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Andy Palacio's album Watina is an effort to document his people's culture and prevent its extinction. Palacio is of the Garifuna people — descendants of shipwrecked slaves who settled on the east coast of Central America.

Author Dinaw Mengestu is among a generation of Ethiopian Americans whose families fled the East African nation in the 1970s and '80s. Now their writing, music and art are adding a new chapter to the epic of American immigration.

France has produced remarkable music over the years, from the emotive chanson of Edith Piaf to Serge Gainsbourg's iconoclastic work to the electronic melodies of the band Air. But these days there are so many young artists stirring the charts that it seems like French music is in the process of reinventing itself.

Tavares' travels from Portugal to her parents' homeland in Cape Verde put her in touch with her cultural roots. The journeys also brought a unique mix of sounds to the singer/songwriter's music.

Alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, son of Indian immigrants, says he didn't think about his ethnic identity growing up. But on his new album Kinsmen, he and other like-minded South Asian American jazz musicians, fuse American jazz with a global sound that embraces the music of India.

Soul may be a full-fledged style of music or just a flavor, but whether you like it straight-up or blended with other music and innovations, there's a sense that soul is always going to be part of the mix. Newcomers Sharon Jones and Eli "Paperboy" Reed share their thoughts.

Metropolitan Opera violinist Patmore Lewis hopes classical music and world beats will lend a hand to spread the word about river conservation. The renowned composer has released a new CD, Rillito River Project, to draw attention to the environment through pop and innovation. Lewis talks about his solo project and how he's hoping to make an impact.

Placido Domingo is the most durable, thoughtful opera singer in recent history. Andrea Bocelli has sold more than 60 million albums. The two icons discuss their first performance together and describe what makes opera relevant today.

A 25-year-old singer-songwriter, Flynn makes music that seems to draw equally from William Shakespeare and Bob Dylan: He has the ear of a poet and the mind of a storyteller. Flynn has just made his American debut with A Larum.

The two Cuban singers and rappers grew up in a remote town poised between the Castro regime and an American military base. Their debut album, La Corona, is full of the struggles and passions of their peers — set to some of the freshest new sounds from the island.