NPR’s ‘El Tiny’ Returns With Los Tigres del Norte, Mon Laferte, Draco Rosa & More

Following the yearly tradition, NPR is kicking off a new season of Latine-centric Tiny Desk Concerts. This year’s El Tiny brings fresh faces and familiar favorites to our screens.

El Tiny 2026 features a roster of standouts performing new versions of their sound. The full lineup includes Mon Laferte, Los Mirlos, Yendry, Alex Ferreira, Melissa Aldana and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Panteón Rococó, Tim Bernardes, Los Texmaniacs, Draco Rosa, and Los Tigres del Norte.

Producer and curator Felix Contreras tells Remezcla about selecting the talent for this year: “Since the Tiny Desk Concerts have become so popular, a newer talent like Yendry gets to share the same platform with icons like Los Tigres del Norte. What’s the phrase, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats’? That applies here, so we try to find artists who we feel are ready for the Desk, whose careers are gathering momentum, whose music really speaks to us, and who have the kind of performance presence that will make people say, ‘Wow! I didn’t know this band or artist before, but I really like what they’re doing!'”

Contreras also points to a key factor: as everyone with internet access knows, Tiny Desk Concerts have become some of the most popular music videos in modern times, with many of the art form’s biggest names performing at NPR’s offices. So has the surge in popularity affected how this new season of El Tiny came together? “The short answer is no,” says co-producer and co-curator Anamaria Sayre. “The audience itself is always an extremely important factor, and the work has always been deeply important to us; numbers [don’t have an] impact. [It’s about] something that reminds you of your childhood and your family or your home and who you are or where you’re from. As the series grows, that impact and the way we book artists to honor [these factors] have remained the same.

“At the end of the day, the art that we present to the world has very little to do with and is almost oppositional to the medium we present it on,” she continues. “Our curation hinges on honesty, authenticity, and respecting our audience by exposing them to or reintroducing [something] that might help them feel or learn or access things about themselves and their communities that otherwise can feel flattened or lost. This work is about offering everyone a place to rest [and] watch performances that allow them to breathe into who they truly are.”

It’s hard for us to choose which performance we’re most excited to see, and we’re sure our readers already have their favorites picked out. But what about the people who make it happen? Who is their favorite artist in this year’s El Tiny? “As a parent, this is like asking who is my favorite child!” says Contreras. “There are different reasons to love each performance. Of course, having Los Tigres del Norte in the room was magical; the audience loved them so much, and they are so sincere and honest in their performances. They feel like family. But Draco Rosa has always been a favorite of mine. I think he is the most fascinating musical artist in any genre, and his performance went beyond my expectations. It left me silently stunned in a good way.”

Tiny Desk Concerts have given us a new perspective on the music we love, and this year’s El Tiny will no doubt continue to inspire appreciation for the artists we admire, while helping us discover new and exciting sounds.