Dark Soul - Interview with Spanish Film Director Alberto Rodriguez
Last year, Alberto Rodríguez took home ten Spanish Academy Goya prizes for his suspenseful detective noir Marshland, and this summer it premiered in the UK. It is sure to appeal based solely on its intense but measured action,…
Mexican Bohemia in London - an interview wth Chloe Aridjis
As she prepares to speak at this weekend's Flipside Festival in Suffolk, Mexican author Chloe Aridjis talks to Elizabeth Mistry about stuffed animals and why she has made London her home.
Nova Gaucho - the uniqueness of Argentine Design
Argentine Design hit London's biggest design show in a big way last week. We picked our favourites...
Brazil's Social Realism?
If Ken Loach were Brazilian, he may well have made a film like this. THE SECOND MOTHER is about a set of social rules which have been in place in Brazilian and Latin American culture since colonial times, and which continues to…
The Second Mother (2015) Dir. Anna Muylaert
A hugely enjoyable film exploring the complex relationship between Latin America's middle class and its live-in maids in a digestible, humorous and touching way.
A Guide to Mexican Contemporary Art
To mark the UK’s dedicated ‘Year of Mexico’, Latino Life celebrates the work of the 10 hottest Mexican artists right now, who have- or will be- delivering exhibitions across the country in 2015. From Tate Modern commissions to…
Marshland (2015) Dir. Alberto Rodríguez
Critically acclaimed Spanish director Alberto Rodríguez’s latest film, Marshland, was a box-office hit in Spain, winning a spectacular ten Spanish Academy Goya awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best…
Flesh and Blood: True Fiction by Marcus Dalrymple
Marcus Dalrymple’s Flesh and Blood follows his debut novel, Killing Time. Dalrymple’s contextual knowledge of Mexico is without fault, complemented by Flesh and Blood’s compelling storyline. Following the adventure of Brit John…
Latin Pop's Unlikely Phantom
For someone who has the knack of appearing everywhere in musical theatre, you could say there is something ghost like about Geronimo Rauch, London’s Phantom of the Opera. If not that, this Argentine has so obviously taken life by…
The Motherf**ker with the Hat
A poetic, profane, whip-smart look at love and addiction finds light even in the darkest corners of New York City. Motherf**ker With The Hat premiers at the National Theatre, after having been nominated for six Tony awards on…
FEELING AZUL
The Legendary Blue Demon Junior is heading back to London to thrill Lucha Libre fans for one night only in spectacular fashion under the dome of the Royal Albert Hall, 30 years to the day, he tells Elizabeth Mistry, since his…
Chola Power
In their frilly petticoats, layered skirts, dainty pumps and bowler hats, Las Cholitas (chola - the name used to describe indigenous women in Latin America), are relatively new to the Lucha Libre ring. Yet the crowds have come…
Indiscretion by Hannah Fielding
Hannah Fielding is an award-winning writer and published her first book, Burning Embers, in 2012. Since then, she has gone on to publish two more works, The Echoes of Love (2014) and Indiscretion (2015). Extensively travelled…
Top Ten Mexican Movies Ever
With the recent plethora of Mexican actors, directors and other creatives having invaded Hollywood and producing some of America's biggest grossing blockbusters it's easy to forgot that Mexico has long been a creator of…
Seeing Latin America
Passionate about promoting Latin American Art, independent art advisor and curator Sandra Higgins opened her own gallery to do it. Latinolife went to talk to a woman on a mission.
Street Art of Latin America
Throughout Latin America street art has been a fundamental form of both personal and socio-political expression for many years. From radical propaganda to light humour, Latin America’s abundance of eclectic street art is…
Top Ten Most Common Misconceptions about Latin America
Good dancers? Latin Lovers? Revolutionary guerrillas? You might have watched too many soap-operas or just followed rumours but if you want to check your prejudices about Latin America and the Latinos, here are 10 common…
Storm in the Andes (2014) Dir. Mikael Wiström
This year's London leg of the International Human Rights Watch Festival include a compelling selection of Latin American films. Of the many harrowing conflicts besetting Latin America in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, that of Peru…
Wild Tales (2014) Damian Szifron
A box office and critical hit, both in Latin America and outside, this anthology of short stories linked by themes of rage and restraint in post-modern living, is Argentina's most recent example in a long tradition of…
Colour Conscience
Carlos Jacanamijoy is a Colombian artist from the town of Santiago, Putumayo. A well known figure in contemporary Colombian art, at 50-years of age, he has just exhibited his first ever show in London at The Sandra Higgins Art…
Futuro Beach (2014) Dir. Karim Aïnouz
Shot in 2012 in Brazil and Germany, Futuro Beach touches on the themes of expatriation, nostalgia and family links. Its contemplative tone offers an impactful and realistic sense of time passing by. Futuro Beach is now out on DVD.
Primal Screaming - an interview with Damián Szifrón
Not only do the Mexicans seem to be holding a curious monopoly over Oscars in recent years, hardly a year passes when an Argentine film is not in the running for Best Film in a Foreign Language. This year it was the turn of…
London's Mexican Love-in
Forget the Mexican moment, London is having an officially sanctioned Mexican love-in with British and Mexican governments having de- clared 2015 the year of Mexico in the UK and the UK in Mexico. Whether it’s the ‘New Mexican…
Tamsin on the Verge
The Playhouse Theatre is now hosting a boisterous adaptation of Almodóvar's film: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Complete with its own musical score, this impression of Madrid in the 1980s becomes surprisingly…
Roberto Gómez Bolaños, Comedian (1929-2014)
Estimated by Forbes magazine to have produced billions for Mexico's main television station Televisa, Roberto Gómez Bolaños aka Chespirito (a parody of his namesake Shakespeare) was one of Latin America's most loved…
Top Ten Classic Latin American Films
The iconic films that have often launched the careers of Latin America's top directors, who later became global household names, here is our selection of Latin American cinema classics.
5 Reasons to Love...Ricardo Darín
Catapulted to international fame with his performance in the Oscar-winning Argentine Film The Secret in their Eyes, Ricardo Darín has been one of the Spanish world's most respected and sought-after actors for decades, not to…
In the Beginning, the Sea…in the End, a Global Literary Journey
Colombian author Tomás González began writing the story of his brother. Thirty years later it is a tale that has travelled the world captivating readers, and now landed in the English speaking world. Latinolife interviews…
Interview with Spanish Director Daniel Monzon
Four years after having won the Goya prize for Best Director with his thriller Celda 211, Daniel Monzón returns with a new film, El Niño. Specialising in adrenaline-laden thrillers based on real-life events, Monzon is at the…
China on the Ground in Latin America: Challenges for the Chinese and Impacts on the Region
A new book shows how Latin America is shaping China’s foreign policy, but ignores China’s impact on the environment and people of the region itself
Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About... Gabriel Garcia Marquez
If someone has won a Nobel Prize, they’re probably worth listening to. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one of the most beloved authors of the 20th century, has injected many pieces of wisdom into our society through his literary “hits”…
Lita Stantic: The ‘Producer’ of New Argentine Cinema
The career of Argentine film director, scriptwriter and producer Lita Stantic spans for longer than four decades, a time during which Argentine cinema has established itself as a reference among national cinemas. Despite having…
Radical Aristocracy - A Tribute to María Luisa Bemberg
Celebrated at the Argentine Embassy last week, María Luisa Bemberg is one of Argentina’s most famous film directors; her best known film Camila being nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Described as both a "radical…
Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer (1932 - 2014)
Fashion icons such as Marc Jacobs along with the industry bid farewell to the reverent and much-loved Dominican American designer, Oscar de la Renta this week. After fighting cancer for eight years, the icon passed away aged 82…
Franco Lolli: a new name in Latin American cinema?
Selected by both Cannes critic’s week and to the BFI London Film Festival, Franco Lolli’s feature debut Gente de Bien, has received widespread critical acclaim. We talked to the young Colombian director during his screening in…