Image
SURVIVE - SOBREVIVIR
Denisse Vargas -Bolaños is a Bolivian poet and writer. She is a member of the feminist literary collective Las Juanas and SLAP (Spanish and Latin American Poets and Writers). She was also part of the Invisible Presence Project.…
Haikus for a Pandemic
Leo Boix is a bilingual poet, translator and journalist born in Argentina who lives and works in the UK. Boix has published two poetry collections in Spanish, Un lugar propio (2015) and Mar de noche (2017), and has been included…
It Is Not The Virus
Mabel Encinas is a Mexican artist and poet based in London, member of the Hispano-American Women Writers on Memory, who is also a senior lecturer in higher education in the UK. Writing and art has allowed her to process her…
‘Ropes’ (Cuerdas) Dir. José Luis Montecinos
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. With multiple awards for his six short films behind him, writer/ director José Luis Montecinos has finally plunged into his first feature with a dark thriller laced with horror at every turn.
Strength in Music
And the music must go on. We brought together eight of London’s finest Latin bands and artists to record together, some of them for the very first time since lockdown in March, in what proved to be an emotional encounter. All…
Mariza Canta Amália
Mariza, the singer that helped bring Fado into the 21st century pays tribute to the late Amália Rodrigues, the Queen of Fado, up there with the great voices of 20th century, in her latest album. Dr. Vinicius Mariano de Carvalho,…
COVID STORIES: Learning to Exhale
Priscilla Ferreira set up Circular Maternar UK, a group to support Brazilian women in the UK overcome their fears of natural (vaginal) birth. Brazil has the highest rate of caesarean births in the world - 85 percent in private…
COVID Stories: Growing Together
Latin Americans Women’s Aid (LAWA) has been supporting Latin American women for 35 years with emergency refuge homes for victims of domestic violence, advice, support, English classes, counselling, empowerment programs and much…
COVID Stories: Falling Between the Cracks
It’s the young who are suffering the most from the pandemic, not from illness but from its fall out, facing soaring unemployment and an uncertain future. And what about if you are alone, with no family, unable to speak the…
COVID STORIES: On the Frontline
As part of our documentary series for Fuerza London - a film commemorating Latin London's experience of COVID, we interviewed Latinos all over the city. This is the story of Yoshi Bunce a nurse at Kingston Hospital for 30…
Brazilian Sweet Chilli Sauce
I have never been a fan of regular store-bought sweet chilli sauce. Store versions have a funny taste, and the colouring and preservatives put me off. It's true that you can find some better quality 'natural'…
‘ASFIXIA’ Dir. Kenya Márquez
Mexican writer/director Kenya Márquez excels with her second feature ‘Asfixia’ (Suffocation 2018), to be screened (free) online at the Raindance Film Festival 2020, in the Female Gaze strand. It is a tale of redemption and love,…
Alejo Durán (1919-1989) - Colombia’s first king of Vallenato
Alejo Durán was the first accordion player to win the Leyendas de Vallenato Festival, an event that creates superstars in Colombia. Labourer by day and one of the country's most prolific Vallenato composers and performers by…
Nuevo Orden (2020) Dir. Michel Franco
In ‘New Order’ (2020) the third feature written and directed by Mexican Michel Franco, no one is innocent. There is no ‘get out of jail free card’ here! Michel Franco’s powerful film, screened at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival…
ELLA ES CRISTINA Dir. Gonzalo Maza
Life is in colour but sometimes we need to see it in black and white. In ‘Ella es Cristina’ (This is Cristina, 2020), award-winning Chilean writer/ director Gonzalo Maza explores the power of female friendship set against the…
'Sin Señas Particulares' Dir. Fernanda Valadez
The Devil is Alive and well on the Mexican Border in ‘Sin Señas Particulares’ (Identifying Features - 2020), one of the Latino highlights at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival - a moving, multi-award-winning Opera Prima from…
Quino, creator of "Mafalda" (1932 - 2020)
This week Argentina mourns a great loss. At the age of 88, Argentine cartoonist, Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón (more commonly known as ‘Quino’) passed away on the 30th September in Mendoza, Argentina. Creator and father of…
Uruguay’s paradox: will the pandemic accelerate neo-liberal policies?
As the new government basks in public approval, ollas populares are back to feed the many. To many citizens’ dismay, Uruguay’s exemplary handling of the pandemic could help pave the way for the Lacalle Pou administration to pass…
75 Days (2020) Dir. Marc Romero
Screened at the 2020 London Spanish Film Festival, in his film ‘75 Days’ (2020) Writer/director Marc Romero re-visits a horrifying real-life event that remains a brutal and dark mystery. In 1992, in an area known as Alcàsser,…
The Continuous Death of Tom Jobim
In Brazilian music, there are so many names that do not require any sort of introduction. Indeed, these are names that are often conflated with the definition of Brazilian music itself. They are names that, when spoken, evoke…
'Memory House' Dir João Paulo Miranda María
Set in modern-day Brazil, with a fantastical narrative using hallucinations and dreams, in his film Memory House 2020, João Paulo Miranda María explores the lonely and tortured life of Cristovam as he suffers the harsh clash of…
'Window to the Sea' Directed by Miguel Ángel Jiménez
“Those that take risks get the life they want”, not as easy as it sounds, but pretty close to the decisions made by María (Emma Suárez) in this very moving film about love and loss, when María discovers she only has a few months…
Feijão Tropeiro
The wonderful Daniela Paiva challenged her non-Brazilian colleague Oceana Masterman-Smith, not very familiar with brazilian cooking, to make Feijão Tropeiro, a traditional dish from Minas Gerais, made with beans, bacon, sausage…
‘Los Conductos’ (2020) Directed by Camilo Restrepo
Colombian experimental filmmaker, writer and director Camilo Restrepo, known for 5 award-winning short films, including ‘La Bouche 2015’, has won the Berlinale’s GWFF Best First Feature Award with his ópera prima ‘Los Conductos…
Rafael Cortijo - musician, orchestra leader and composer (1928-1982)
There is a before and after in Puerto Rican music and his name is Rafael Cortijo. A self taught percussionist, what Cortijo lacked on musical education he made up in flavour and vision. With his compadre Ismael Rivera, Cortijo…
Chile: The Right, Victor Jara and a Crucial Plebiscite
According to polls, the majority of the Chilean public favours changing the Pinochet constitution, yet as the Piñera government attempts to repair the economy by rapidly moving the country out of lock-down, the campaign to oppose…
Spotlight on... Eladio Carrión
Eladio Carrión has been defined as a trap singer, but he has been seen engaging in R&B, Reggaeton and even Dancehall in “Lluvia”. He has gained great popularity in the industry thanks to his character and explicit lyrics…
BELFONSO - A Story of Love and Betrayal
Belfonso is a powerful tableau-video tale of love, jealousy, rage and betrayal played out between three dwarf characters. It is the result of an artistic collaboration between Argentine painter Ricardo Cinalli and the Argentine…
Carlos Gardel (1890 - 1935)
Carlos Gardel was the world’s first and, arguably, only Global Tango Star. Songs such a ‘El Dia que me Quieras’ and his presence on screen not only made him a global icon but, aided the careers of countless other singers over the…
Brazil: September 7 — A Day of Death
Distinguished Brazilian journalist Eliane Brum writes regularly for the Spanish newspaper El Pais. Her latest article is a cry of grief and rage at what President Bolsonaro and his followers have done to their country. She agues…
Spotlight on...Lyanno
Latin urban artist on the rise inspired by contemporary R&B stars such as Trey Songz and the Weeknd, Lyanno became one of Puerto Rico's rising artists in 2018 with featured appearances on hits including Alex Rose's…
Bola de Nieve (11 September 1911 – 2 October 1971)
Ignacio Jacinto Villa Fernández, nicknamed Bola de Nieve (snowball) - pianist, singer and songwriter - was one of the most charismatic cultural figures of his times. Black and gay, and self-confident with it, he disarmed his…
Covid-19 in Latin America – Update 13, 25 August
The incidence of coronavirus and the responses of governments and local communities. Update No.13.
Spotlight on... Gigolo & La Exce
Ronald Rafael Tejeda Santos and Jean Carlos Ferreira Suero, artistically known as Gigolo and La Exce formed the reggaeton, trap and urban music duo from San Juan, Puerto Rico, famous for the singles such as "Nasty,"…
Me and my namesake, Vinicius de Moraes
Vinicius de Carvalho, appointed Director of King's Brazil Institute, pays tribute to the man he was named after, Vinicius de Moraes, one of the most important figures in modern Brazilian music. As a poet, he wrote lyrics for…
Latest Content
Film & Theatre
Paraguay – piercing the silence with a documentary film
In Europe, Paraguay is a little-known country: it isn’t on the tourist route, unless you are…
Music
A BODY IN THE WORLD
One of the brightest gems of contemporary Brazilian music, Luedji Luna fuses Afro-Brazilian rhythms…
Arts and Culture
Finding Brazilian Dance in the UK
In few cultures around the world is dance such an important expression of identity. Through Forró,…
Most Viewed
Top 10 Argentine Footballers
As one of the biggest football teams in South America and the world, the Argentine Football…
Top 10 Mexican Boxers
Globally, Mexico is known as a boxing powerhouse, boasting some of the greatest champions in the…
Ballads and Boleros
LatinoLife's Favourite Mexican Male Singers of all Time
Since the days when Mexico was a serious rival to Hollywood in terms of film production and quality…