© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WECS · WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM · WVOF
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Tiny Desk Contest entrant Yosmel Montejo has a message for his community: 'Go for it'

Yosmel Montejo's "La Caliente" was a standout entry to this year's Tiny Desk Contest.
Courtesy of the artist
Yosmel Montejo's "La Caliente" was a standout entry to this year's Tiny Desk Contest.

The 2021 Tiny Desk Contest wrapped up last month with the announcement of this year's winner, Neffy, and her song "Wait Up." But the Contest's panel of judges saw thousands of incredible entries from around the country, and Weekend Edition will be highlighting some of them over the next few months.

One of those standout entries came from musician Yosmel Montejo and his entry, "La Caliente," which was featured on episode six of our Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf series.

Montejo was born in Cuba and came to the United States in 2011. Most of his family still lives in Cuba, and he says his song "La Caliente" was inspired by the challenges of life on the island. "If you had to translate [the title,] it means, 'the heat,' " he tells NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro. But more importantly, he says, "I'm just trying to reflect what is happening in my society."

Despite ongoing struggles in Cuba, Montejo says he wanted the song to be uplifting. "I tried to put it in a positive way," he says. "Like, I want my people to go for it, you know? No matter what, the message is: Go for it."

Listen to Lulu Garcia-Navarro's interview with Yosmel Montejo in the audio player above, and watch his 2021 Tiny Desk Contest entry below.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Lulu Garcia-Navarro is the host of Weekend Edition Sunday and one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. She is infamous in the IT department of NPR for losing laptops to bullets, hurricanes, and bomb blasts.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content