As part of the GRAMMY Museum’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, music journalist Betto Arcos discusses his new book, Music Stories from the Cosmic Barrio. Latin GRAMMY-winning and GRAMMY-nominated Guatemalan singer-songwriter-producer Gaby Moreno will also join in on the discussion and help moderate the conversation. Signed copies of the book are now available online at the GRAMMY Museum store here: https://grammymuseumstore.com/products/signed-music-stories-from-the-cosmic-barrio-by-betto-arcos?_pos=2&_sid=48689a105&_ss=r

Betto Arcos’ Music Stories from the Cosmic Barrio is a collection of 150 stories about music from all over Latin America, including music from Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, as well as music from Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The stories were originally broadcast on public radio programs including NPR, The World, BBC, KPCC and Latino USA. The book contains 12 chapters, each chapter follows a specific narrative: music and identity; education, community building, immigration, women's empowerment, adversity, social unrest and violence, instruments, producers, place and nation; the music of Brazil, Cuba music and the diaspora. The book's main focus is Latin American music from across the continent, with an emphasis on the music of Latinos and other ethnic groups in Los Angeles. The book also tells a personal story: the author's constant, tireless search for stories that help explain how complex and diverse humans are and how we share something so special that brings us together: music. This is a 380 page book, each story is accompanied by a black and white photo of the artist - many of the photos by the author.