When I arrived in Bridgewater in 1997, I worked late into the night quite often. I had a new job with mostly new classes to prepare, I was a new father with a tiny baby to help care for, and my doctoral dissertation committee at the University of Arizona thought it would be fun to make me re-write an entire book they had initially approved.
My companion on those late nights was sometimes National Public Radio, especially on Saturday night when the local (but globally important) affiliate WBUR played Latin American music ALL NIGHT.
My companion on those late nights was sometimes National Public Radio, especially on Saturday night when the local (but globally important) affiliate WBUR played Latin American music ALL NIGHT.
Specifically, the program Con Salsa aired from midnight to 5 a.m. In those days, listeners could call in to request or dedicate songs, and I remember that more than a few of those requests were from my new home town of Bridgewater.
The show continues to be on the air, as it has been for almost 49 years, though now it runs 10pm Saturday to 3am Sunday. It is still five full hours, curated by José Massó III, a true scholar of the music of Latin America, particularly that of the Caribbean. He describes the show as five chapters of music and commentary, often tied together by a particular theme or by homage being paid to a particular artist.
The show continues to be on the air, as it has been for almost 49 years, though now it runs 10pm Saturday to 3am Sunday. It is still five full hours, curated by José Massó III, a true scholar of the music of Latin America, particularly that of the Caribbean. He describes the show as five chapters of music and commentary, often tied together by a particular theme or by homage being paid to a particular artist.
One thing I love is that the show begins almost without notice -- whatever is happening at 9:59 ends and then this song plays for seven minutes before Massó says anything at all.
This is very unusual for public radio, which usually has a lot of chatter at the top of the hour. I have gotten used to this soft opening over the years, and only learned the back story when Massó explained it during the episode of October 5-6, 2024.
This is very unusual for public radio, which usually has a lot of chatter at the top of the hour. I have gotten used to this soft opening over the years, and only learned the back story when Massó explained it during the episode of October 5-6, 2024.
Listen to the story of Con Salsa during a during his appearance on The Common.
The title of the song is simply "Puerto Rico" but the inspiration for the song was a particularly poignant moment in the history of the island. That moment was at the very end of 1972, when the musician Eddie Palmieri was among many Puerto Ricans who were desperately combing the beaches of the island, in search of some sign of life from the Pittsburg Pirates baseball star Roberto Clemente.
The title of the song is simply "Puerto Rico" but the inspiration for the song was a particularly poignant moment in the history of the island. That moment was at the very end of 1972, when the musician Eddie Palmieri was among many Puerto Ricans who were desperately combing the beaches of the island, in search of some sign of life from the Pittsburg Pirates baseball star Roberto Clemente.
It turns out that he perished in a plane that he had chartered for a humanitarian mission to Nicaragua.
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