Colombia: What does Peace Mean in Comuna 13?
Gwen Burnyeat visits Comuna 13, the Medellín community blighted by guerrilla, militia and state violence during Colombia's civil war and finds that graffiti and urban escalators have achieved a sense of pride and…
“It is only a question of time.” The Last Days of Salvador Allende – an insider’s story
Isabel Camus worked for Chile’s nationalized copper company and was a close aide of Salvador Allende. In the days leading up to the coup in 1973, Isabel travelled to Europe to try to counteract a big legal operation mounted by…
SUJO (2024) by creative Mexican duo Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez
With ‘SUJO,’ a cartel drama, award-winning writer/directors Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez bring a new slant to the ‘shadow of violence’ that haunts Mexico to the 2024 BFI London Film Festival.
Roberto Bolaño: Literary Hot Property or Hot Air?
Roberto Bolaño is being hailed as the best author to come out of Latin America in the past 40 years. Why, after years of success in Spanish, has the Chilean author only now come onto the English-language radar and does he live up…
THE CHAMBERMAID Dir. Lila Avilés
Filmed in an astonishing 17 days, the multi- award-winning film, THE CHAMBERMAID, follows the daily routine of a 20-something chambermaid who is responsible for the 21st floor of a 5-star luxury hotel. Endless corridors…
FINDING MILTON
Milton Nascimento is one of the most influential Brazilian musicians — now in his 80s, he has only recently retired from the stage. Flavia Moraes' documentary 'Milton Bituca Nascimento' is a road movie which…
Odd One Out
Hailed as one of the most promising jazz musicians of her generation, Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana is somewhat of an anomoly. Amaranta Wright meets Blue Note’s latest signing and discovers an incredible journey from a…
EMILIA PÉREZ (2024) directed by Jacques Audiard is sweeping the boards at the festivals.
A Mexican drug cartel gangsta musical fantasy about Juan “Manitas” Del Monte, a married drug warlord and father of two, hires Rita (Zoë Saldaña) an unappreciated defence lawyer, to help him fake his death and emerge transformed…
LOVIN' LATIN LONDON - The Performers
Artistic creativity has long been one the Latin World’s biggest exports. Beyond music and dance, Latin American and Spanish film, theatre and visual arts, offer their unique perspective on the world. La Clave Fest is celebrating…
....Best Mexican Albums of 2014/15
Some of the Latin America's best music is produced in Mexico. Here is Latino Life's top ten selection of best Mexican Albums of the Last year
Rosa of the Wild Grass: The story of a Nicaraguan family by Fiona Macintosh
The 'Solidarity' generation reunites at the latest book launch by Latin American Bureau and Practical Action. Nearly thirty years in the making, Rosa chronicles the real-life stories of a poor Nicaraguan family over a…
Maluma @ Wembley Arena
London's Latinas got their fix of Latin America's hottest pop property at Wembley on September 24th
Surrogate Latina #5: Sara Mc Guinness, Pianist and Bandleader
In 2018, Sara Mc Guinness was the first non-Latinx to win the LUKAS Musician of the Year. So respected and revered is Sara amongst Latin musicians in the UK that, will very little self-promotion, she garnered the most votes in…
EXHALE AND RELEASE: The Story of Colombia’s Diaspora Women
Five years ago Diaspora Woman was founded under the name Truth, Memory and Reconciliation Commission of Colombian Women in the Diaspora. The idea was to bring together Colombian women, from all political and social backgrounds,…
Latin Flare
Love is really all that matters when it comes to relationships, so it is with great ‘Flare’ that the BFI brings a sizzling new selection of movies, including from Latin America, to celebrate Gay, Lesbian and Trans film-making.…
When You Pass Over My Tomb: a groundbreaking story of love after death
Style and substance come together in Daniel Goldman’s production of Sergio Blanco’s When You Pass Over My Tomb, a deeply thought-provoking exploration of “love and lust beyond the grave”.
Where to Find the Flavour of Brazil in London
For those missing home or Londoners eager to discover Brazil, here are my recommendations for where to eat. One of my favourite spots is Frigideira, a restaurant famous for its feijoada, picanha, and coxinha. Just around the…
Danza Acosta @ sadlers Wells
The world-renowned ballet superstar, Carlos Acosta, whose dancing career began with break dancing on the streets of Havana, brought his contemporary dance troupe to London for their latest performance "Evolution" at the…
Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art
Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art showcases the works of 50 international artists - 10 of whom coming from Latin America - who use textiles to embody messages of oppression and resistance, power and…
Argentine Songs that Tell the Story of the Malvinas
Every year in April, Argentines commemorate Day of the Veterans and the Fallen in the Malvinas War (Dia del Veterano y de los Caídos en la Guerra de Malvinas), a national holiday honouring those who took part in the 1982 conflict…
Mexico's Ranchera-Pop Anti-Diva
Blending traditional Mexican ranchera sounds with elements of the Pop and Rock she grew up with in Tijuana, Julieta Venega first landed on the Mexican Rock scene in the nineties and has since won a Grammy, been nominated for two…
Most Beautiful Island (2017 Dir. Ana Asensio)
This Polanski-esque penetrating thrilller, set in New York, is a fantastic debut from a new female multi-talented Spanish director, screenwriter, actor and producer
Let The Juice Loose!
Hailed as the most exciting new face in Latin music, Cuban singer, composer and producer, Cimafunk offers a subtle and bold mix of funk with Cuban music and African rhythms. Jose Luis Seijas talks to Cuba’s latest cool cat to…
Things That Matter to...Arya
The second profile in our series on Venezuelan Diaspora Music, we are delighted to present a true rising star; Italo-Venezuelan singer/songwriter Arya. Daughter of Orlando Watussi, a well-known Venezuelan salsa singer, Arya grew…
'BLACK THE CLOWN' - A zarzuela at the Arcola & Cervantes Theatres. If only all teenage boy's dreams were this much fun!
In ‘Black the Clown’, a young lad conjures up tales of intrigue, love and politics, as he plays with his toy theatre. His dreams spring to life in the form of a lively ‘zarzuela’ (operetta) bubbling with mischievous humour,…
Machu Picchu: So Near Yet So Far (part 2)
We're waiting for the drama of the UK repatriation plane to unfold, life goes on here in Yucay.
Things That Matter to...Luiz Gabriel Lopes
Luiz Gabriel Lopes is a singer-songwriter from Minas Gerais, the fertile territory that spawned the incredible Clube da Esquina generation of Milton Nascimento, Lo Borges, Toninho Horta et al. Echoing these illustrious…
LATIN LONDONER #61 - Pepa Duarte, Actor, Writer and Director
"Captivating, marvellous, enjoyable and unique" is how one critic described Pepa Duarte's one woman show 'Eating Myself' which she wrote and performed across the UK, to rave reviews. Her other works…
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…
An interview with Quimantu
Sarah Quarmby talks Latin rhythms, left-wing politics and educational duties with Mauricio Venegas-Astorga and Rachel Pantin from Quimantu. Photo credit: Harriet Armstrong
Things That Matter to...Sila Lua
Born in Galicia, Sila Lua started her musical career while studying music production in London and released two EPs ('The Black Door' and 'Vía') before 'ROMPE', her sea-culture inspired debut album.…
We Love Sergio Mendes
Sergio Mendes may not have been the main originator of bossa nova - one of the most innovative musical movement of the 20th Century - he may not have been the most talented musician to come out of Brazil, but he became the most…
Loathe the term Latino? Blame it on the French
The word ‘Latino’ may conjure up style and swagger (Latino Life, of course, equalling all things cool). But having been created as a tool in Europe’s colonial tussle for territory, is the word really cool or has Latin America…
A Deeper Love
In Part two of her response to the article 'Did Salsa dancers KIll Salsa Music', Kerry Ribchester argues that Britain's love affair with Salsa (Cuban salsa at least) has not died but evolved. Like with any true…
Paladar, SE1
Paladar offers an up-market experience without being pretentious or losing its Latin soul and strikes the right balance between quality, authenticity and atmosphere.