Don Juan in Soho @ The Donmar Warehouse
The myth of Don Juan is well-known. Though it found its origins in literature over four centuries ago, the idea has come into popular culture and evolved to fit the typically modern term of ‘womanizer’. Yes, Don Juan is a…
Manuel Pertegaz, iconic Spanish designer (1918-2014)
Manuel Pertegaz, the world- famous Spanish designer and admired fashion genius died on Saturday at the grand age of 96. We celebrate his life here at LatinoLife whilst his dedication fashion lovers mourn their great loss who had…
Portugal's Evita
Ever since she was six years old Lisbon-born Madalena Alberto dreamed of being an actress. Like Eva Perón, her character in Evita, which returns to the London stage next month, Madalena was strong-willed and persistent young girl…
TOP TEN Latin Clubnights in London
Latinolife's guide to the best Latin nights out in the capital
Five Reasons To Love....Almodovar's Sex Fetishes
Internationally acclaimed director Pedro Almodovar, who released his latest film I'm So Excited in 2013, has demonstrated he is an all-embracing, multi-faceted film-maker to say the least. Combining elements of comedy and…
Lucia Puenzo: making her own name in Argentine cinema
Argentine film director Lucía Puenzo speaks to Santiago Oyarzabal about Wakolda, her other projects and her ideas.
Wakolda (2013) Dir. Lucia Puenzo
The latest film by Argentine director Lucia Puenzo in which themes of adolescent attraction and the place of beauty, uniqueness, difference, and normalisation serve as a bridge between past and present, set in the ever…
Manuelita Saenz - The Harlot of Americas
Writer-performer Tamsin Clarke fell so in love with the story of Manuelita Saenz, the 19th century Ecuadorian revolutionary, sometime spy and lover of Simon Bolívar that she decided to write a show about her. Here she recounts…
The Golden Dream 2014 Dir: Diego Quemada-Díez
Gripping and aesthetically beautiful, but always honest and uncompromising – The Golden Dream is an unusual and impactful depiction of US immigration. Starring: Karen Martínez, Brandon López, Carlos Chajon, Rodolfo Domínguez
Sidelines: Four Films about Football, Latin America and Human Rights
Ana Ryle spent a weekend at Amnesty UK’s first football film festival at Hackney Picturehouse. It aimed to bring together the worlds of football and human rights. Four of the thought-provoking films shown - Looking for Rio,…
Things You Should Know About....Latin American Female Artists
Ten inspiring and intriguing female artists whose life and art was inextricably linked to Latin America.
Heli (2013) Dir. Amat Escalante
Keeping viewers on the edge of their seats, from the very first scene in which a bound-and-gagged man is carried to the top of an overpass and hung for all to see, his acclaimed third film by self-taught director from Guanajuato…
LATIN LONDONER # 13 Eddy Vents - Kizomba teacher
Eddy Vents has been surrounded by Lusophone music from the early childhood. His undoubted passion for kizomba and exceptional teaching skills has made him a winner of the award for Kizomba Teacher of the Year in 2014. This is his…
LATIN LONDONER #12 David Benitez - Tango Dancer
United by romantic love and passion for tango David & Kim Benitez are not only great teachers, but also spectacular performers. The sensuality and magnetism of their dance made them win the LUKAS award for Tango Performers of…
LATIN LONDONER #8 BIanca Jagger - Style Diva and Human Rights Activist
A ‘one off’, a glamorous Latin American who has poured her passion and pride into doing the right thing; an example of Latin American solidarity personified.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - 6th March 1927 - 17th April 2014
“What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it.”
LATIN LDONDONER #7 Julieta Hernández Adame - Visual Artist
Mexican born Julieta Hernández Adame is a talented artist and printmaker who skilfully uses the urban, the industrial and above all the power of words to make us reflect on the world we leave in. She was voted the Visual Artist…
LATIN LONDONER #4 Sonia Lollia - Zumba Teacher
Parisian born Sonia Isabelle Lollia is half Spanish and Guadeloupan and grew up in a small village outside Paris before coming to London and becoming Zumba Teacher of the Year 2014
Surrogate Latino #2 Monika Molnar - Samba Dancer and Teacher
Monika Molnar is a Hungarian from Slovakia and two times LUKAS winner of the Brazilian Dance Teacher Award. Here is her story
CUBAN FURY (2013) dir. James Griffiths
Starring British comedy actor Nick Frost, a warm-hearted if not warm-blooded salsa comedy; representing more the awkward British take on salsa than its true corazon.
The Fire Within
One of the most successful comedy actors of recent years, Nick Frost plays a depressed office worker in his latest film, who is forced to discover and unleash his ‘Cuban fury’ in order to overcome a bullying boss and …yes,…
The Legend Becomes The Teacher
Antonio Canales is considered one of the greatest Spanish Flamenco Dancers of all time. Once one of the world's biggest Flamenco celebrities, he now dedicates his time to choreography and teaching. Having given a week of…
Fuerza Bruta @ The Roundhouse
The Hyperactive Argentine spectacle at The Roundhouse until March 2nd
Day of the Flowers (2013) Dir. John Roberts Starring Carlos Acosta
Our very own Cuba aficionado Kerry Ribchester, went to the Day of the Flowers premier to see if all the fuss about the new Latin-infused chic flick, starring Cuba's very own global ballet icon Carlos Acosta, was all it…
Paper Passion
Manolo Alcántara is one of the directors of Folds, the award-winning, paper-inspired play, combining circus-skills with live music, that visits the Southbank Centre from the 17th of December. Miriam Muñoyerro meets Spain's…
Sevilla's Firebrand
Maestra Carmen Iniesta is one of Sevilla's finest flamenco dancers and most sought-after teachers. Latinolife talks to her about flamenco's past, future, and how to experience the 'present' when dancing.
Filming Cuba
Next week sees the release of 'Day of the Flowers' - a comedy drama about two Scottish sisters travelling with their late father’s ashes to Cuba, and starring Cuban ballet star Carlos Acosta. In this interview, BAFTA…
Latin American Myths and Legends
"I'm learning about really scary myths and legends..." my son recently told me, recounting all the famous Greek tales, Cyclops, The Trojan Horse etc etc. "Ha," I replied. "Those are nothing compared…
Blood Wedding, by Gabriel Garcia Lorca at The Courtyard Theatre
Beautiful, affecting and credible, The Courtyard’s production of Blood Wedding does more than justice to Lorca’s sublime play about love at its highest levels of intensity.
Miguel Hernandez: The Man with Lots of Heart
Today, on the 30th October in 1910, in the town of Orihuela in southeastern Spain, Miguel Hernandez was born. As we come to the end of the month of October, it would seem an apt moment to delve a little into the work and life of…
“Beyond the Legend…Lies a More Fascinating Truth”
It was a gloomy Sunday. The grey sky and all-consuming rain made my bed feel like a toasty heaven, which I was reluctant to leave. However, the anticipation and desire to see first-hand the beautiful gold art work of my…
Bon Voyage, Mr President and Other Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Penguin Books, 1995)
An insight into the world of the great Colombian writer that touches on subjects that everyone can relate to. A beautiful book to read when in between books or when in need of a short term change in literature.
Butterfly Catching
In Madame Butterfly, the One Man Opera, the butterfly takes flight one more time as the abandoned son goes looking for his father in the US. Mexican born Ignacio Jarquin, who himself metamorphosised from Opera conductor to singer…
Stockholm (dir. Omar Al Abdul Razzak 2012)
A superbly crafted film exploring the politics of desire and attraction
The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
From the first page you are thrown in to the deep end with magical stories and explanations of what alchemy is, however at no point do you feel out of your depth. Written in third person, the world of a magical adventures and…