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A Timeline of Greatness - Musical Anniversaries to Celebrate in 2024
Here at LatinoLife, whilst nurturing up-and-coming artists, we never forget on whose should we stand and who we have to thank for the rich tapestry of sounds that we’ve inherited. This year in particular we look forward to some…
Remembering Rodolfo Aicardi
Blessed with an unusual voice, which exuded passion and raw emotion, an era of great songs that connected with audiences every day lives, and a magnetic charisma, Rodolfo Aicardi was one of Colombia’s biggest Cumbia stars of the…
Mexican Mambo
Widely regarded as one of the most influential Mexican music bands of all time, La Sonora Santanera’s unique big band style with elements of mambo, cha cha cha, bolero, cumbia and merengue, has made it popular all over Latin…
THE GREAT LATINA DIVAS
Nobody does Diva like a Latina, and in a music industry dominated by machismo and male leads, you damn well have to know how to be one, with charm included, to get ahead. Some of our Divas have great voices, others electrifying…
She Who Demands the Stage
Diva is the Latin word for goddess and Cuban-Spanish singer, Lucy Calcines, became just that when her performance on The Voice UK in 2020 raised the studio to its feet, got four judges turning and became the most streamed…
The Essence of Salsa Aristocracy: why we love Pete 'El Conde' Rodriguez
Of all the legendary crooners of salsa’s golden era, Fania founder Pacheco always claimed that Pete 'El Conde' Rodriguez was his favourite singer. And you only need to listen to his songs to see why: the understated…
Finding Freedom
After a decade as one of the most sought-after salsa musicians in Europe, Rene Alvarez is embarking on a long-life dream of fusing his Afro-Cuban heritage with his love of North American funk. His new band, Alvarez Funk, departs…
We Love Johnny Pacheco
And this is the bit where we say thank you to the legend on whose shoulders we stand. Put simply, Johnny Pacheco, flautist, percussionist, bandleader, arranger and co-founder of Fania Records, was one of the most influential…
Things That Matter to…Eliane Correa
Eliane Correa studied piano and composition at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, before relocating to London where she quickly gained fame for her work as a composer, musician and bandleader. After years as arranger,…
Remembering Lalo Rodriguez
"Lalo" Rodríguez was one of salsa’s great prodigies. The talk of the town in his native Puerto Rico in the early 70s when, at the age of 15, he was a discovered by Eddie Palmieri, the phenomenal force in Latin music at…
Spotlight on…Rubén Blades
There are many great salsa tunes; ones that, when you hear them in a club and you’re dancing, you don’t want them to end. And then there is Rubén Blades; the Panamanian song-writing law student with an abundance of rhythm,…
Camilo ‘Azuquita’ - A Black Man from Panama - (1945-2022)
He was the daddy of salsa singers, the ultimate papichulo with his crisp swagger and style and one of our favourite salsa singers of all time. Luis Camilo Argumédez had a voice like honey that was so distinctive, so sweet and…
TIMBA’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN
Those who were enjoying Eliane Correa and su Evolución at this weekend's LatinoLife in the Park, are no doubt are fans of Maykel Blanco - today's bonafide guru Cuban Timba. Lucky for them, for the first time in six…
Britpop's Favourite Timbalero
When Colombian timbal player Roberto Pla arrived the UK in the 1970s, the Latin music scene was practically non-existent. But the boy from Baranquilla soon became the percussionist of choice for UK pop artists such as Joe…
Típica 73 Tunes That Rock the Dance Floor
When it comes to NY salsa, rare were the bands that could compete with Típica 73 in their heyday. One of the most progressive, experimental but also heartfelt bands from the scene they had some of the most acclaimed singers of…
We Love 'El Tosco'
Amaranta Wright ventures down memory lane and to Miami in the 90s when she first heard the late great José Luis Cortés aka El Tosco, “the Rough One” and his NG La Banda, one of the greatest ever Cuban bands. The accomplished…
‘Signo de Fuego' by La Evolución
Inspired by the modern Havana sound of large-format Timba (Cuban salsa) orchestras featuring electric guitars and synths over powerful, distinctively Cuban grooves, La Evolución is the latest creation of the acclaimed London-…
Ismael Miranda Tunes That Rock the Dance Floor
Born in Puerto Rico and raised in NY, Ismael Miranda was part as of the original “Fania All Stars” line up, as well as being the lead voice for Joey Pastrana and Larry Harlow’s band and then leading his very own crew, with a…
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,…
Willie Rosario Tunes that Rock the Dance Floor
One of the leading lights of Puerto Rican salsa, Willie Rosario aka "Mr. Afinque," this true legend of latin music has been filling dance floors for over 60 years, either by rocking it with his band or via his extensive…
"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…
Luisa Santiago, Singer-Song Writer
Luisa Santiago is a Colombian-born, London-bred singer pianist who calls on the best of both worlds: her roots in Salsa and Latin music and a love of UK Soul and R&B. Luisa’s songwriting, piano playing and sweet vocals, honed…
Top 10 Salsa Hits of the Noughties
As lovers of Salsa here at LatinoLife, we've been loving putting together a Top 10 series on Salsa Hits of the decades, from the golden era of the 70s, through salsa romantica and erotica of the 80s, the big hitters of the…
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…
Top 10 90s Salsa Hits (part 2)
Last week, as part of our series on salsa hits of the decades, we brought you our selection of the best '90s salsa, with artists like Luis Enrique, Tito Rojas, Victor Manuelle, Jerry Rivera, DLG and Orchestra Guayacan. But…
Diaspora Music: Venezuela
In recent years, there’s been a lot of talk of the global domination of Latin Music. A big contributor to this phenomenon has been the Latin diaspora - artists making music outside their countries. In this first feature of our…
Top 10 '90s Salsa Hits (part 1)
In this third episode of our series of Salsa hits from the 70s to the present day, before bachata and reggaeton took hold, this week we bring you our pick of the biggest Latin dancefloor hits of the 1990s. By the '90s salsa…
Top 10 Salsa Hits of the '80s
We got real nostalgic here at LatinoLife over lockdown and started listening to all the great salsa tracks that have been produced over the years, from the '70s when Fania exploded onto the scene, thru the '80s and…
A Brief History of Latin Music in London
Notwithstanding the cheesy album covers and the pastiche distortions of Latin dance on BBC’s Strictly’, London has had a long and idiosyncratic affair with Latin culture. From the hi-flying success of Edmundo Ros’ Latin Big Band…
Top 10 Salsa Hits of the 1970s
We got real nostalgic here at LatinoLife over lockdown and started listening to all the great salsa tracks that have been produced over the years, from the '70s when Fania exploded onto the scene, thru the '80s and…
Top 10 Female Salsa Singers
Salsa music may be known as a tool to seduce women, but the flow swings the other way too. In a male dominated genre, these women have held their own as the rare voices of salsa, greatest soneras who bewitched audiences and…
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…
The London Latin All Stars
The headline act at 'LatinoLife in the Park', what better way to comeback from lockdown than bring together the finest UK Latin artists of a generation for this specially curated 16-piece Big Band, to finish the UK…
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…
Top 10 Hector Lavoe Tracks
The Singer of Singers, Hector Lavoe was the face of NY salsa in the 70s and went on to become an icon of latin music. His voice was second to none and his delivery and stage persona made him one of the most populars singers of…
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Lila Downs is back – with not one but Dos Corazones – a new song which she will be debuting live in…
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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,…
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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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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…
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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…
