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Isabella Gomez Sarmiento Isabella Gomez Sarmiento is a producer with the Culture Desk and NPR's Book of the Day podcast.
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Headshot of Isabella Gomez Sarmiento
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Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

Associate Producer, Culture Desk

Isabella Gomez Sarmiento is a producer with the Culture Desk and NPR's Book of the Day podcast.

Since joining NPR in 2019, she's worked on stories about vaccine outreach in Latinx communities, the future of abortion access in a post-Roe landscape and the unionization effort of the Star Garden strippers in Los Angeles. She especially loves mixing music pieces — during her time coordinating Weekend Edition's music coverage, she booked and produced interviews with artists like Buscabulla, Pusha T and C. Tangana.

Before coming to NPR, she wrote about culture, gender and immigration for outlets including Teen Vogue, CNN, Remezcla and more. She likes riding her bike and talking to/about her cat, Ricky Ricardo.

Story Archive

Thursday

The 2024 Kennedy Center honorees, clockwise from left, The Apollo theater; the Grateful Dead (Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Billy Kreutzmann); jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo Sandoval; blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, Bonnie Raitt; and director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.

The 2024 Kennedy Center honorees (clockwise from left): the Apollo Theater; the Grateful Dead (Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann); jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo Sandoval; blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; and director and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola. Apollo Theater, Jay Blakesberg, Jeremy Lock, Ken Friedman, Chad Keig/The Kennedy Center Honors hide caption

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Apollo Theater, Jay Blakesberg, Jeremy Lock, Ken Friedman, Chad Keig/The Kennedy Center Honors

Culture

Grateful Dead, Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt on 2024 Kennedy Center Honors list

The award for lifetime artistic achievements will also recognize jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo Sandoval. The Apollo Theater will receive a special Honors as "an iconic American institution."

Grateful Dead, Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt on 2024 Kennedy Center Honors list

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Wednesday

Corky (Gina Gershon) and Violet (Jennifer Tilly) in Bound.

Corky (Gina Gershon) and Violet (Jennifer Tilly) in Bound. AJ Pics/Alamy Stock Photo hide caption

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AJ Pics/Alamy Stock Photo

Movies

Before Hollywood handled sex with care, this lesbian neo-noir focused on authenticity

Before making The Matrix, the Wachowskis enlisted a sex educator to help with their 1996 thriller. Bound's place in the queer canon has been redefined, and is now part of the Criterion Collection.

Years before intimacy coordinators on Hollywood sets, there was the 1996 film Bound

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Sunday

Movies

Years before intimacy coordinators on Hollywood sets, there was the 1996 film Bound

The 1996 film neo-noir thriller "Bound" pushed boundaries in its portrayals of sex and gender on screen. It was re-issued as part of the Criterion Collection this past week.

Years before intimacy coordinators on Hollywood sets, there was the 1996 film Bound

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Thursday

HBO's 'Fantasmas' is new and different and uniquely itself

Julio Torres stars in Fantasmas. HBO hide caption

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HBO

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

HBO's 'Fantasmas' is new and different and uniquely itself

The brilliant and idiosyncratic new HBO series Fantasmas has a simple plot. Creator and star Julio Torres searches New York City for an earring he lost at a club. In the execution, that quest gets transformed into something epic and surreal and queer in every sense of the word. He keeps bumping into random New Yorkers whose stories play out in a series of sketch-like vignettes. They are played by actors including Emma Stone, Bowen Yang, and Tilda Swinton.

HBO's 'Fantasmas' is new and different and uniquely itself

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Sunday

Wednesday

Alt.Latino's favorite music of 2024 (so far)

Nathy Peluso is a featured artist in this week's episode of Alt.Latino. Kito Muñoz hide caption

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Kito Muñoz

Alt.Latino

Alt.Latino's favorite music of 2024 (so far)

To mark the halfway point of 2024, Felix Contreras, Anamaria Sayre and NPR Culture Desk producer Isabella Gomez Sarmiento run down their favorite releases of the year so far, from a career-defining release from Nathy Peluso, a leveling up from Argentine rapper Trueno, introspective jazz from Melissa Aldana and so much more.

Alt.Latino's favorite music of 2024 (so far)

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Thursday

Art & Design

A new Banksy Museum has opened in NYC … minus Banksy

A museum showcasing replicas of Banksy's work recently opened in New York City. But like its Paris sister location, the new exhibition lacks any approval or authorization from the artist, who has explicitly denounced any commercial use of his art-- and therefore raises a number of questions about who owns street art and who gets to profit from it.

A new Banksy Museum has opened in NYC … minus Banksy

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Tuesday

The Banksy Museum in New York City features replicas of 160 Banksy artworks.

The Banksy Museum in New York City features replicas of 160 original Banksys. This one is called "Good Doctor," and was originally stenciled in New York in 2010. Isabella Gomez Sarmiento/NPR hide caption

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Isabella Gomez Sarmiento/NPR

Morning Edition

A new Banksy Museum has opened in NYC … minus Banksy

The new museum is not authorized by the artist — who has explicitly denounced any use of his art for profit.

A new Banksy Museum has opened in NYC … minus Banksy

Audio will be available later today.

Friday

'Back to Black' misses Amy Winehouse's point of view

Marisa Abela as Amy Winehouse in Back to Black. Olli Upton/Focus Features hide caption

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Olli Upton/Focus Features

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Back to Black' misses Amy Winehouse's point of view

The new music biopic Back to Black chronicles the life of singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse. The film stars Marisa Abela, and follows Winehouse as she records her breakthrough album, gets married, and struggles with addiction. But does the movie do justice to the singer and her music?

'Back to Black' misses Amy Winehouse's point of view

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Saturday

Young Miko upended norms in Latin pop. On her debut 'Att.' she raises her own bar

In a matter of three short years, Young Miko's become one of reggaeton and Latin pop's most promising stars. On her debut album 'Att.,' she keeps pushing the genre forward. Joshua Rivera/@shotsjpg hide caption

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Joshua Rivera/@shotsjpg

Music

Young Miko upended norms in Latin pop. On her debut 'Att.' she raises her own bar

The Puerto Rican rapper has risen through the ranks of Latin pop, collaborating with artists like Karol G and Bad Bunny. With her playful, experimental debut Att., she's poised to be a bigger star.

Young Miko upended norms in Latin pop. On her debut 'Att.' she raises her own bar

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Friday

Music News

Khruangbin is out with their first solo album since 2020

After years of touring and collaborations, two members of the trio reflect on how this record created a moment of peaceful solitude. The album is called: A La Sala.

Khruangbin is out with their first solo album since 2020

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Saturday

What do we really want from Shakira?

On this week's Alt.Latino, an assessment of Shakira's current career after Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images hide caption

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Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

Alt.Latino

What do we really want from Shakira?

Shakira just released her first album in seven years, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, and most listeners and critics have high praise. But this episode of Alt.Latino puts the record to the test.

What do we really want from Shakira?

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Saturday

Music

Shakira's 'Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran' is her first album in 7 years

Shakira's new album, "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran," is her first in seven years and is being marketed as a comeback after a highly-publicized romantic breakup.

Shakira's 'Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran' is her first album in 7 years

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Sunday

Friday

Business

AMC is cashing in on a strong return to theaters

With sold out screenings of Dune: Part Two, and new edition of their popular Nicole Kidman ads and loyalty subscription program, AMC is trying to build a new cinemagoing culture.

AMC is cashing in on a strong return to theaters

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Friday

How Daymé Arocena left Cuba and found a freeing new sound in Afro-Caribbean pop

"I remember any time I traveled to Mexico and other countries in the continent, I felt like, 'I'm Latina, but I'm not exactly like the people here,' Arocena tells NPR. "When I came to Puerto Rico, it was like, 'okay, now I understand.' " Alex Alaya/Brownswood Recordings hide caption

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Alex Alaya/Brownswood Recordings

Music

How Daymé Arocena left Cuba and found a freeing new sound in Afro-Caribbean pop

The Cuban jazz artist says she's never felt welcome in Latin pop. That is, until she came to Puerto Rico to record her new album, Alkemi, which expands her sound into R&B, bossa nova and neo-soul.

How Daymé Arocena left Cuba and found a freeing new sound in Afro-Caribbean pop

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Thursday

Can Jennifer Lopez's 'This Is Me... Now' say anything new?

Jennifer Lopez in This Is Me...Now: A Love Story. Courtesy of Prime hide caption

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Courtesy of Prime

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Can Jennifer Lopez's 'This Is Me... Now' say anything new?

The wait to learn more about Jennifer Lopez's love life is finally over. The singer and actress has released a new film on Prime Video called This Is Me...Now: A Love Story, in conjunction with a new album and an upcoming documentary. It's all about her journey from Gigli to joyful, from falter to altar, with her now-husband Ben Affleck. She sings, she dances, and is cared for by the weirdest council of advisors ever assembled — including cameos from Neil deGrasse Tyson, Post Malone, Jane Fonda.

Can Jennifer Lopez's 'This Is Me... Now' say anything new?

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Monday

Friday

A birthday party for a dying father chronicles childhood before loss in 'Tótem'

Tótem chronicles one afternoon for Sol (Naíma Sentíes) a young girl about to undergo a massive loss. It was written and directed by Lila Avilés. Courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films hide caption

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Courtesy of Sideshow and Janus Films

Culture

A birthday party for a dying father chronicles childhood before loss in 'Tótem'

Director Lila Avilés' film is a celebration of family and spirituality in contemporary Mexican society. And it's a beacon of how women filmmakers are becoming the new face of Mexican cinema.

A birthday party for a dying father chronicles childhood before loss in 'Tótem'

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Wednesday

Pop culture that gets platonic love right

Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman in Parks and Recreation. NBC / Alamy hide caption

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NBC / Alamy

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop culture that gets platonic love right

There have been countless romantic movies and TV shows — and a virtually infinite number of ways to watch people fall in love. But we're here to celebrate pop culture that revolves around friendship — where people love and care about each other deeply, even though they'll never kiss. Today we're recommending things to watch that get platonic love right.

Pop culture that gets platonic love right

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Tuesday

Obituaries

Country music star Toby Keith is dead at 62 after battle with stomach cancer

Country music star Toby Keith, who dominated the charts in the 1990s and 2000s with a string of hits, has died at 62. The singer had been diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Country music star Toby Keith is dead at 62 after battle with stomach cancer

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Monday

Books

The final installment of the 'Amulet' graphic novel series is about to be released

Fans have been waiting more than five years for this book, with no indication of when it would come out. It hits bookstores on Tuesday.

The final installment of the 'Amulet' graphic novel series is about to be released

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Monday

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