"Keep That Tradition Alive" ft. Kiki Valera

On this final episode of season three, Meklit shares the story of Geefata, a traditional song of celebration rooted in her father’s childhood village and in his journey from the village to the United States. 

GRAMMY nominated multi-instrumentalist Kiki Valera was born into family of musicians in Cuba. At 16, he was gifted a book gifted that changed his life.  - How To Build A Shortwave Receiver and Transmitter. Through scavenging parts, he made the machine that allowed him to listen to the world, and build a life dedicated to music. 

Today on Movement, we revisit a story we first recorded in 2021, following Sahba Aminikia - a classically trained Iranian composer, forced to flee the country he called home, while making music that transforms pain into beauty.

Arabic music filled the air of Laura Elkeslassy’s Moroccan Jewish childhood home in Paris, especially on Fridays before Shabbat. But she didn’t grow up speaking Arabic so she didn’t understand the words. In New York as an adult, Laura’s search for a wedding song takes her on a surprising journey where she connects with new musical, spiritual and political lineages and steps into her power as a musician and community leader. Learn more & sign up for Laura’s newsletter where she will announce the forthcoming studio release of Ya Ghorbati. Read more about the stories behind the songs via Ayin Press.

After years of singing backup in Havana, Cuban musician Cimafunk found his own sound by refusing to choose between tradition and innovation. The breakthrough came when he realized Afro-Cuban rhythms and American funk are not just compatible, they're in the same lineage. 

Ali Sethi released a song that got so popular, some claim it had the power to unite two countries at war – but his artistic journey all began with a suggestion from a college professor. 

When you don't feel like you belong to the country you were born in, where do you call home? Born to Chilean exiles in France, rapper Ana Tijoux didn't find home in a place, she found it in Hip Hop.

Lupita Infante is the granddaughter of Mexican cultural icon, Pedro Infante, but she is also an artist in her own right, carrying legacies from both sides of her family. Through songwriting, GRAMMY performances and stints on Mexican television, Lupita is charting a new path for herself, while honoring and questioning the culture she’s inherited. 

Peter One has had two big breaks, decades apart, on different continents. But both times, he has chosen to live a double-life: working as a touring musician and also holding down a “regular job” in order to lead a “simple life.” 

In the early 1900s, the ‘Little Syria’ neighborhood thrived in Lower Manhattan, but today few people know it even existed. Rapper and poet Omar Offendum aims to change that.