Category: Cafe Con Leche

Café con Leche: María Flores on Bilingual Education and Onda Tejana

1/13/2026

Greg Smith talks with educator and KTAL board member María Flores about her background and long-standing support of bilingual education, and how language, culture, and music intersect in community life. Flores discusses the value of bilingual learning in helping students develop confidence, critical thinking, and cultural awareness, drawing on her own experiences in education and public service.

The conversation also highlights Onda Tejana, the long-running music program from Radio Bilingüe now airing on KTAL. Radio Bilingüe host Samuel Rodríguez joins by phone to talk about the show’s roots in Tejano and conjunto traditions and its role in preserving and evolving Spanish-language music across generations.

Café con Leche: Randy Granger on the Power of Music and Travel

1/6/2026

Greg Smith opens the new year with musician and traveler Randy Granger for a wide-ranging conversation about music as a form of communication and connection. Randy reflects on his recent time in Europe, sharing how travel has influenced his creative outlook and reinforced the role music can play in building understanding and engaging across cultures. The discussion explores how lived experience, place, and intention shape an artist’s work, and how music can serve as both a personal practice and a public statement.

Cafe Con Leche: Being Resolute in '26 with Jackson Sosin & Allison Kuper Smith

12/30/2025

Greg Smith is joined by Jackson Sosin, a personal trainer at Crunch Fitness, for a conversation about setting meaningful and sustainable goals as the new year approaches. Jackson draws on psychology and fitness experience to emphasize consistency over perfection, understanding one’s motivation, and breaking larger goals into realistic, manageable steps. He shares practical strategies such as process-focused goal setting, flexible targets, positive framing, habit stacking, and the SMART goal framework, with examples that extend beyond fitness into everyday life.

Later in the hour, Allison Kuper Smith joins the conversation to reflect on how these same principles apply to entrepreneurship and long-term career growth. Together, the conversation offers listeners a thoughtful and motivating blueprint for approaching personal, professional, and health-related goals with clarity, patience, and resolve heading into 2026.

Cafe Con Leche: Creative Kids Co-Founders Andrea Gates-Ingle & Stephen Ingle

12/23/2025

Greg Smith talks with Andrea Gates-Ingle and Stephen Ingle, co-founders of Creative Kids, about their 25-year journey using the arts to support young people across hospitals, after-school programs, and now juvenile justice settings. They share how the program began in a special-education classroom, grew through early breakthroughs with pediatric oncology patients, and eventually earned national recognition, including a White House award. The Ingles also describe their expanding work in southern New Mexico schools and the lasting impact of creating safe, creative spaces where young people can build confidence, purpose, and connection.

Cafe Con Leche: Zane Chaffee and Special Call-in Guest Peter Goodman

12/16/2025

Greg Smith hosts an open-lines edition of Café con Leche, joined in the studio by musician and sound engineer Zane Chaffee, with longtime broadcaster and photographer Peter Goodman calling in. Together they talk about the local arts scene, historic preservation, film culture, the evolution of downtown Las Cruces, and community spaces both past and present.

Cafe Con Leche: Brea Sargent & Axel McCusker

12/9/2025

Greg Smith welcomes local artist and new KTAL board member Brea Sargent, later joined by her husband Axel McCusker, Operations Manager at the Las Cruces Convention Center. Bria discusses her background in animation, her dream-based fine art, and her work in murals and creative industries, while Axel shares insights into revitalizing the convention center with upgraded technology, new live-music opportunities, chef-driven dining events, and partnerships with local artists and film groups. Together they reflect on their move from Orlando and their shared commitment to strengthening KTAL and the broader creative community in Las Cruces.

Café con Leche: The Evolving Art of Leslie Toombs

12/2/2025

Greg Smith talks with artist Leslie Toombs about the new directions her work has taken, especially her recent experiments with looped-wire sculpture inspired by a Ruth Asawa retrospective she visited in New York. Leslie describes how travel, museum visits, and the work of other artists have shaped her approach, along with the materials she’s exploring. She also shares updates on upcoming exhibitions and public art projects that reflect her expanding creative vision.

Café con Leche: Dr. Will Tuttle on Creativity, Compassion & Spiritual Practice

11/25/2025

Greg Smith talks with Dr. Will Tuttle about his work as an author, musician, and teacher, and about the events he and his wife, flutist Madeleine Tuttle, will be offering in Las Cruces. He reflects on the role of intuition in creative and spiritual life, his background in meditation and music, and the philosophy behind his influential book The World Peace Diet. He shares stories from his travels and performances and explores how music, mindfulness, and compassionate choices can contribute to personal and societal well-being.

Café con Leche: Artist & Gallerist Dennis Lujan

11/18/2025

Greg Smith talks with artist and gallerist Dennis Lujan about his current creative work and the upcoming 10th anniversary of his annual Erotica exhibition, part of For the Love of Art Month. Dennis discusses how the show has grown to include a wide range of artists and media, shares updates on his own projects and reflects on his Taos Pueblo heritage, his long career in the arts, and the strength of the Las Cruces creative community.

Café con Leche: Artist Sonya Fe

11/11/2025

Greg Smith talks with artist Sonya Fe about her lifelong creative journey and the emotional and social themes that shape her work. Sonya shares updates on recent exhibitions in California, her inclusion in SunStorm Magazine and Cheech Marin’s art collection, and her thoughts on the evolving Las Cruces art scene.

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