NPR’s Alt.Latino plays Luca de Dios’s “Ausente”

NPR Music’s Alt.Latino played “Ausente” by Luca de Dios in its September 9, 2026 episode, “Brazil and Colombia on our minds”. Host Felix Contreras closed the show with the singer-songwriter’s second single, five weeks before the release of his debut album De amor y desamor.

What Felix Contreras said

Felix explained on air that Luca had written to him about his upcoming album: “I thought, oh, well, you know, I see these every now and then, you know, I’ll check it out.” Then:

“I really liked it, man.”

Felix Contreras, NPR Music, Alt.Latino

After playing the track, he described what caught his ear:

“There’s a lot of stuff in this song and in the other songs that spoke to me, but mainly it’s that kind of open, airy, like very, very vast sonic landscape.”

Felix Contreras, NPR Music, Alt.Latino

He also picked up a line from Luca’s profile: that he “converts sadness to light”. His co-host Anamaria Sayre answered with a comparison: to her, Luca’s voice and tone are strikingly close to those of José Lobo, the Venezuelan singer-songwriter she then played, “Lista pa’ la carrera”. The hosts called them “sonic doppelgangers”.

Listen to the Alt.Latino episode on NPR → (the Luca de Dios segment starts at 25:21)

About Alt.Latino

Alt.Latino is NPR Music’s weekly show and podcast on Latin music and culture, hosted by Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre. Each episode presents new releases and artists from across Latin America, Spain and the US.

About “Ausente” and De amor y desamor

“Ausente” came out on July 10, 2026 as the second single from De amor y desamor, out on October 16, 2026: eleven Spanish-language songs of love and heartbreak by the Luxembourg-based singer-songwriter. The album has also been featured by Mexican outlet R+. Monart leads the De amor y desamor press campaign in Latin America as a music PR agency.

Broadcast details