Fabiola Méndez: Tiny Desk Concert

This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.

Felix Contreras | September 30, 2024
The smile that erupts onto Fabiola Méndez’s face just as she launches into her first tune says everything about the joy she finds in making music that explores her culture.

Her instrument is the Puerto Rican cuatro, the national folk musical instrument of Puerto Rico. She started on the instrument at age 6 in her native Caguas, Puerto Rico, and carried it with her as her principal instrument for her studies at the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston.

What makes her take behind the Desk with her four piece band stand out is not just her dexterity on the instrument, but also how she incorporates tradition into a very contemporary musical setting. You can hear that musical vision and dedication to storytelling through both Méndez’s vocals and also in the song “Tributo A Mis Abuelos,” an instrumental that conjures up visions of the pastoral Puerto Rican countryside where the jibaro (rural) culture thrives.

In Méndez’s hands, the cuatro becomes not just an example of a rich, Afro-Caribbean culture, but also an instrument to spread joy.

SET LIST
“Seis Chorreao”
“Lamento en Celinés”
“Tributo a Mis Abuelos”
“Canción de Amor”
“Aguinaldo Jíbaro”

MUSICIANS
Fabiola Méndez: vocals, Puerto Rican cuatro, tiple
Juan Maldonado: bass
Miguel Martínez: percussion
William García: drums

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Felix Contreras
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Technical Director: Neil Tevault
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant
Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
Production Assistant: Ashley Pointer
Photographer: Sofia Seidel
Tiny Desk Copy Editor: Hazel Cills
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

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