La Clave Fest 2016

LatinoLife's first ever festival took place in Hornsey. We took over the whole neighbourhood in over 20 venues, and an outdoor main stage full with music from all ages and genres; from the new generation of bi-cultural UK-Latinos including Purple Dads (9-yr-old UK-Bolivian/Chilean),16-yr-old UK-Colombian Paloma and 18-yr-old UK-Mexican Maria Jose to professionals such as Gerardo de Armas (Cuban Rumba) Mike Kalle (Urban Latin), La Explosion (Flamenco), Alex Etchart (Folk) Ahmed Dickenson (Classical) and Luiz de Almeida (Jazz). Family events included a morning Zumba class, Spanish sing-a-longs, DJ workshops and Piñata making. Street performances included La Morenada Bolivian dance troupe, a Samba batucada and the UK's first ever Catalan human tower competition; London Castellers vs Paris Castellers. We hosted 4 films in local cinemas, 2 theatre production, talks about Latin American culture, literature readings, an art installation and 3 exhibitions. In the six weeks leading up to the date, we sent salsa teachers into a local school, organized a free school trip to a Latin themed musical ‘In the Heights’, an assembly talk from the Colombian ambassador, samba drumming and futsal workshops, culminating in a ‘Copa America’ tournament involving 8 local schools.