Rachael Ray invited Food Network Chef Daisy Martinez to her show, where in addition to sharing a delicious recipe for chicken enchiladas, they served up a lot of praise for Putumayo and Latin Party! Daisy contributes a recipe for Cleriquot, an Argentine cocktail, to  the liner notes of the CD.

Best Urban/Alternative Performance: ‘Pearls’ - India.Arie & Dobet Gnahore (featured on  Women of Africa, Acoustic Africa, and Music from the Chocolate Lands)

Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album: ‘Lay Your Burden Down’ - Buckwheat Zydeco (featured on Zydeco, New Orleans Playground, and World Playground)

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album: ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ - (A.R. Rahman featured on India)

Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media: ‘Jai Ho’ (From Slumdog Millionaire) - (A.R. Rahman featured on India)

Whole Foods featured Putumayo founder and CEO, Dan Storper on their blog yesterday. Check out the introduction below, and read the full article by clicking here!

Around here, we feel like Putumayo World Music and Whole Foods Market kind of grew up together. In celebration of our 30th birthday this year, we asked Dan Storper, founder and president of Putumayo, to write about how it all came to be. Post a comment by February 7th with your favorite kind of world music or Putumayo CD and you might just win a copy of their upcoming release, Rhythm & Blues.

Jimmy Fallon pokes fun at Putumayo and Wholefoods at around 6:40 in his thank you bit Check it out!

Imagine a new primetime PBS series that explores the world, combining journalistic curiosity with the adventure of travel and the soul-satisfying, hip-shaking pleasures of great music.

Sound Tracks explores how music is transforming politics and culture around the globe. The one-hour pilot serves up a diverse menu of Russian pop, afrobeat, Portuguese fado, and symphonic music.

Watch the premiere of SOUND TRACKS on PBS

Monday, Jan. 25, at 10 pm

When I was in Stockholm a couple of months ago, the highlight of the trip was a performance by an Iranian-Scandinavian fusion group called Golbang.  The beautiful vocals in Persian mixed with a killer group of Swedish and African instrumentalists created one of the most fascinating hybrids I’ve heard in years. They’re visiting the US and are performing at Saturday, Jan. 16th, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm at the Bowery Poetry Club.

I hope you’ll go and see them. You won’t be disappointed.

Dan Storper, Founder/CEO

For seven years globalFEST (www.globalfest-ny.org) has been the springboard festival for world music artists on the brink of North American national main stage success, performers known in one community but ready to cross into others, and the marquee stars of tomorrow. globalFEST 2010 showcases French Gypsy jazz with breakbeats, cumbia-fied downtempo Argentine club sounds, soul-stirring Colombian roots, new generation Louisiana fiddling, Africa unplugged, Irish traditional song, Senegalese roots reggae, Central Asian avant rock, Romanian hybrid blues, New York salsa upstarts, and a Gwo-ka master from Guadeloupe all under one roof at New York City’s Webster Hall (125 E. 11th St.) on January 10, 2010 at 7pm.

This year’s festival includes:
- Alif Naaba, West African acoustic song (Burkina Faso)
- Cara Dillon (featured on Celtic Crossroads), striking Celtic vocalist (Ireland)
- Caravan Palace, swingin’ electro manouche jazz (France)
- Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole, Creole Zydeco heir from Louisiana (USA)
- Federico Aubele (featured on Tango Around the World, Latin Lounge, and Nuevo Latino) bolero and cumbia meets electro downtempo (Argentina/USA)
- François Ladrezo & Alka Omeka, Gwo-ka master (Guadalupe)
- La Cumbiamba eNeYé, music from the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Colombia (Colombia/USA)
- La Excelencia, old-school salsa dura revivalists (USA)
- Meta and the Cornerstones, African roots reggae export (Senegal/USA)
- Namgar, Siberian shaman rock from the Central Asian steppes (Russia)
- Nguyên Lê’s Saiyuki, acclaimed French-Vietnamese guitarist leads a Pan-Asian jazz trio
(Vietnam/Japan/India/France)
- Nightlosers, Transylvanian blues-rock/Gypsy chameleons (Romania)

“I have so many wonderful memories of Christmas and the holidays here in New Orleans with my family… but one of my fondest is a family tradition that we have… On Christmas morning I wake up and the pajamas stay on all day (laughs)…  I cook for the whole family and we all watch old family videos from years back… Everyone is together and it’s a time to reminisce, eat, and just have a wonderful time.”

- Kermit Ruffins (featured on New Orleans and New Orleans Playground)

“It is an important time to visit with relatives. I have family members from the Mixtec,  Chinantec, Zapotec and Trique cultures, as well as some folks from New Jersey and Minnesota. Offering a cup of Oaxacan chocolate to anyone who visits is a very important ritual. It is a symbol of good will during the holidays, as I believe different souls come to visit [during this time of year].” - Lila Downs (featured on Mexico and Latin Playground)

“I like to spend a couple weeks in Sugar Hill, my favorite Harlem neighborhood… just chilling, meeting my friends there, doing some songwriting, having a few drinks at St. Nick’s every night… you know, enjoying the vibe of the place… I love it.” -Gecko Turner (featured on España)

“I remember as a kid (being the tenth of twelve) in my very Irish-Catholic family, every Christmas morning all of us would line up in the upstairs hallway in order of age, and on my father’s “allright kids c’mon down” we’d parade down to a living room filled with piles of presents, a stack for each of us. All to the tune of Perry Como caroling on the stereo.”

- Martin Sexton (featured on A Family Christmas)

“The best Christmas I ever had was probably around ‘68, when my great-grandmother came to stay and brought a turkey with her (not as a guest).  We’d never had one before (or since, come to that) but the night before was memorable because I wet the bed and since I shared it with my brother at the time, he woke up the next day curled up on the pillow.  It was worth the discomfort just to annoy him, because that same Christmas eve he’d told me that Christmas was cancelled on account of Santa having been gored to death by his reindeer.”
- James Hunter (featured on 2010 Rhythm and Blues)

“Well, of course, I’ll never forget waking up and finding a real live transistor radio under the Christmas tree, obviously from Santa.  I was probably about 7 or 8 and it rocked my world, listening late at night and everything.  As I remember, I could only hear the music with the cheap little white earphone (just one, no one thought about stereo in those days much), but it was enough to easily transport me to the other world.”

- Carl Finch of Brave Combo (featured on A Family Christmas)

Human Rights Day 2009 on 10 December will focus on non-discrimination. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. These first few famous words of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights established 60 years ago the basic premise of international human rights law. Yet today, the fight against discrimination remains a daily struggle for millions around the globe.

“Our main objective is to help promote discrimination-free societies and a world of equal treatment for all,” says the High Commissioner who this year will mark Human Rights Day in South Africa.

She encourages people everywhere - including the UN family, governments, civil society, national human rights institutions, the media, educators, and individuals - to seize the opportunity of Human Rights Day 2009 to join hands to embrace diversity and end discrimination.

The realisation of all human rights - social, economic and cultural rights as well as civil and political rights – is hampered by discrimination. All too often, when faced with prejudice and discrimination, political leaders, governments and ordinary citizens are silent or complacent.

Yet everyone of us can make a difference. You are encouraged to celebrate Human Rights Day by advocating non-discrimination, organizing activities, raising awareness and reaching out to your local communities on 10 December and throughout 2010. For more information click here

Dilan was born without several toes and a leg, because while he was in his mother’s womb, the umbilical cord was wrapped too tightly around his limbs.  This birth defect was seen by his Embera indigenous community in Northern Colombia as a bad sign from the Gods.  His village believed that they would be cursed with bad luck if he lived.  As a result, the elders of the community planned to sacrifice Dilan when he was born.  Fortuitously, however, Dilan was rescued by a relative when he was only two days old and brought to a foster home for two years.   Colombian Family Welfare Institute (also known as ICBF) in Choco brought Dilan’s unique case to the attention of United for Colombia (UFC) and Los Pisingos, an adoption center in Bogota.  Due to UFC’s well-known efforts to fund specialized medical cases, Dilan was quickly seen by Otto Bock in September 2009 to receive a leg prosthesis and comprehensive orthopedic rehabilitation.

Dilan’s story and survival is a true life miracle.  Following his rehabilitation, he was adopted by an affluent Swedish fmaily who will provide Dilan with top-quality medical care until he is fully grown.  In addition, Dilan’s new father is a Swedish doctor who clearly understands the medical requirements for his orthopedic maintenance and rehabilitation treatments.

Thanks to the generous funds donated by Putumayo World Music, Dilan was provided with the best orthopedic care possible.  UFC’s Orthopedic care program is truly a miracle initiative for those special cases like two-year-old Dilan, who will have many more opportunities to live a healthy and happy childhood.