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Uncovering B.Léza - Cesaria Evora’s songwriter
Few people had heard of Cabo Verde, an arc of islands off the coast of Senegal, until Cesária Évora put them on the map. B. Leza is one of the most important composers in the history of Cabo Verde, and anyone who knows Cesária…
The Return of the Venezuelan Funksters
Latin America's most iconic funk band will perform another of their show-stopping gigs on April 2nd at the 26 Leake Street Club, an awesome venue in the London Bridge arches, displaying of some of the best street-art in…
Baroque Cubana: The Extraordinary Story of Gabriela Mulen
Gabriel Mulen is a charismatic young musician from one of Old Havana’s most iconic Afrocuban neighbourhoods who combines a career as one of only two professional organists in Havana - playing organ and harpsichord in two Early…
Bebel Gilberto: Mother of Bossa Electronica
Being daughter to the legendary Joao Gilberto was quite a shadow to step out of. But over a remarkable 40-year career of her own, the multi-Grammy nominated and winning singer Bebel Gilberto became her own star with compositions…
Passage of Time: an Interview with Paco Peña
As guitarist, composer, dramatist, producer and artistic mentor Paco Peña has transformed perceptions of Flamenco since his arrival in the UK in the late 1960s. Fusing his own Andalusian heritage with London influences, there is…
A Night Out With Rapzodia
Our man in Havana takes us on a bus journey (literally) into the post-Covid nights of Havana to discover the best Cuban acts coming out of lockdown. First stop, a sizzling evening with Rapzodia, an electrifying blend of hip hop,…
Susana Baca's Fantasy Island Tracks
If you were stranded on a desert island, which tracks would you absolutely need to get you through those times of despair? Our castaway this month is Susana Baca, the greatest international exponent of Afro-Peruvian music, having…
Carlos Marín: Il Divo’s non-Diva
Il Divo was brought together by Simon Cowell in 2003 and, since then, the multi-national quartet, made up of Urs Buhler from Switzerland, Frenchman Sebastien Izambard, American David Miller and Carlos Marin from Spain, have sold…
"I couldn't have made this film if I wasn't Latino"
In the 1950s, when the Democratic Republic of the Congo was a Belgian colony, a generation of Congolese musicians fused traditional African rhythms with Afro-Cuban music to create the electrifying beat of Congolese rumba - a beat…
Things That Matter to...Luiz Morais
Composer, arranger and 7-string guitarist Luiz Morais was born in Fortaleza, Brazil. Based in London since 201, the 32 year-old Brazilian is a unique voice in contemporary Jazz guitar and a virtuoso performer. Graduated in…
Reclaiming Tango: an interview with Maia Castro
Quality and passion never go out of fashion and the wonder of tango is that, though one of the most traditional music genres in Latin America, it keeps evolving and producing new and exciting singers. One of those is singer-…
Surrogate Latina #8: Ana Csergö, leader of Las Adelitas
From Back To Black to the Green, White and Red of Mexico's national colours, Las Adelitas is headlining this year's Mexico's Independence Day celebrations in London. Named after the brave women who took up arms…
Latin Londoners #42: REYKO, Electronic Music Duo
The London based electronic music outfit REYKO is made up of Soleil and Igor, both from Spain. The duo first began capturing attention with several viral songs surpassing overall 40 million streams, and breaking through to…
Reggaetón’s Songsmith
Justin Quiles is not your average reggaetón star. The US-born Puerto Rican is not only one of the hottest urban singers out there, with over five billion combined streams, but also one of the most sought after songwriters in…
Latino, Made in London
María Victoria Cristancho reports on the moment a major global record label decided to invest in the very first UK label dedicated to nurturing Latin talent and finding the next global superstar, singing Spanish and talking…
Things That Matter to...Coco Maria
A self-described 'selectora' and the only resident Latin DJ on Gilles Peterson's Worldwide FM radio station, Coco Maria works in a vastly male dominated environment. The Mexican born DJ just DJ'ed for…
Re-Birth of the Cool
For a long time, salsa music was the music of the street and, when we think of the ‘Golden Age the Salsa’ of the ‘70s and ‘80s, we think of cool. The ascendance of bachata and reggaetón seemed to mark the end of salsa’s reign…
Neo Perreo: the Fusion of Reggaeton and a Dark Liberating Fantasy
Who’d have thought that a girl from a remote town in northern Chile, would put a new dance movement on the global map? As reggaetón continues to dominate the world with its catchy beat and sexualised imagery, every country has…
Things That Matter to...Amaro Freitas
From the slums of Recife in Brazil's North-East to international jazz icon, Amaro Freitas has earned the music world's attention for "an approach to the keyboard so unique that it's startling" (Downbeat…
Latin Londoner #41: Sonia Bernardo, Singer Songwriter
Sonia is a British-Portuguese singer/songwriter that has been pricking ears with her powerful soulful voice, tinged with a Fado weep, mixed with Bossa-Nova simplicity and jazzy embellishments. Bernardo caught the attention of…
Surrogate Latino #7: Miguel Muziq, Latin Jazz Guitarist
Guitarist, songwriter, and producer, Miguel Muziq is a new force to be reckoned with on the Latin Jazz scene. His production/remixing credits include Usher and Kelly Rowland, now Miguel’s debut album “An Angel’s Healing” finally…
Surrogate Latino #6: Jonny Liebeck, Latin Jazz Pianist and Bandleader
Jonny impressed us so much with his Latin soul/jazz/funk quartet at last year's London Latin Music Conference. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity Laban, the young Liebeck is quickly making a name for…
Phil Manzanera: Songs That Made Me
After being the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, one of the most iconic British Prog-Rock bands of the 1970s and 80s, led by Brian Ferry and including Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera went on to produce albums for Pink Floyd, David…
Tino Contreras' Fantasy Island Tracks
Our castaway this month is Tino Contreras the master Mexican jazz drummer who for more than six decades has melded Latin influences with free jazz, psychedelia, avant-garde experimentation, and global sounds. Born in 1924, Tino…
DESTINY’S SONG
Luis Enrique is arguably Latin America’s biggest and most enduring romantic salsa star of the modern era. Hits such as 'Desesperado', 'Así es la vida' and 'Tu no le amas le temes' made him a…
Swiss Sampling: An Interview with Michel Cleis
His track ‘La Mezcla’, using a Toto La Momposina sample, became one of the biggest house tracks of the century, and it made him a household name in that market. Now the World-renowned Swiss DJ and producer just reworked Natalia…
Wandering Soul
Caracas born singer-songwriter Laura Guevara was one of Venezuela’s risings stars, winning the Pepsi Awards in 2017, the country's equivalent of the Mercury Prize. Her involvement in the student protests, however, leading…
Things That Matter to...Luiz Gabriel Lopes
Luiz Gabriel Lopes is a singer-songwriter from Minas Gerais, the fertile territory that spawned the incredible Clube da Esquina generation of Milton Nascimento, Lo Borges, Toninho Horta et al. Echoing these illustrious…
“The Birth of Latin Jazz was simultaneous to the Birth of Jazz”
Associate Professor of Music at Columbia University, Chris Washburne is one of the world’s leading academics on both jazz and Latin music and a respected musician in his own right, having played with many of the artists he writes…
Surrogate Latina #5: Sara Mc Guinness, Pianist and Bandleader
In 2018, Sara Mc Guinness was the first non-Latinx to win the LUKAS Musician of the Year. So respected and revered is Sara amongst Latin musicians in the UK that, will very little self-promotion, she garnered the most votes in…
Things That Matter to...La Chica
Uniting Paris Belleville and Merida, Sophie Fustec was born in Paris to a French father and Venezuelan mother. Between visits to Merida, Sophie studied violin and then piano, for 13 years in the conservatory and then sound…
Latin Londoner #35: Adriana Cavita, Chef and Food Entrepreneur
Adriana Cavita, the prodigious Mexican chef who previously worked at El Bulli and Pujol, is bringing the authentic flavours of Mexico to London at her debut restaurant, Cavita.
Apache: HipHop Sin Fronteras
The quality of Venezuelan Hip Hop has always been undeniable amongst fans of Latin HipHop, having produced international talent such as Canserbero, Lil Suppa, McKlopedia, Akapellah, along with the following artist. Larry Rada,…
Things That Matter to...Arya
The second profile in our series on Venezuelan Diaspora Music, we are delighted to present a true rising star; Italo-Venezuelan singer/songwriter Arya. Daughter of Orlando Watussi, a well-known Venezuelan salsa singer, Arya grew…
The Queen of Quechua Pop Grows Up
Back in 2018, Renata Flores Rivera burst onto the international music map with her cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ in Quechua, the indigenous language of the Incas. The video received almost two million…
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Classical Jazz and Folk
HEARTSONGS
Lila Downs is back – with not one but Dos Corazones – a new song which she will be debuting live in…
Urban
Reggaeton Revolution: 20 years of UK Urban Latin Culture
Back in 2004, when the UK music industry was ignoring reggaetón and Maluma was in nappies,…
Brazilian Music
Things That Matter… Jards Macalé
Having worked with some of the biggest names in Brazilian music, including Joao Donato, Gal Costa,…
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Ballads and Boleros
Top Ten Mexican Male Singers of all Time
Since the days when Mexico was a serious rival to Hollywood in terms of film production and quality…
Urban
Top 10 Female Reggaeton Artists
We may have come a long way since the days of overt misogyny in Urban Latin Music, but the industry…
