The Dancer
Originally from the city of Buena Aventura on the Pacific coast of Colombia, dancer Fernando Montaño is now a soloist with the Royal Ballet. Twice a winner of the LUKAS Personality of the Year (2013 and 2014), Fernando has performed for the Queen and Michele Obama, modelled for Vivienne Westwood, and has been honoured by the city of New York and the President of Colombia. From January 2016 Fernando began to be a judge on the first ever series of 'Dancing with the Stars' in Colombia. He is a patron of the charity Children Change Colombia.
The Painter and Educator
Dairo Vargas paints with panache and displays a capacity for draughtsmanship not often seen today. Reminiscent in some respects of Futurism, his paintings are characterized by a feeling of constant movement, even dance, with an emphasis on the layers and depths of different emotions. There is a desire to penetrate deep into the psyche and bring feelings and thoughts to the surface. The fluid works seem to vibrate with change. Dairo is also an educator and campaigner on mental health issues, in 2019 Dairo he was awarded a LUKAS for his contribution to Society.
The Actress
After studying drama at Richmond-Upon-Thames College, Diana Bermudez went on to perfect her art at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama that boasts alumni that include Judi Dench, Carrie Fisher and Gaël García Bernal to name a few. Her performances have been catching the eyes of international producers and directors of note and she has an exciting body of work out or about to be screened this year. She has been spotted filming opposite Natalie Portman in Xavier Dolan’s feature: “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan” and in Danny Boyle’s upcoming musical romantic–comedy “Yesterday”. She also played Marion in the TV series Avenue 5, and has just completed her role as Juanita, in Sylvester Stallone’s “RAMBO 5: The Last Blood.” To complete a busy year, she is also appearing in Mindy Kaling’s remake of “Four Weddings and a Funeral”. One of her most recent performances was in the role of Isadora in ‘The Life Tree’, a short film directed by Paul Frankl
The YouTuber
Andres Felipé Barrientos, known professionally as Yung Filly, is a British YouTuber, internet comedian, singer, and general social media personality. Born in Cali he moved to the UK in 1997 as a refugee and was raised in Lewisham. He began his YouTube career in 2013, starting a music career in 2017. Beginning in 2018, he appeared on numerous shows, several of which he hosted. He now has nearly two million subscribers and was also part of the comedy group known as The Wall of Comedy.
The Artist
Born in La Paila, a small town in the Valle del Cauca, Oscar Murillo moved to London when he was 10 years old. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2012, Murillo’s career rocketed when Miami art dealers Don and Mera Rubell - known for discovering the likes of Basquiat and Keith Haring - saw his paintings at an independent art fair and asked to meet him. By February 2013, Sotheby’s, Christies and Phillips sold 24 pieces for a total of $4.8 million. www.saatchigallery.com/artists/oscar_murillo
The Photographer
Colombian-born photographer Manuel Vazquez was an economics student before he decided to make his living from image-making. A quick transfer to Spain, some courses at New York’s School of Visual Arts and a Masters in Photography and Urban Cultures at Golsmiths later and he’s quite the photographic talent. The economy’s loss is photography’s gain. Now he shoots regularly for the likes of The Guardian, The Times, The Sunday Times and The British Journal of Photography predominantly taking slick portraits.
The Sculptor
Shortly after Margarita Hernandez arrived in London in 2002, the Royal Academy of Arts exhibited her work. In 2005 she was commissioned by the Royal College of Defence Studies to do a portrait of Winston Churchill. Her bust of Margaret Thatcher is on display at Conservative Headquarters in London and she recently presented another to David Cameron of him on his bike. http://www.margaritasculptor.com/
The Producer
Colombian-born Felipe Arevalo is already a Latin Grammy nominated music producer, as well as sound engineer with extensive experience in record label management and music publishing. Felipe worked alongside West One Music Group in the creation of over 60 albums, ranging well over 600 tracks he produced and mixed. In 2023 Felipe embarks on a road journey through South America, to collaborate with local communities in developing of their own music libraries and is also working with newly founded Latin London label Candela Records to produce emergent talent fusing Latin rhythms and urban London sounds.
The Podcaster
Milena Sanchez is 1/3 of the award winning podcast called ‘The Receipts Podcast’, and went on to become a best selling author of the book 'Keep The Receipts." As well as being a Mother, Milena she's now moved into music, first as part of a group called ‘Code Red’ in 2010 and has she has now moved on to making music infused with some Spanish/English and Latin roots.
The Choreographer
The millions of UK talent show fans would have no idea that the funky choreographer called Sisco is actually Francisco Gómez of South London. At 16, Sisco joined the hip-hop company Culture Shock before becoming the youngest member of Bounce, the street dance sensation. He then went on to work with major pop artists such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue, before becoming a celebrity choreographer on The X Factor and a judge on So You Think You Can Dance UK.
