Al compás del mundo is a multi-cultural radio program on streaming platform Radioactiva.TX out of Tequisquiapan, Mexico. And when I say “multi-cultural” I mean what I say! In the program’s Spanish language intro I point out “You never know what you’re going to hear.” In an effort to feature something different every week, past programs include music from Colombia, Black and White blues, psychedelia, jazz and complements, bluegrass-folk, 1950’s rock ‘n roll, the music of French speakers, South and North Africa, Cuba, Eastern Europe, New Orleans sounds, Latin American protest music, the British rock invasion, Palestinian and Arab music, and much etc. When I don’t focus on a particular region or style, I will throw out a potpourri of everything under the sun. In short, eclectic is the byword.  List for show #209, 11-27-25 - Iran and Kurdistan Today’s program will present an hour’s worth of the music of Iran (Persia and Iran are synonymous and each has ancient historic roots.) I...

Leon Theremin and the Orchestra I’m showing my age with today’s Al compás del mundo playlist. Most all the music represented here is from 20-50 years ago. A couple exceptions are Iranian-Canadian Sina Bathaie and Chile’s Föllakzoid, both a nod towards rave culture…which has its origins in the mid -1980s, an old school trip out which lingers on to this day. Experimental music has been around for who knows how long. Rebels always come out of the woodwork when popular taste imposes limitations.  And electronics have influenced and become the medium as far back as the theremin, invented circa 1918. There’s one more ringer in this group (experimental yes, electronic, no) and that’s Steve Reich’s piece, an excerpt from “Pulse.” The chorus and instruments are organic and live – no recorded sounds and no overdubs. That this sort of music has drawn devotees in great numbers and from all parts of the world would make a case for a commonality in human artistic perception and acceptance. Who s...

  Rarely do I focus on a single artist or group in putting together my weekly radio program Al compás del mundo. There have been many dedications to the distinctive and varied sounds of specific countries or regions but rarely does the spotlight shine on one individual. Today’s exception stems from the fact that Allen Toussaint was more often in the background than a performer, yet came to represent the music of his native New Orleans like few others. [Continues below.] Al compás del mundo Listo 207, 11-13-25 – the music of Allen Toussaint, New Orleans 01 Aaron Neville - Hercules 02 Ernie K-Doe - So Good 03 The Rubaiyats - Omar Khayyam 04 Lee Dorsey - Sneakin' Sally Thru the Alley 05 Willie West - Greatest Love 06 Allen Toussaint and The Stokes - Two Cents 07 Curly Moore - Don't Pity Me 08 Jessie Hill - Oogsey Moo 09 Benny Spellman - If You Love Her 10 Betty Harris - Bad Luck 11 Allen Toussaint - Poor Boy, Got to Move 12 Maurice Williams - How to Pick a Winner 13 Etta James - W...

  Al compás del mundo  206, 11-6-25 - global potpourri list   01 Alogte Oho - Mam Yinne Wa (Ghana) 02 Jagwa Music - Mchawi Ndugu (Tanzania) 03 Polibio Mayorga - Altas Horas (Ecuador) 04 Nimco Jamaac - Buuraha U Dheer (Somalia) 05 Cheb Mohamed Sghir - Zoujouha Laaroubia (Algeria) 06 Pasteur LappÉ - Sanaga Calypso (Cameroon) 07 New Tutenkhamen - Joburg Bound (Zimbabwe) 08 Phuzekhemisi No Nothembi - Solo Ngiyathokoza (Ndebele, South Africa) 09 Saodaj - Pokor Lèr (Reunion) 10 Kaxgar Kizi - Chirayliq (Uyghur, China) 11 Nair Band - Mongolian Brown (Mongolia) 12 bAnda con Εύη Σεϊτανίδου - Ομάλ   (Greece) 13 Les Négresses Vertes - Enfer et paradis (France) 14 Matmatah - Les moutons (France) I suppose most of my potpourri programs take off for a global trek much like this one. I mean, if it were a potpourri of blues stylings, it would be a blues program.  Likewise, a jazz potpourri would be a jazz program. But when the reach extends from Gha...

Bienvenidos to another week of Al compás del mundo. Welcome to my world. Being that RadioactivaTX, out of Tequisquiapan, Queretaro, in the heart of old Mexico, is a streaming station, I’m not sure if I’m the only inhabitant of that world, or not. If there’s a way of measuring audience size and feedback for such programming, I’m not aware of it. Doesn’t matter. If the station allows me, I’ll continue throwing together yet another hour’s worth of eclectic global sounds until they wrest the musical inspiration from my cold, dead brain.  This week’s program arrives on the island of sunny, green Puerto Rico. A bountiful land of abundance (except when there’s not) and fair governance (except when there’s not)... Al compás del mundo 205, 10-30-25 – Puerto Rico Listo 01 Isabel Dávila y German Rosario - Mujer dominante 02 Andres Jiménez - El Pobre Sigue Sufriendo 03 Grupo Mapeye - La Cultura y La Tradición 04 Ecos de Borinquen  - El alma de Puerto Rico 05 Taoné - Verde luz 06 El Trio J...

  So, back from vacation with the task at hand. What can I say about a RadioactivaTX streaming radio program of old-timey blues and gospel? I’ve been here before. Turns out many of the songs chosen for this playlist showed up on Al compás del mundo previously and memory failed me (I try to not duplicate titles, but after almost four years of programming there’s room for that.) It was back in January, 2022 when I culled a whole raft of music from a single album: “Voices of Mississippi.” And it all still sounds good. This time I added and peppered a blues list with gospel music of the time – all of which was recorded and edited by ‘blues hunter’ Bill Ferris during tours of the deep South in the 1960s. It’s too bad that cut #8 remains anonymous, as I’d like to hear more from someone who dreams so big – “I had a dream, dream I had last night.  I went to the U.N. and set the whole nation right.” Brings to mind lyrics by Uruguayan singer Daniel Viglietti from “Cantaliso en un bar”. ...