20 years spent shaping Latin alt

Nacional Records, an indie label that's kept its finger on the pulse, celebrates a milestone.

- ERNESTO LECHNER

Illustration by ELANA MARIE For De Los; Photos by JACOBO PARRA For La Tuna Group: INTI JAVIERA GAJARDO; EDWARD SIFUENTES; FRAN BEAUFRAND; MARIA JOSE GOVEA; National Records

When Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Tomas Cookman founded Nacional Records 20 years ago, the label immediately established itself as the defining voice of Latin alternative in the U.S.

Cookman's inaugural release was the luminous, self-titled solo debut by Andrea Echeverri, lead singer of Colombia's pioneering Rock en Español act Aterciopelados. He followed it up with “Tijuana Sessions Vol. 3,” the much anticipated sophomore effort from Latintronica outfit Nortec Collective. (As it turns out, the band never recorded a Vol. 2.)

Released in March and July of 2005, respectively, the two albums introduced Nacional as a boutique imprint with a finger on the pulse of the Latin music zeitgeist. But the label’s aesthetic was never about a specific sound. What it offered instead was a point of view, one that was visionary and omnivorous. In the years that followed, Nacional shepherded future stars (Ana Tijoux, Bomba Estéreo, ChocQuibTown), invested in beautiful failures (Liquits, She’s a Tease) and lured genre legends into its fold (Manu Chao, Aterciopelados, Fabulosos Cadillacs, Los Amigos Invisibles). It also released excellent records by non-Latin artists such as Talking Heads side project Tom Tom Club, and Japan’s iconic Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. In the process, the label amassed over 100 Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations, and co-founded the Latin Alternative Music Conference, which takes place every summer in New York.

When the rock-based alternative movement all but collapsed during the 2010s, replaced by the urgency of trap and reggaeton, Nacional recalibrated its curatorial approach and became more eclectic than ever. It delved into tango, musica Mexicana and urbano stylings.