Interview: Plena Libre's Gary Nunez

Plena Libre's Evolucion has been nominated for this year's "Best Traditional Tropical Album", and it's up against some tough competition.

The "tropical" label basically covers the sounds coming from the Latin Caribbean islands. This year's nominees include Grupo Compay Segundo and Juan De Marcos & the Afro-Cuban All Stars from Cuba, while fellow Puerto Rican artists Melina Leon and Andy Montanez fill up the rest of the slate.

In the case of Plena Libre, the "traditional" part of the label refers to wonderful Puerto Rican plena and bomba - modernized a little, heated-up a little, but still true to the heart of the music that sings 'home' to Puerto Ricans everywhere.

I talked to Gary Nunez, Plena Libre's founder, composer and arranger before the Grammy nominations came out. He was a happy man then - I bet he's enjoying himself even more now.