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.
CHACO (2020) by Bolivian director Diego Mondaca.
'CHACO' is being screened in the " Echoes & Horizons of Contemporary Bolivian Cinema' at the Garden Cinema., bringing a story set during the 'War of Thirst'.
Something Contagious
CONTAGIO (Contagion) is an exciting new group exhibition of nine Latin American artists covering a wide range of different techniques and styles. Based at the CECILIA BRUNSON GALLERY and curated by gallery artist Jaime Gili,…
EVERYBODY KNOWS - When a Secret is not a Secret
When a young teenager is kidnapped at a family wedding in a small Spanish town, layer-by-layer, dark secrets, unsatisfied revenge and rivalries are revealed. Unable to contact the police, the whole family is trapped in a fraught…
GRACE: Diaspora, History and Becoming What We Are
Unveiled at the Tate Britain on the 28th of May 2024 and showing until the 26th of January 2025, Alvaro Barrington’s major new commission GRACE aims to take visitors on “an intimate journey through time and place”. Celebrating…
To Fight or Not To Fight
The English-language production of Chilean playwright Pablo Manzi's 'A Fight Against' debuts at London's Royal Court Theatre until 22 January 2022. 'Una lucha contra' portrays violence as a shared…
Magical Martel
Back in 2001, La Cienaga (The Swamp), the first feature film by a 35-year-old Lucrecia Martel, had a profound effect on the film world, earning fans such as Pedro Almadover and launching the young Argentine as a major world class…
Women by Women: Changing Photography For The Better
Showing at the OXO Gallery to mark International Women’s Day, ActionAid’s new exhibition Women by Women “aims to shatter stereotypes and celebrate inspiring women refugees from around the world” (ActionAid). One of five…
Federico García Lorca, Sketches of Spain, with illustrations by Julian Bell.
The Spectrum of Young Lorca.
“Happiness is a Myth"
In his book 'You are not Meant to be Happy, so stop Trying' Basque psychiatrist Dr Rafa Euba argues that happiness is merely an ethereal ghost that inhabits our brain, not something to strive for. Released in these…
Llamadas desde Moscú (Calls from Moscow) by Cuban director Luis Alejandro Yero
In the ‘Minds’ strand of the BFI Flare Festival 2024, the documentary ‘CALLS FROM MOSCOW’ is the story of four young Cuban immigrants, who find themselves stuck in Moscow, just one day before the invasion of Ukraine. Lost,…
FRANCESCO (2020) Dir Evgeny Afineevsky
THE BRIDGE MAKER- Pope Francis has broken from some traditions, opening his arms and his heart to all sectors of afflicted humanity in the world. Evgerny Afineesky’s moving documentary reveals the huge scope of Pope Francis’…
A Big Budget for a Big Man
HANDIA (Giant) swept the boards at the 2018 GOYA AWARDS, with 13 nominations, and carrying away 10 awards. In particular it won Best original Script, Best New Actor, as well as awards for Cinematography, Editing, Special Effects…
MAGDALENA, TE AMO (2024) by Andrea Calao
‘Magdalena, Te Amo’ (2024) is a moving short film about student sex workers in New York. Premiered at the New York Latino Film Festival, it has also been longlisted for the 2024 Yugo BAFTA Student Awards.
WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (2019) Dir Ciro Guerra
In a sharp critique of the worst aspects of colonialism ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’, the feature film by Ciro Guerra (faithfully adapted from J M Coetzee’s 1980s novel of the same name) examines the wilful ignorance and…
‘El Visitante’ (The Visitor- 2022) by director Martín Boulocq.
This film has been awarded 3 wins and 3 nominations for Best Film and Best Screenplay, but surprisingly. none for Enrique Aráoz's excellent debut performance.
The Blue Trail (O Último Azul- 2025) by Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro
“Since when was getting older an honour?” Set in an uncomfortably near future, this dystopian tale creates a universe where the elderly are sent away to a colony from which none are known to ever have returned, all in the name…
Turning Up the Heat
Choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has worked with top dance companies across the globe – and yet she says there is something special about Danza Contemporánea de Cuba. Which is why she’s delighted that the Havana-based company…
Surviving Venezuela
‘Surviving Venezuela: Smuggling Dreams’, directed by Anglo-Peruvian Alexander ‘Lali’ Houghton is a TV documentary filmed in 2017 for ‘Witness’, Al Jazeera. It was short listed for a Rory Peck Award (2018), as well for the Foreign…
Tango Fire @ the Peacock
This phenomenal show - now in its 7th year - demonstrates new energy and drama every time it returns - a testament to German Cornejo's drive and love of his art, the reason Tango Fire is still as fresh as ever.
The São Paulo Dance Company’s UK tour shook the stage at Sadler’s Wells - but is the depth of the artistic intention communicated to the audience?
Embarking on their Dance Consortium tour, the São Paulo dance company’s programme is undeniably ambitious, tackling lofty themes of nationhood and identity and time in an “invitation to dance together” (Inês Bogéa). To the highly…
TIDES (2017) Unwinding down winding canals
Shot in mesmerizing Black & White against a backdrop of Surrey’s serene canals, a group of forty something friends who have not seen each other for a while, decide to spend a weekend on a narrow boat to rekindle their…
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…
THE ROAD TO PATAGONIA Dir. Matty Hannon
This is a document of 16 years of ecologist Matty Hannon’s life, as he follows his dream to travel and be at one with nature, while falling in love and surfing some of the wildest waves on the planet travelling down America'…
'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…
LATIN LONDONER #54 - Constanza Hola-Chamy, Writer, Director
Chilean playwright and director Constanza Hola-Chamy wears many hats, producing her own work and even understudying in some productions. Her works include 'Mad Women' and 'The Colour Violet', both previewed at…
Art Therapy
Dairo Vargas started out in a village in Colombia, yet, thanks to the originality of his art, today his paintings and portraits figure in many private collections. Passionate about mental health, he dedicates a great deal of his…
The Isolation Film List
You may have missed them first time around in the cinema, but here’s ten relatively recent Latin-American films available online to watch in isolation – you won’t be disappointed!
EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF (2020) dramatic documentary directed by Mo Scarpelli
“The root of all shades of machismo is fear, the root of family is love. In ‘EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF’ this fear and love collide.”
COSMIC CONNECTIONS
Patricia Diaz describes herself as a migrant storyteller, for she has lived longer in London than in her native Colombia. Her debut novel ‘The Golden Bat’ touches on the tragic events of the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz volcano eruption…
Stories of Sisterhood - The Mexican Photographer who Scooped Top Prize at the Sony World Photography Awards
Citlali Fabián, 37, has been named Photographer of the Year at the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards for her series "Bilha, Stories of my Sisters". The Mexican photographer explores issues of identity, community…
Above All...
‘Sobretodo’ in Spanish is the word for ‘coat’, but the literal translation means ‘about everything’, a detail not lost on the author, as this delightful selection of poems by Argentine author Sylvia Libedinsky is exactly that:…
Only Room for One Latin Diva?
Ever since Yanet Fuentes, the only Latin American ever to grace the UK’s prime-time talent shows, left the BBC’s 'So You Think You Can Dance', the blogosphere has been awash with outrage at judge Sisco Gomez's…
A Little Private Heaven?
Is film the last refuge of poetry? Or a refuge of dreams? At the BFI Flare London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Corina J. Poore talks to Brazilian film maker Guto Parente, director of Inferninho (My Private Hell, 2018), about his film…