Surrogate Latina #4: Despina VIolari - dancer
Cyprus-born dancer Despina had been accumulating admirers on the Salsa scene for several years before getting to show off her grace and talent on the West End stage as part of the dance ensemble of 'On Your Feet'. She…
Ricardo Cinalli’s “ A Ravishing Muse – An Irreverent Homage to Picasso”
Ricardo Cinalli (born on April 3rd 1948) is a renowned Argentine artist, known for a neo-Classical approach to his painting. Focusing largely on the human figure he has created a style of his own with remarkable drawing skills.…
Yerba Mate: A Gringa’s Guide
A gringa living in Argentina describes the joys of discovering Yerba Mate, and the social hurdles to overcome in between!
DRAGONKEEPER (2024) fantasy animation adventure directed by Salvador Simó and Yianping Li.
“There are questions that should not be answered because the answers should be found!” Based on Carole Wilkinson’s book, ‘Dragonkeeper’ is an exciting animated feature being released on September 27th in the UK,
Films to Watch Before You Die #9 – “The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) by Juan José Campanella
What Hides Behind Their Eyes? – 20 Years of Unresolved Cases between Love and Death.
DEAR CHICKENS: A moving short Film takes aim for the Oscars.
DEAR CHICKENS (2018) is a powerful short film that premiered at the LA International Short Film Festival in July 2018. Directed by Swiss/Mexican Mauro Mueller it is now officially eligible to compete for Best Live Action Short…
Picasso and Paper
This exhibition at the Royal Academy has concentrated on Pablo Picasso’s output on paper, which entails a large number of drawings and different inventive and dazzling works in many formats, from pastels, lincuts, watercolours,…
DEBRIS (DESECHOS) Dir. Julio O. Ramos
Despite being only 14min. long, this short film, that has qualified for Oscar consideration, turns out to be a chilling and riveting thriller. It exposes the tribulations suffered by men who are enticed to the USA for work and a…
La Vida es Sueño (Life is a Dream) by Pedro Calderón de la Barca at the Barbican Theatre.
Just as William Shakespeare was revolutionizing theatre in England, Spanish writers like Lope de Vega and Pedro Calderón de la Barca were shining bright in the Spanish 'Siglo de Oro'. 'Life is a Dream' is one…
Tango, Tanguera - an interview with Diego Romay
One of the most popular shows of one of the most popular dance genres, Tango, comes again to Sadlers Wells this summer. Corina Poore talks to famed Argentine choreographer Diego Romay about the history of tango and his show…
Truth or Illusion?
The unusual tale of a commune in the south of Chile takes us on an unexpected journey.It is based on a true story that immediately suggests that upsetting developments may take place, as indeed they do. Produced by the creative…
Pino Solanas - Film Director, Activist (1936-2020)
Fernando Ezequiel 'Pino' Solanas, charismatic and legendary filmmaker, politician, activist and father to filmmaker Juan Solanas (‘Nordeste’- 2005, ‘Que sea Ley -2019’) has died aged 84, on November 6th 2020, of Covid-…
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…
A Passion for Piazzolla
Astor Piazzolla has inspired many artists around the world, none more so than Ann Liebeck, creator of Violetta's Last Tango, the opera dance drama that premiered in Wilton’s Music Hall in 2017 and is streamed tonight. Here…
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…
New Kid on the Block Enthralls with his Films
Chino Moya's ‘Undergods’ (2020) is an impressive sci-fi thriller opera prima that reveals much talent. It is a good omen that the Ridley Scott Creative Group have been supporting this production throughout, allowing Moya and…
Good Manners (2017) Challenging Motherhood in São Paolo
Set in São Paolo, Good Manners (2017) explores the relentlessness, chaos and fraught nature of motherhood in a drama that blurs the edges between fantasy and horror. Corina Poore talks to its directors Marco Dutra and Juliana…
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…
Women of Toil - Maria Barea, pioneering Peruvian Director of ‘Antuca’ (1992)
Maria Barea decided to start filming the plight of young indigenous women working as domestic servants in Peru "to give them a voice." We look at the life of the pioneering Peruvian director of ‘Antuca’ (1992) and ‘…
Sara Baras, Flamenco legend.
Andalusia pulses again as the Flamenco Festival returns for an exciting fortnight at the Sadler's Well Theatre , opening with the stunning Sara Baras with her new work ALMA
German Cornejo's Fantasy Island Tracks
If you were stranded on a desert island, which tracks would you absolutely need to get you through those times of despair? Our castaway, German Cornejo, choreographer and lead dancer of the smash hit dance show Tango Fire, is…
THE GOOD SISTER (Schwesterherz -2025) by Sarah Miró Fischer at the Berlinale
“I craft films driven by their characters—layered, dynamic, and deeply human. No matter how fantastical, the stories I tell reflect and engage with the world around us. They’re made to provoke thought, emotion, and connection”.
“Normal can mean many different things to different people” - An Interview with Argentine playwright Maia Novi
Argentina’s Maia Novi’s dark comedy ‘INVASIVE SPECIES’, opens at The King's Head Theatre on September 3rd 2025. Celebrating its UK Première, and directed by Michael Breslin, this semi-autobiographical play has had a huge…
COCO (2017) Dir.Lee Unkrich
A gorgeously animated 3D musical fantasy, based on an original idea of Lee Unkrich, and directed by him, ‘Coco’ is up there with the best of Pixar Animation Studios, and in the process manages to shed Hollywood’s tired old…
Latino Short films at BFI FUTURE FILM FESTIVAL
This festival, despite being relatively modest, is sponsored by Netflix and has attracted 45 short films submitted to screen online on BFI Player (UK only). The Festival is highlighting an interesting selection of budding…
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…
West Side Story @ Manchester Royal Exchange
Mexican actress Gabriela Garcia's performance is worth a trip to Manchester, says Elizabeth Mistry
Paradise City
Inspired by ten years living as a teacher in Brazil, Paradise City is the debut crime novel from Joe Thomas, which delves deep into the underworld of São Paulo. Here the author writes about the people and places, the violence and…
SUBLIME (2022) Dir. Mariano Baisin
A beautifully understated Argentinian coming-of-age drama starring Martin Miller and Teo Inama Chiabrando and directed by Mariano Biasin.
Without Stillness There Is No Dance.
Gilles Brinas believes profoundly in the universality of dance and the Arts and feels that Stillness and Silence are vital ingredients of drama. So,he developed ‘Che Malambo’, which is indeed a dramatic show, based on the ‘…
Azor (2021) by Andreas Fontana
‘Smell Fear like a Dog’. Andreas Fontana’s film AZOR (2021) showing at the BFI London Film Festival is a slow-burning thriller that enters the murky waters of Private Banking in Argentina during the Dirty War.
BLACK ORPHEUS (Dir. Marcel Camus 1959 - new Blu-Ray release)
The classic 1959 Rio Carnival adaptation of the ancient Greek tale about Orpheus and Eurydice, two lovers meeting and falling in love, pursued by the macabre figure of Death, is brilliantly brought back to life in a new Blu-Ray…
FAILURE! 2023, directed by Alex Kahuam is screening at the London Frightfest 2023
Failure! is a psychological thriller that features the enigmatic Ted Raimi in the lead role as a man who, facing ruin gets increasingly more desperate as he seeks a way out.
Away from Tacos and Sombresos: CASA Latin American Theatre Festival
The CASA Festival remains the only theatre event dedicated to bringing Latin theatre to the UK. Now in it 5th year, this week the festival embarks on its usual ambitious feat of 45 events, seducing an eclectic London audience…
Latinx Films at The 37th BFI Flare Film Festival 2023
With an array of exciting films from 41 countries, as varied as Morocco & South Korea to Latin America, the biggest LGBTIQ+ film festival in Europe 1(5- 26 March) aims to expand our perspectives, not only with films, but also…