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Spotlight on... Gigolo & La Exce
Ronald Rafael Tejeda Santos and Jean Carlos Ferreira Suero, artistically known as Gigolo and La Exce formed the reggaeton, trap and urban music duo from San Juan, Puerto Rico, famous for the singles such as "Nasty,"…
REMEMBERING SELENA
I'm willing to bet that you've seen a few Jennifer Lopez films. But have you seen her best one? The one where she plays another musical star - who was even bigger than ‘Jenny from the Block’ would go on to be.…
Alejo Durán (1919-1989) - Colombia’s first king of Vallenato
Alejo Durán was the first accordion player to win the Leyendas de Vallenato Festival, an event that creates superstars in Colombia. Labourer by day and one of the country's most prolific Vallenato composers and performers by…
TIEMPOS DE GLORIA
From revolution, exile, immigration and hardship to becoming the world’s first ever mainstream Latina pop star. Gloria Estefan recounts her life to Amaranta Wright in an intimate interview that reveals the ecstasies, agonies and…
JORGE SPITERI - Musician (1951 - 2020)
The Venezuelan composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, vocalist and much- loved friend, died on Sunday May 24th 2020, from cancer in North Carolina, USA. Jorge was a pioneer of Latin rock and funk mixed…
Brave New Woman: An Interview with Nathy Peluso
Fiery and fearless, big and bold, Nathy Peluso aims to provoke. A woman’s woman, she creates characters and shape-shifts between styles, genres and languages; hiphop, R&B, salsa or jazz - nothing fazes this Spanish raised-…
Top Ten Flamenco Legends
It's no surprise that a culture as old and fascinating as is Flamenco has its plethora of legends. As a mere starting point, here we introduce you to a few of those, so they can serve as just a starting point for…
UK Latino Music Producers
With the UK Latin urban music scene boiling over into the mainstream, a generation of talented Latino producers are rising to the surface. Drawing on their diverse Latin American roots, London influences, and the talent and…
Our Favourite Latin Christmas Songs
Christmas is a universal celebration, but the feelings it generates is different for every culture and every country, by the music we listen to, the food we eat, our idiosyncratic festive habits. Every December in the UK, when…
Remembering Rodolfo Aicardi
Blessed with an unusual voice, which exuded passion and raw emotion, an era of great songs that connected with audiences every day lives, and a magnetic charisma, Rodolfo Aicardi was one of Colombia’s biggest Cumbia stars of the…
Bad Bunny surprises fans on Instagram Live
Last Saturday, the Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny gave an entertaining mini-concert, where he streamed his entire album and revealed some tracks that had never been published and may not be.
Top 10 Salsa Hits since 2010
While at a commercial level, during the last two decades, it may seem that reggaeton took over and there were fewer new salsa albums and salsa bands touring. Reggaetón produced more money with less effort. But those who loved…
Hector Lavoe Tunes That Rock the Dancefloor
And we come to the man simply named 'La Voz' (The Voice). Considered by many as the greatest salsa singer ever, Hector Lavoe was a legend in Latin America, both in life and in death. His voice, charisma, stage presence…
THE FANIA GENERATION
Jose Luis reflects on the importance of Fania, the iconic 1970s New York record label that created the Salsa brand, and the identity it forged for Latinos all over the world. It left not only a musical legacy but had a…
Top Ten Reggaeton Hits of March
If you are stuck at home waiting for that 21st of June to come along…I bring you hope with the best tracks of the month that will make you look forward to sunny and going-out days again! Check out the likes of Bad Bunny, Rosalía…
Things That Matter to… Joao del Monte
We came across Joao del Monte a year ago through a video that went viral of him improvising in a bar in Spain with flamenco singer Daniel Peña “Deni.” The music-making chemistry between the two, with Joao mixing in his cuban…
Carlos Vives @ The Royal Albert Hall
Carlos Vives love bombed a Royal Albert Hall full of Latinos as he indulged his audience in a two hour journey though Colombian nostalgia, alegria and sentimiento.
From Rock to Reggaeton: Argentina’s Revolutionary Road
Once known for producing Latin America’s greatest rock icons, Argentina was forced to take a back seat as the tropical urban beats from the Caribbean conquered the Latin music market. Yet the recent success of “Bzrp Music…
LATN LONDONER #11 Ana Maria Vera - Classical Pianist
An exceptionally talented Bolivian pianist and child prodigy Ana Maria Vera from her debut at the age of eight has enchanted audiences all over the world with her dazzling virtuosity. This is her story…
Jose 'El Canario' Tunes That Rock the Dance Floor
We travel to La Republica Dominicana and bring you arguable the best Salsa singers the island has ever produced///Jose Alberto 'El Canario'. With a career that goes back to the early 70’s and he is still rocking it!…
The UK's Top Colombian Creatives
The contribution of Colombian immigration to UK culture is impossible to ignore. As far back as 1975, Guardian writer Richard Williams described the Monday night when salsa king Héctor Lavoe took to the stage in a grotty London…
Top 20 Salsa Hits of the 1990s
By the '90s salsa romantica was in full bloom with artists like Luis Enrique, Tito Rojas, Victor Manuelle and Jerry Rivera making things easier for boys on the dancefloor everywhere! Cool boy bands like DLG shook up the…
Things That Matter to...Mon Laferte
Mon Laferte is one of Latin America's most dynamic artists, unstoppable since releasing her album Mon Laferte Vol. 1 in 2015. Last year's Latin Grammy winner for Best Alternative Song for 'Amárrame', the young…
Rebel with an Accordion
Self-taught Mexican singer and accordionist, Celso Piña, acquired the name ‘the rebel of the accordian’ in his native Mexico and is now considered a pioneer in his unique fusion of musica norteña, sonidero, cumbia ska, hip-hop…
Ismael Rivera Tunes That Rock the Dance Floor
Ismael Rivera, el Sonero Mayor, the most popular salsa singer and the most accomplished sonero of his time! He was the embodiment of Puerto Rican music, Salsa's father figure and an inspiration to singers from NY to Colombia…
Hip-hop on Lisbon’s South Bank – 40 years in the making
Hip-hop Tuga, otherwise known as Portuguese hip-hop, began in the late 1980s on the south bank of the river opposite Lisbon, the area known as the Margem Sul (South Bank), including Almada and Miratejo, where Cape-Verdean culture…
Gilberto Santa Rosa Tunes That Rock the Dance Floor
Only a handful of Latino singers can boast the career of “The Gentleman of Salsa” Gilberto Santa Rosa. He has the voice, the improvisational skills, the longevity and the popularity. He has been creating hit after hit since the…
Top Ten Reggaeton Hits of June
Summer is getting closer and closer, so that means we are in need of a warm-up playlist to kick-start our summer...and what better than listen to our top ten hits of June.
Mercedes Sosa: The Voice of Latin America (1935 - 2009)
It is 11 years since Mercedes Sosa - the singer and exponent of what became known as 'nueva cancion' - died, but her musical legacy lives on, not just in her native Argentina or even Latin America but across the globe.…
LATIN THINGS IN LONDON NOT TO MISS in 2026
You only had to watch Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show to realise why Latin Music is now officially the world’s most listened to. 2026 will be the biggest year in history for Latin Music in the UK with the first ever Latin music…
SON OF HIPHOP: An interview with Trueno
Of the dozens of artists being hailed as the ‘next big thing’ in Argentine urban music, one has caught our attention. The son of a true pioneer of Argentine hiphop, Trueno has grown up immersed in the genre: a technically…
Camilo ‘Azuquita’ - A Black Man from Panama - (1945-2022)
He was the daddy of salsa singers, the ultimate papichulo with his crisp swagger and style and one of our favourite salsa singers of all time. Luis Camilo Argumédez had a voice like honey that was so distinctive, so sweet and…
Composing History
There are few bands in the world that can claim a life at the top for almost 40 years: the Rolling Stones, Cuba’s Van Van, Venezuela’s Guaco. And Grupo Niche is another one of them - a household name in Colombia and among Salsa…
JORGE SPITERI: The Father of Latin Funk
Signed to major record labels in the 1970s, Jorge Spiteri is considered by many to be the pioneer of Latin music in the UK. In Latin America, he is known as the godfather of Latin Funk, influencing a generation of bands, such as…
The History of Latin Music in London
Notwithstanding the cheesy album covers, Latinolife explores the rich and idiocyncratic story of Latin Music in London.
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