that had opened to Cuban music here in Miami, their concert Sunday at the James L. Knight Center seemed to signal another shift -- to a new level of openness between Cubans on the island and in Miami.
KEY WEST | LOS VAN VAN CONCERT

Los Van Van leave politics behind for Miami, Key West concerts

Los Van Van, Cuba's top dance band, will be in Miami Sunday night, after playing to 1,000 people in Key West.
Los Van Van celebrates Jose Marti with Key West performance

It is not that Juan Formell, the leader of Los Van Van, Cuba's most famous dance band, doesn't have any political views. It is just, he says, that he doesn't come to the United States - or to Miami, where Los Van Van play Sunday night - to promote them.
A thaw? Los Van Van's return to Miami may signal a cultural shift

When famed Cuban dance band Los Van Van performed in Miami on Oct. 9, 1999, thousands of rock- and bottle-throwing demonstrators outside the now-demolished Miami Arena outnumbered the concertgoers inside. The incident capped months of controversy over the band's appearance and reverberated in the national media, branding Miami -- almost as deeply as would the Eli�n Gonz�lez incident -- as a place where exile passions could turn violent.
EMILIO ESTEFAN'S DREAM

Emilio Estefan finds a new rhythm with own story

Add author to music producer Emilio Estefan's list of accomplishments. He has written a book to help other immigrants reach for the American Dream.
COMING TO TOWN

Los Van Van plans concert in Miami

Cuban dance band Los Van Van will return to Miami in January for the first time since more than 3,500 protesters created havoc outside their Miami Arena show in 1999.
CARIBBEAN

Toy drives aim to remember poor kids in Caribbean

Amid a global economic crisis, Caribbean nationals are organizing toy drives for those back on the islands.
Year in Review | Latin music

Cuban musicians began returning to the United States in a trickle (Septeto Nacional, Carlos Varela) that promises to become a stream in 2010 (Omara Portuondo plays the Fillmore Miami Beach on March 2.) Pop music ruled: The biggest act in reggaeton was lightweight duo Wisin y Yandel, but the bestselling group of the year came from another genre and island -- Bronx-raised bachata-hip-hop band Aventura. Luis Fonsi's anthem of hope No me doy por vencido (I'm Not Giving Up) filled airwaves and earned him a slot on the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies, while Mercedes Sosa, the Argentine songstress and South America's voice of conscience, died.
THE MUSIC SCENE

Alejandro Sanz back on top

Pop singer Alejandro Sanz's last record, El Tren de los Momentos, came out three years ago amid a slew of troubles for the Spanish heartthrob: his father died; he divorced his wife, Mexican model Jaydy Michel, mother of his daughter Manuela; a couple who worked at Sanz's Miami Beach home were accused of blackmailing him with information that he had a son in an affair; and Sanz had a nervous breakdown that forced a months-long hiatus in a concert tour.
BIOGRAPHIES

Sultry song inspired Benny Mor� bio

John Radanovich is obsessive about jazz, so much so that he moved from one great jazz town to another, just to immerse himself in it. Chicago. New York. New Orleans.
LATIN MUSIC

Cuban diva Omara Portuondo hits the Grammys

Omara Portuondo could be any Cuban grandmother, if that grandmother were a world-famous singer with tales to tell (and keep) about 60 years of music and celebrity and separation. Sequestered in a downtown Miami hotel, this legend of Cuban music, elegant and consummately professional at 79, wears a spangled black headscarf for photographs on a rare day of interviews. Her feet, however, are nestled into white athletic socks and flat, cork-soled sandals. When she sings -- and she sings several times -- the room seems to vibrate with the emotion in her voice.
Nelly Furtado makes smart entry into Latin music market

Nelly Furtado's musical career has been filled with drastic changes. She started as a funky hip-hop / fusion phenomenon, soaring to success with her 2000 debut Whoa, Nelly and its Grammy-winning hit I am Like a Bird, then veered into a Brazilian-tinged world-beat detour. She returned to the mainstream in 2006 with the bestselling, sexy pop-hip-hop of Loose.
CUBAN EXILE COMMUNITY

Juanes: Cuba concert is not about politics

Colombian singer Juanes speaks out about his concert in Cuba -- and the controversy surrounding it.
CUBAN EXILE COMMUNITY

Pop singer Juanes sparks furor in Cuban exile community with plans for Havana concert

Colombian pop singer Juanes is sparking a controversy in the Cuban exile community with plans for a concert in Havana.
POP MUSIC

Dark period fuels Fonsi's new success

Singer Luis Fonsi's hair is so black it gleams. He has thick brown eyebrows, deep brown eyes, and his skin is tanned a rich caramel. But for all his dark features, his eyes shine so vibrantly that the impression he gives is one of brightness.
Ricardo Arjona offers more than songs in his concert

The Guatemalan singer-songwriter Ricardo Arjona doesn't only make music in his concerts -- though only isn't a word you'd use for his songs -- but musical theater. His sold-out show at the AmericanAirlines Arena on Thursday night was a wonderful exercise in playful concept and passionate narrative. And richly captivating music as well.