Manu Chao

Manu Chao helped begin the Latin alternative movement way back in the 1980s -- before it had a name -- and in his later work he's cut a cross-cultural swath across styles and geographic boundaries. First rising to fame with the group Mano Negra, who blended world music with punk, Chao broke out as a solo star with 1998's Clandestino, where he matched energetic and likable music with playful but subversive lyrics. An explosive live performer, Chao documented his savvy on stage with 2002's Radio Bemba Sound System and 2009's Baïonarena, and after a seventeen-year studio sabbatic...