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,…
Peru 1982: A Six-month Photo Odyssey in South America
An exhibition at the Peruvian Embassy by photographer Tony Hutchings showcases the country's stunning landscapes and rich cultural diversity, captured during a six-month trip to South America.
Prodigious Child
Silvana Estrada grew up in rural Mexico in a home where music and instruments were made; both of her parents are luthiers. She was raised singing Mexican son jarocho before studying jazz and absorbing the music of the likes of…
Street Elegance
L-Gante is one of the most exciting, original and successful urban artists to emerge from Latin America in recent years. Emerging from the working-class suburbs of Buenos Aires, the boy from el barrio came out of nowhere and…
Things That Matter to…Susana Baca
Three-time Latin Grammy winner, Susana Baca is Peru’s most internationally renowned artist, who shone a light on the previously little known world of Afro-Peruvian rythmns. In 2021, she marked the 50th year of her career with the…
"Don’t Even Try": Breaking Shakespeare’s Glass Ceiling
"I loved Shakespeare, but almost every fellow actor, manager and director told me: ‘don’t even try.’” Mexican-born Jimena Larraguivel didn’t want to be in telenovelas. She wanted to be on stage. But with her strong accent…
Latin Londoner #48 - Gustavo Nenao, street artist
Gustavo Bordin (akak Gustavo Nenao) is a Brazilian street artist who has developed works in three continents and 42 countries and was the only Brazilian to join the selected group of artists chosen by the former U.S. first lady…
Hot Steppin’ Chamo
With his latest single ‘Hot Steppa’ breaking records as the fastest-growing UK-produced Latino song ever, clocking over 160k views in YouTube in 4 days, Angelo Flow is on a high. The song, a collaboration with dancehall legend J…
Latin Londoner #47 - Esco, Music Producer
Esco is an young up-and-coming sound engineer and producer. Born in Camden to Jamaican and Colombian parents he has absorbed two musical cultures in a very London way. After being heavily involved in gangs as a teenager which…
A Megaphone for Peru's Musical Wealth
One of Peru's most groundbreaking bands, with a trajectory of almost 40 years, PeruJazz has germinated the fusion between traditional and contemporary, folkloric and urban, the cajón and the saxophone. Drawing inspiration…
SON OF HIPHOP: An interview with Trueno
Of the dozens of artists being hailed as the ‘next big thing’ in Argentine urban music, one has caught our attention. The son of a true pioneer of Argentine hiphop, Trueno has grown up immersed in the genre: a technically…
Brave New Woman: An Interview with Nathy Peluso
Fiery and fearless, big and bold, Nathy Peluso aims to provoke. A woman’s woman, she creates characters and shape-shifts between styles, genres and languages; hiphop, R&B, salsa or jazz - nothing fazes this Spanish raised-…
UnStrictly Tango: German Cornejo
For those of us appalled by BBC Strictly’s unashamedly banal demonstrations of tango dance, the yearly visits of German Cornejo and his dance troupe of world class Argentine dancers have been a welcome oasis of authenticity. We…
"They Looked for Them out of Love"
'Abuelas' is a film about a group of ordinary grandmothers who became extraordinary women. Known as the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, these women have spent almost 50 years looking for their ‘disappeared’ grandchildren who…
Latin Londoner #46 - Patricia Bidi, Visual Artist
Peruvian artist Patricia Bidi has been living in London for over 20 years and exhibiting her work all over the world. After working on Cecilia Vicuña's Brain Forest Quipu at the Tate Modern, Patricia explores these themes in…
"I thought, what might happen if those trees would someday disappear?"
Following her highly successful film ‘Summer 1993’ (2017) Carla Simón Pipó has created a moving, award-winning tale of a family trying to save a threatened peach farm in Catalonia. Corina J Poore talks to the writer and director…
Untangling to Reveal
Chilean-born Cecilia Vicuña is one of Latin America’s most celebrated artists. Her most ambitious work yet is currently being shown at the Tate Modern - a multi-part installation made up of sculpture, sound, music and video. At…
The Things That Tie Us
During his day job as a Spanish criminal interpreter in a small town in California, filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes met a young man named Sansón, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was sentenced to life in prison without parole.…
"Transforming one body into another’"
Flamenco's experimental bailaor extraordinaire, Israel Galván, will be mesmerising audiences at Sadler’s Wells for two nights on November 25 and 26th with his original interpretation of ‘The Rite of Spring’ by Igor…
“…And Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them.”
‘Argentina 85’ directed by Santiago Mitre and starring Ricardo Darín and Peter Lanzani, is a taut, fact-based courtroom drama that is as suspenseful as it is intense. It tells the story of how Julio César Strassera and his…
Alejandro Loayza Grisi: Director of 'Utama'
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival 2022, ’Utama’ is a journey through the eyes of a Quechua couple that are battling between life and death with the climate change crisis affecting their home, forcing them…
“The Horror Seeps Through the Cracks”
Set during the harshest period of the Pinochet Dictatorship, ‘1976’ (2022) is an intelligent and moving study of a well-to-do housewife, Carmen, who, after being asked to care for a wounded activist, finds her life changing and…
Latin Londoner #45: Marcos Mereles, Film Director
Born in La Rioja, Argentina in1990, Marco Mereles is a filmmaker, based in London. His first feature film ALL IS VANITY (UK, 2021) had its world premiere at the 65th BFI London Film Festival and will be released in UK cinemas…
THE POWER OF NOW: An Interview with Cultura Profética
Cultura Profética is one of Puerto Rico's most influential bands. Formed in 1996, the group came to encapsulate what it is to be Latin Caribbean with its unique fusion of Caribbean reggae and Latin genres such as bossa nova…
Mexico in Kew: A Floral Celebration of Life
“Our Day of the Dead is an affirmation of life”, says Betsabeé Romero, the internationally renowned Mexican artist who has created a riotously-colourful Día de Los Muertos installation at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. As…
CAMUFLAJE (Camouflage) 2022 by Jonathan Perel
A jogger decides to run around the largest Military garrison camp in Argentina. On his travels he meets an array of people whose lives have been affected in various different ways by living close to Campo de Mayo, that had become…
An Aural Mapping of Nostalgia
One of the most critically and commercially successful bands to emerge from Latin America, Café Tacvba have come to define the essence of Mexican rock. Ahead of their European Tour this September, Shyal Bhandari speaks with…
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…
Reclaiming The Streets
Ryan Castro is the latest in a string of Medellin music sensations to reach global fame, with hits such as Jordan, Wasa Wasa, Malory and Mujeriego. Just as Colombia’s ‘City of Eternal Spring’ has come to be known as the new…
Mexican artist Perla Krauze at the Cadogan Gallery
‘The crevices talk of what has gone before, which is life’ (Las grietas hablan de lo que ha pasado… que es vida’) Mexican sculptor and painter, Perla Krauze, is exhibiting a fascinating selection of her sculptures and…
Mexican Maverick
Striking gold in 2018 with his diamond-certified hit ‘Fuentes de Ortiz’, Latin Grammy-winning 21-year-old Mexican, Eduardo Hernández Saucedo, also known as Ed Maverick, became one of Latin America’s most in-demand talents…
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…
Emotional challenges for a Colombian immigrant in the UK
Santi (2021) is a 10-minute short film directed by up-and-coming talent Harry Richards. He talks to Latino Life about the film and its inception, and explains that the short is a taster for what will become a 90-minute feature…
The Juanes Mash Up
The Colombian music landscape has transformed dramatically over the last 10 years, with reggaetón becoming the new pop, but one Medellín rockero has transcended all trends and remains as relevant today doing the music he loves.…
"At the end of the day what's most important is family"
We talk to Andy Garcia, Gloria Estefan, Adria Arjona (daughter of Guatemalan singer Richardo Arjona) and Diego Boneta (hot off his title role in Netflix's Luis Miguel: The Series) who make up the stellar Latino cast of a…