"Cumbia Navideñas" with É Arenas

Eduardo Arenas surprised me in the first moments of this week's interview when he revealed that Chicano Batman had played its last gig for now and might be done. He played bass in the band since its start in 2008, and he reflects not on his band specifically but how musicians grow apart. As É Arenas , he has recorded at least one Christmas song a year since 2017, and what started as a challenge turned into a tradition. We talk about traditions and he helps me get a better handle on Mexican Christmas music while we talk about his own "Cumbia Navideñas"--a sound that is his own, half-joking invention following in the footsteps of Salsa Navideñas. Along the way, we visit Christmas music from Willie Colón and Hector Lavoe, Rigo Tovar, and the inescapable "Mi Burrito Sabañero."

You can listen to "Cumbia Navideñas" with É Arenas online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

"Cumbia Navideñas" with É Arenas is an episode from Twelve Songs of Christmas by Alex Rawls.

This episode is 61:39 long.

This episode was published on Aug 8, 2025.

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