Remembering Los Panchos
When it comes to Latin music, there aren’t many acts bigger than Los Panchos. Founded in New York by two Mexicans and a Puerto Rican in 1944, the bolero singing guitar trio became a music institution, first all over the Americas…
Susana Baca
Susana Baca is the greatest international exponent of Afro-Peruvian music, having contributed so much to its worldwide popularity. Known around the globe for her barefoot performances, flowing shawls and divine aura, Baca’s music…
Reggaeton Legends: Vico C
Vico C is considered one of the greatest artists in the history of the Urban genre in Latin America and Spain. Reflective, deep, socially conscious and catchy and danceable lyrics are what Vico C songs are made for all kind of…
Juan Gabriel, Singer-Songwriter (1950-2016)
Juan Gabriel, who has died aged 66, is considered to be one of Latin American greatest singer-songwriters of all time. The Mexican wrote around 1,500 songs, many of which made hits for and brought fame and fortune to countless…
Remembering Daniel Santos, Puerto Rican Singer (1916-1992)
Very few singers have been able to combine Puerto Rican and Cuban music to create one single style like Puerto Rican Daniel Santos did. His long connection with the best Cuban music of the 1940s and 50s provided his musical work…
Things You Should Know About...Colombian Reggaeton
Reggaeton may have been born in Panama and Puerto Rico, but lately it seems that the reggaeton everyone wants to hear is Colombian. Artists such as Carlos Vives, Kevin Roldan and Lalo Ebratt are storming the charts in what…
Sech
From the birthplace of Reggaeton, we finally have a superstar. Singer, songwriter, rapper and producer...this multi-talented musician is determined to push his Panamian imprint in Urbano
Spotlight on...El Alfa "El Jefe"
Emanuel Herrera Batista, known as El Alfa El Jefe is a powerful and charting Dominican urban singer He has gained respect in his home country as one of the most influential dembow artists. Since 2012, he has released more than…
Top 10 Hollywood Tunes composed by Latinos
With Latin American directors such as Guillermo del Toro, Sebastian Lelio, Pablo Larrain and Alfonso Cuaron sweeping the Oscars in recent years - - it seems that it was always that way. And, in the world of music, it kind of was…
Top Ten Spanish Crooners
Spain, the land of passionate flamenco, bolero and copla, more recently fusions of reggeaton, hip hop and punk, but what’s wrong with good old romance, and when it comes to crooning no one does is better than the Spaniards (you…
Fearless Soul
Multi-instrumentalist and owner of a unique voice, Natalia Lafourcade has become one of Latin America’s the most successful artists. Ever since the young Mexican, daughter of a Chilean refugee, first broke into the charts in 2003…
Myke Towers
It is no big secret that Reggaeton is today what Salsa used to be years ago for many Puerto Ricans: The National soundtrack. The Island of Enchantment has - and continues - to give rise to a new wave of world-class talent, and…
Things You Should Know About...Latin Jazz pioneers
Latin Jazz or Jazz Latino…the Latino “tinge” was part of American Jazz DNA from day one but somehow has been, at best, perceived as a sub-genre or, at worst, erased from history books. When Cuban musicians arrived in Harlem in…
Apache: HipHop Sin Fronteras
The quality of Venezuelan Hip Hop has always been undeniable amongst fans of Latin HipHop, having produced international talent such as Canserbero, Lil Suppa, McKlopedia, Akapellah, along with the following artist. Larry Rada,…
...Peruvian Bands and Artists
Music is and has always been a key ingredient to Peru’s collective cultural identity, write Martin Morales and Duncan Ballantyne of Tiger's Milk Records. The evolution from the Afro - Peruvian creole tradition of the 1950’s…
Remembering Canserbero
We pay tribute to one of Latin America’s most gifted artists, a beautiful lyricist and one of the best rappers to ever to bless the mic, whose life tragically came to an end under very suspicious circumstances on Caracas,…
Camarón de la Isla, Spanish Flamenco Singer (1950-1992)
Camarón de la Isla was considered by many as the gipsy god of flamenco. Today we remember his legacy and his legendary trajectory that left a mark in Spanish music history, leaving his memory to be respected with great zeal.
Oscar D'Leon Tracks that Rock the Dance Floor
One of the most important salsa singers ever, the Caracas-born ‘Sonero del Mundo’ has the whole package: as a sonero, he's up there with legends such as Hector Lavoe, Ismael Rivera or Beny Moré and, just as importantly,…
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…
Latina Homegrown
Sweetness, strength, ambition and beauty are the words that encapsulate this unique group of talent trying to break through the many barriers of London's difficult world of urban music. What’s the biggest challenge; as women…
Manuel Turizo
A deep, authoritative voice, laced with the charm, typical of the Colombian costeño, Manuel Turizo is the new voice of the romantic, poetic Reggaeton coming out of Colombia that is storming the world. At a mere 17 years of age,…
La India Tunes That Rock the Dance Floor
We pay tribute to Linda Viera Caballero AKA La India, in our humble opinion, one of the greatest Latina singers in the world. A true Nuyoroican, La India burst onto the scene in the 90s. Formerly part of the NY House music…
THE LATIN HIT TIMELINE
We’ve gone back decades and delved into our archives to bring you a definitive Latin hit timeline…from the 1970s and Julio Iglesias to Maluma’s Hawái via Ricky Martin and ’Despacito’. Remember the lost years of Latin Cheese? from…
La Lupe, Singer (1936-1992)
With a voice initially described as “screaming, disorderly and disrespectful,” heroic was so evocative it provoked some strong reactions but came to be regarded as one of the best Latin vocalists of her generation. She wept, bit…
Alex Wilson's Top Ten Latin Jazz Albums
From the early 19th century, the mutual fascination and connection between American Jazz musicians and the plethora of Latin American talent gave birth to a whole new world of music we now know as ‘Latin Jazz.’ We asked London…
Top Ten Latin Bangers of 2017
No one can deny that this was the year of 'Despacito.' But more importantly, this was the year that Latin music conquered the world, topping the charts in almost every country on the planet. It was also an unprecedented…
The Reggeatón Time Line
From garage parties in Panamå to the awards ceremonies of Miami, how did an obscure Caribbean genre that was shunned by radio stations and banned by the authorities become one of the most influential genres in global dance music…
Beny Moré, Cuban singer (1919-1963)
Regarded by many as the greatest artist in the history of Cuban popular music, the songs and style of Beny Moré feel today as fresh as they did 70 years ago, when he was singing to the dance halls of pre and post-revolutionary…
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…
Remembering José José, Mexican Singer (1948-2019)
Mexico is a land blessed with many things, including a huge amount of phenomenal singers and one of the most populars ever is who they call “El Principe”, the Prince of Song, José José. A hugely popular figure in his native…
10 UK Latin Acts to Watch Out for in 2024
The UK Latin music scene is undergoing a vibrant transformation. 2023 was a year for the books and this year brings a new generation, spearheaded by a diverse group who blend cultural heritage with innovative sounds. These…
Afro-Peruvian Artists
The influence from Africa is felt in many corners of Latin America and in Peru its light shines brightly through its incredible food, art and above all, its music. It is woven into the texture of Peruvian society and features…
LatinoLife - The UK's First Latina-run National Portfolio Organisation
In April 2023 LatinoLife became the UK's first and only Latina-run National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), selected to be part of the UK government's ‘most varied and ambitious’ portfolio of NPOs. In being chosen as one…
The Queen of Quechua Pop Grows Up
Back in 2018, Renata Flores Rivera burst onto the international music map with her cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ in Quechua, the indigenous language of the Incas. The video received almost two million…
Music City Guide: Medellin
Medellin, the Colombian city ringing with music and undeniably an epicentre of Reggaeton worldwide, with J Balvin, Maluma, Karol G, Camilo and many more Urban artists all born there, has always been a city of music lovers. Not…