This year Austin’s own South By Southwest Music Festival will showcase artists from 55 countries, who will be covered by more than 300 representatives from foreign media outlets, from Australian radio stations to Norwegian television to Indonesian bloggers to the BBC. Hats off to SXSW’s Brent Grulke, Alicia Zertuche, Darren Klein, and Tracy Mann for all their hard work to further bolster the festival’s already strong commitment to Latin American artists. The line-up is staggering! Below are a few of my picks and some artists I can’t wait to see. Click on their names to learn more.

COLOMBIA:

Choc Quib Town
-Headlining an amazing slate of Colombia artists at this year’s festival, these guys were one of my biggest discoveries in 2008 while attending the Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro in Bogotá

Mónica Giraldo
-Great web site with some nice tunes from this upcoming singer/songwriter

ARGENTINA:

Orquestra Típica Fernández Fierro
-An Argentine tango ensemble unlike any other

BRAZIL:

Alexandre Grooves
-A pal of Seu Jorge’s whose new record is just out

Mundo Livre S/A
-Another in a long line of talented musical groups from Recife

La Pupuna
-Interesting young group out of Belém

Valéria Oliveira
-Just clicked on the site, and I really like her!

Ramiro Mussotto
-Definitely a must-see…berimbau mastery with electronic beats and a live band

Samba de Rainha
-Great samba group from Sao Paulo made up of 7 talented women

Fernanda Takai
-lead singer of the band Pato Fu goes solo

Vanguart
-Interesante, né?

MEXICO:

Los Utrera
-Fantastic traditional son jarocho group

Polka Madre
-How can you NOT be intrigued by a Gypsy-punk band from DF with possibly my favorite band name of the year?

Ximena Sariñana
-One of the biggest Latin buzz artists of the year

Paté de Fuá
-Looks intriguing

PERU:

NovaLima
-Afro-Peruvian sounds…just picked up their latest record

CHILE:

Francisca Valenzuela
-A Chilean singer/pianist who cites Ben Folds and Violeta Parra as influences?! I can’t wait!

The Music Festival runs from March 18-22. Many of these artists have never been to the U.S., and some may never return. So rest up, drink lots of fluids, and sleep when it’s over! See you downtown!