”Mele Kalikimaka” with Ana Cristina Cash

Singer Ana Cristina Cash released her album Shine in early 2020 and had prepared to tour and promote it before Coronavirus forced her to change those plans. Instead, the Americana singer and wife of John Carter Cash recorded a cover of “Male Kalikimaka” as a way of going to her and her daughter’s happy place. It was Cash’s second Christmas release in two years; In 2018, she released My Christmas Collection.

We talked about both projects, touching on how being a mother and the daughter of Spanish-speaking immigrants from Cuba affected her choices. We talked about her work in the Cash Cabin Studio, and about her thinking before she recorded “Baby It’s Cold Outside” as a duet with her husband. She hears the song as “rapey,” as many do. For those who are curious, here are two interesting defenses of the song that focus more the woman's agency. They don't necessarily change the way the scenario sounds, but they add some useful context.

https://bigbutterandeggman.tumblr.com/post/154013148291/teachingwithcoffee-its-time-to-bring-an-end-to

https://www.thejustice.org/article/2019/12/understanding-baby-its-cold-outside-in-a-positive-light