Attention Diego Garcia fans & lovers of love!

Submit your email below for your chance to win a personal call from Diego Garcia for you or your loved one on Valentine’s Day. Diego Garcia will call one lucky fan on Valentine’s Day and sing a special lover’s dedication of “Roses & Wine” to the winner or their significant other. All contest entrants will also receive a free download of the song “Roses & Wine” from Diego’s debut solo album ‘Laura.’

Winners will be selected Monday February 13th. USA only.

Ritmo Machine debuted their new video “Maestro” today over at Remezcla, who described it as a “a meta, VH1-making-of-the-video-within-a-video”.  It’s not exactly Adaptation or Inception, but the video does show off Eric Bobo and Latin Bitman’s super-skills.

Described by the  LA Times as “suturing polyrhythmic African grooves, DJ scratches, electronic flourishes and a hip-hop aesthetic - it forms its own new strain of soul music.”

From their album Welcome the Ritmo Machine, available for only $5 at Amazon during the month of February. “Maestro” is available for free download from the Los Angeles Times.

Ritmo Machine will make their US debut on March 3rd at this year’s Smokeout Festival sharing the stage with with Cypress Hill, Thievery Corporation, Low End Theory, Cafe Tacvba and more.  And then Bobo and Bitman will make their way to Austin for SXSW.
 

Get your FREE Download of Ritmo Machine’s “Maestro” below.
 

Connect with Ritmo Machine on Twitter and Facebook.

An experimental turntablist from Chile-by-way-of Spain,t DJ Raff just dropped this new video for his latest single “Digital Rain” from his debut album Latino & Proud.

The video officially debuted at XLR8R, with Prefix following up with support.

Having shared the stage with Beastie Boys, A-Trak amd Prefuse 73, DJ Raff has been  called “the best DJ/turntablist in Latin America” by Remezcla.

Plus get your FREE DOWNLOAD of “Digital Rain” below.

Venezuela’s premiere hip-hop crew Cuarto Poder has a brand new mixtape ”Como En Vivo” available for free download.

This is the follow-up to their Nacional Records release “In Tha House,” which is available on iTunes.

The mixtape features 7 new songs that the Caracas-based rap crew has been playing recently at their live shows. Check the mixtape video here below from some more info on the project.

You can follow Cuarto Poder on Twitter and Facebook.

To celebrate the recent GRAMMY nominations for both Los Amigos Invisibles & La Vida Boheme, we’re giving away FREE DOWNLOADS from each album.

Both from Venezuela, Los Amigos Invisibles’ ‘Not So Commercial‘ and La Vida Boheme’s ‘Nuestra‘ are nominated for ‘Best Latin Pop, Rock or Urban Album’.

Click below to get a FREE download of 2 songs: Los Amigos Invisibles’ “Sweet” and La Vida Boheme’s “El Sentimiento Ha Muerto”.

In honor of their 2012 Grammy nominations, both Los Amigos Invisibles and La Vida Boheme will be performing at the Conga Room in Los Angeles the night before the Grammys (February 11).

Make sure to check out the Conga Room website to get your tickets and see these rockeros Venezualenos in action.

If you’re not in the L.A area,  Los Amigos Invisibles and La Vida Boheme will also be performing at the 4th and B in San Diego on February 10th. Grab your tickets here.

Connect with Los Amigos Invisibles on Facebook or Twitter
Follow La Vida Boheme on Facebook and  Twitter

Ana Tijoux‘s ‘La Bala‘ – the follow-up album to her Grammy nominated debut ‘1977‘ – will be released next Tuesday, January 31st, 2012.

But the Chilean MC’s new album is available NOW as a digital-only release exclusive via iTunes.

The album’s first single “Shock” debuted in the Top 40 on iTunes Latino charts and is now  being offered as a FREE DOWNLOAD as the iTunes Latino ‘Single of the Week‘.

The album ‘La Bala’ debuted at #1 on the iTunes Latino Hip-Hip y Reggaeton charts and #5 on the overall Latino charts.

Ana Tijoux is also the ‘Artist of the Week at Remezcla, with a hand-picked video playlist, exclusive interview, and free download of this new remix:

Making deep impressions at LA radio station KCRW, DJ Anthony Valadez has already called ‘La Bala’  one of the best albums of 2012.

The full album is now available for streaming via NPR Music, where you can get an exclusive First Listen of ‘La Bala’ in its entirety.

Like Ana Tijoux on Facebook.

Follow Ana Tijoux on Twitter.

Latin Alternative music has a new home on Sirius XM’s brand new station En Vivo channel 147.

The satellite radio station, in conjunction with National Latino Broadcasting and LAMC/Cookman, just launched the first episode of the LAMC Mix Tape last weekend.

The three-hour radio show airs every Saturday and Sunday at 5 pm EST/ 2 p.m. PST .

Hosted by our very own Tomas Cookman, pioneer of the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) and founder/president of Nacional Records, the LAMC Mix Tape will feature the latest and classics in Latin alternative music from across the Americas and around the block.

Like the NYC summertime conference it’s named after, the LAMC Mix Tape will showcase the best in Latin music, introducing groundbreaking artists in Latin rock, electronica, hip-hop y mas.

The first episode featured music by The Pinker Tones, Calle 13, Plastilina Mosh, Babasonicos, Systema Solar, Manu Chao and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs.

This weekend will include music from Ana Tijoux, Thievery Corporation, Davila 666, Mexican Dubwiser, Joe Cuba, Fidel Nadal and King Coya.

Follow LAMC Mix Tape on Twitter.

Like LAMC Mix Tape on Facebook.

Listen every Saturday and Sunday at 5 pm EST/ 2 p.m. PST on En Vivo channel 147.

To celebrate the new year, Nacional Records is giving away 24 of our most popular songs from 2011, including tracks from Ana Tijoux, La Vida Boheme,  The Pinker Tones,  Hello Seahorse!,  Diego Garcia, Fidel Nadal and Nortec Collective Presents Bostich + Fussible.

Head over to MTV Tr3s to get your redemption code for the FREE DOWNLOAD.

Nacional Records has been giving away these free iTunes download cards at concerts and events across the country.  Until now, you had to actually get a physical card in order to redeem the free downloads, but now MTV Tr3s is offering online redemptions as part of its promotion of La Hora Nacional, the weekly music video show curated by Nacional Records jefe Tomas Cookman.

Watch La Hora Nacional on MTV Tr3s every Saturday night at 12 midnight PST / 3am EST, or catch the repeat on Sunday 10 pm PST / 1am EST!

Follow @LaHoraNacional_ and ‘Like’ La Hora Nacional on Facebook

Nacional Records is excited to welcome a new artist to the label’s roster: Loquat!

Loquat is a San Francisco-based band with gorgeous, sincere songs filled with nostalgia and emotion. Lead-singer and guitarist Kylee Swenson had previously collaborated with (now) fellow label-mates Bostich + Fussible, singing on 2010′s “I Count the Ways” from Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich + Fussible: Bulevar 2000.

In Loquat, Swenson’s introspective lyrics are matched with haunting vocals floating over the minimal moods of her band mates (from left to right in the photo above: Christopher Cooper, Nacional Records VP Josh Norek, Kylee Swenson Gordon, Anthony Gordon, Jon Langmead, and Chip Cosby, not pictured).

Loquat has made a name for itself throughout the Bay Area and beyond for its addictive brand of guitar pop, with hints of the M83, Cardigans, Metric, and even ABBA. Together for 7 years, Loquat has released a few EPs and toured heavily, earning widespread critical acclaim:

 ”Sugary, sultry vocals from Kylee Swenson were wrapped around bouncy basslines and shimmering guitars, a bit like Rilo Kiley at the more melodic, singalong points or Cat Power in a few soaring, emotion-soaked moments. The overall effect was mellow and easy to swallow — smooth, radio friendly hooks and warm grooves.”     – SPIN

 

“Sometimes it’s nice to just press play and daydream while the world crashes around you. Loquat is very helpful that way.”     – Wired

 

“Swenson’s voice soars like Sarah McLachlan, but her lyrics cut like Cat Power.”     – URB

 

“Lots of bands mix electronic and acoustic instruments, but few pull it off with the grace—or even the shimmering melodies—exhibited by this San Francisco group fronted by Kylee Swenson.”     - San Francisco Chronicle

If you’re in California, check the band perform live on February 11th in San Francisco at their concert at Bottom of the Hill.  RSVP here

Connect with Loquat on Facebook and Twitter and say hello, and congrats!

Today (December 12) at 4pm EST / 1pm PST, visit MTVIggy.com for a special live-stream concert featuring La Vida Boheme.

Hosted by MTV’s Matt Pinfield, Sway Calloway and SuChin Pak, as well as Bollywood and TV actress Shenaz Treasury, today’s Best New Band 2011 concert also features at South Korean girl group 2NE1, Jamaican dancehall star Gyptian, and Malaysian singer/songwriter Yuna.

Nominated this year for a GRAMMY and two Latin GRAMMY’S, Venezuelan rockers La Vida Boheme‘ debut album ‘Nuestra’ was recently selected on NPR’s Top 50 albums of 2011 and iTunes’ “Latino Breakthrough Artist of the Year“.

“MTV Iggy’s Best New Band concert symbolizes America opening its doors to pop music from around the world. It’s a sign of the times. We live in a global, connected world in which music has no borders. We are going to see that come alive tonight,” says Nusrat Durrani,  general manager of MTV World.

“The term ‘world music’ does not describe the acts at this event. The Best New Band concert is about pop music … in all its colorful, loud, chaotic glory — from K-pop to Jamaican dancehall to indie punk from Latin America,” Durrani said. “It reflects the world we now live in — where the Internet and other factors have created a vast and exciting universe of music accessible to anyone with a connection.

The concert will stream on MTVIggy.com, including a global chat with real-time translations in 53 languages run by Ortsbo.com, today at 4 p.m. ET, live from MTV’s Times Square studio and the Best Buy Theater in Times Square.

Don’t miss MTV Iggy’s Best New Band 2011 live-stream concert special today at 4 p.m. ET on MTVIggy.com.