October 19, 2026
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If you’re a first-time book club attendee or a little nervous to join a new group, here are some tips to help you jump in, participate, and have a great time.
Crescent City Sounds Spotlight: Erick Santero
When Erick Santero’s family fled Central America, Civil Wars, natural disasters, and failing economies were crippling his parents’ native countries. Santero was born in New York, but his family moved back to Guatemala when he was still a baby. When he was about 10 years old, they returned to the United States and eventually landed in New Orleans when he was in high school.
There, he quickly connected with the city’s punk rock scene.
“That’s how I first started playing music. In punk bands here in the 1980s and 90s,” he said. “And I never stopped.”
After graduating high school, Santero traveled the world, playing and producing music. He eventually laid down roots in San Francisco, where he lived for 25 years. In 2020, however, Santero moved back to New Orleans to help care for his aging parents.
“My family has always been here, so of course I always came back to visit over the years, and I moved back for a time to help after Katrina. But New Orleans is one of those places. It’s kind of like the mafia, it’s always pulling you back in,” Santero said.
One of the first things Santero did when he moved back to the city was sign up for a Library card.
“I love the New Orleans Public Library, and I love libraries in general. Growing up, I’d ride my bike to the Library pretty much every day, and it’s where I established my love for so many things,” he said. “The Library exposed me to so many things that I otherwise would have had no way to access – music, writing, ideas. I’ve always held my Library card near and dear to my heart.”
In addition to accessing materials and information, Santero was particularly excited to learn about one unique New Orleans Public Library service: Crescent City Sounds, a free streaming platform for local music.
“When I found out that I was picked, I was really excited, and kind of shocked, to be honest,” he said.
The name “Canciones de Amor y Protesta” translates to “Songs of Love and Protest.” It was the first album he recorded after moving back to New Orleans and he describes it as “experimental dancehall and reggaeton.”
“It’s a celebration of my Indigenous Mayan heritage, Afro-Cuban spirituality, and revolutionary politics,” he said. “One thing I love about this album in particular is that I was able to tap into a lot of the technical talent here in New Orleans – like the live tubas and Latin percussion – but also bring in musicians that I’ve worked with globally. It’s a blend of my heritage and influences in so many different aspects.”
For Santero, being featured on Crescent City Sounds provides a source of validation and recognition.
“Latin music and culture have always been a huge part of New Orleans, but it’s not something that’s always been acknowledged on a wide scale,” he said. “Music is one of New Orleans’ primary exports, and it’s so important to showcase how diverse our music culture really is. It’s not just jazz and blues and brass bands. It’s Latin, it’s Spanish, it’s Caribbean, it’s everything. One of the reasons the Crescent City Sounds platform is so visionary and groundbreaking is that it recognizes that, and provides an outlet for the rest of the world to see how vast the scope ‘New Orleans music,’ really is.”
When he’s not recording and playing music, Santero manages a team of music specialists and content operators at Gracenote, a media and entertainment company. Most of his days are spent listening to music and creating playlists for major music streaming platforms like Spotify, Title, and Apple Music, and he said Crescent City Sounds has been a gamechanger in his work.
“It’s such a great discovery tool,” Santero said. “The whole collection is local music that may otherwise not have a ton of resources and exposure. It’s become one of my favorite places to find new artists, both for myself and for work.”
Erick Santero
Erick Santero is a musician, producer, and featured artist on Crescent City Sounds. He's also an avid reader and loves spending time at the Robert E. Smith Library in Lakeview.
Santero
Erick Santero's 2024 album "Canciones de Amor y Protesta,” was among the 75 selected to join Crescent City Sounds last spring. (Cover art by Marlon Sagana Ingram)
Erick Santero
Erick Santero's 2024 album "Canciones de Amor y Protesta,” was among the 75 selected to join Crescent City Sounds last spring.
As a once ex-New Orleanian himself, Santero said Crescent City Sounds is also a great way for people not living here to stay connected with the city’s music scene.
“I’ve had people reach out to me from all over – California, Florida, New York – to tell me that they’ve found my music on the site,” he said. “There’s literally thousands of new tracks and albums dropping every day, and this is such a wonderful way to cut through the noise, to level the playing field, and make it easier to find, support, and uplift local artists”
Along with finding new music, Santero regularly uses his Library card to borrow books, access digital resources, and visit local museums and attractions.
“I use Library resources on pretty much a daily basis, and I love riding my bike to the Smith Library. I try to go there at least once a week. It’s almost like a nostalgic thing, right? When I was 15 years old, I was riding my bike to the Library. And here I am, 35 years later, doing the same thing. I think it’s pretty special.”
Santero currently has a residency at CANOA Cultural Center (4210 St Claude Ave.), a Caribbean-New Orleans community arts space, where he’ll be performing on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 9pm. For more information about Santero, his music, and where to find him, follow him on Instagram at santeromusic.
The Library will add a class of 75 albums to Crescent City Sounds this winter, and submissions are open now through Oct. 7. All chosen artists will receive a $250 honorarium to have their albums on the platform, maintain the copyright to their work, and have their albums hosted on Crescent City Sounds for five years.
Prospective artists must primarily perform in New Orleans and submissions cannot have been recorded more than five years ago. Artists can submit a single track, but if selected, should have an album with a minimum of four songs or be at least 20 minutes in length. For detailed guidelines and to stream local music now, visit crescentcitysounds.org.
October 16, 2026
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Every year since 2021, the Tulane University School of Liberal Arts’ Carole Barnette Boudreaux ’65 Great Writers Series has brought an internationally prominent writer to New Orleans for readings, lectures, events and panels. This fall, that author is Ocean Vuong.
October 9, 2026
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The New Orleans Public Library cut the ribbon at the Children’s Resource Center on Saturday (Oct. 3), unveiling a newly renovated space dedicated to supporting early learners and their caregivers.
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