Ana Victoria's Story - Part 3: The Search for Kio
Ana Victoria is an Afro-Colombian biologist who will be ordained as the first female Colombian priest of the Anglican church in July 2017 in St Paul Cathedral. After being kidnapped by armed traffickers while she was working with…
Fresh Blend
Legendary Latin dance-music pioneers Bomba Estéreo are back on tour, bringing their blend of cumbia, rave and rap to top clubs and festivals across Europe and the US. Founder and maestro Simón Mejía talks to Charley Allan about…
Gilberto Gil: “I’ve always felt I was in the best place I could be”
Thirty years after first seeing him in concert at the age of eight, Amaranta Wright comes face to face with the Brazilian music legend Gilberto Gil on his recent visit to London, and gets an insight into the man that inspired her…
New Era Jazz Queen
What is the outstanding quality that westerners find so baffling about Cuba’s bounty of world-class artists? From Carlos Acosta to Chucho Valdez, you’ll find a common combination unique to this idiosyncratic Caribbean island – a…
Brazil: indigenous reserves to be opened up to mining
Armed with government permits, mining companies stand poised for the rush to exploit land in previously protected reserves
Brazil: Lula is Back and Shaking Things Up
The PT leader’s return is transforming politics and the handling of the pandemic
Brazil Beyond Belief
“There is just so much space here!” was one of the most recurring thoughts I had on my trip to Brazil. Perhaps a pretty basic observation given I was visiting the largest country in Latin America. Yet my poor brain, accustomed…
This Latino Week
LoLa Mc makes it’s mark, Medellin Miracle Madonna, Building Bridges with Collaborations
Seven Things To Do In..... Cuba, Before It Changes
Cuba is one of the hottest travel destinations right now and many travel publications have rushed to come up with their lists of what to do and see in Cuba. As a Cuban-born travel expert living in London, Susana Corona lists her…
Colombia: the double edged sword of peace in Tumaco
As the referendum nears, asking the public to take a leap of faith in Peace, the residents in Tumaco know that it will come at a price and move forward under no ilusions, as Niamh Ni Bhriain explores
FUNK FOREVER
Los Amigos Invisibles is arguably the most globally recognized music act from Venezuela since Oscar D'Leon (the Salsa legend on their new album). Breaking onto the international scene on David Byrne’s (Talking Heads)…
United Migrations?
Walk around London and it’s hard to avoid the Spanish vowels swirling around the air. The recent influx of Spaniards and Latin Americans arriving through Spain adds yet another layer to the original Spanish speaking communities.…
Mexico: Populism and the Pandemic
As with many other countries led by populist leaders, in Mexico populism and the pandemic have proved to be a dangerous mix where AMLO was slow to take the virus or the medical advice seriously, and the most vulnerable are now…
The multi-award-winning theatre collective, EPHEMERAL ENSEMBLE are presenting ‘UPROOTED,’ their latest new show, at the New Diorama Theatre in London.
‘UPROOTED’, is a multidisciplinary show, politically challenging and visually exciting. It combines, sound, dance, visual effects, music and lights to immerse the audience in what is a moving experience. Corina J Poore talks to…
Mexican Fernando Eimbke’s gentle family drama ‘OLMO’ is at the 2025 BFI London Film Festival.
Eimbcke’s comedy ‘Olmo’ set in New Mexico in the ‘Laugh’ Strand of the festival, reveals itself to be more of a coming- of-age story with the challenges that Olmo faces.
The People's Salsero
At first dismissed for his wordy complexity, Rubén Blades - composer, singer, salsero, lyricist, narrator, poet, social conscience and political activist - soon proved to be Fania Record's biggest money spinner and Latin…
Latin American Selection by George Peguero
Hailed as a child prodigy in Cuba, the UK-based artist takes us through the music of his childhood and gives us his selection of the top Latin American tracks ever (with a few honourary Latinos thrown in!)
Altamira: Victim of the Belo Monte Construction Boom
Sue Branford chronicles the rapid development in the town of Altamira in the Brazilian Amazon, whose inhabitants have yet to reep any benefits.
Interview with Patricio Guzmán
Patricio Guzman’s film-making is full of paradoxes; subtle yet scathing, hard-hitting yet humane, highlighting the worst and the best of the human condition with an aesthetic brilliance that moves the viewer. Latinolife talks to…
Richard Gott on Argentina's Bi-Centenary Celebrations
Renowned for his critical-thinking 'people's histories' of Latin America, the UK's most authoritative Latin Americanist - author of 'Land Without Evil' and 'Cuba: A New History' - explores…
Explosive Alegría
It would seem that anything Gente de Zona touches turns to gold. Whether it’s putting Enrique Iglesias back at the top of the charts, or keeping Marc Anthony relevant, everyone who’se anyone in music goes to this Cuban Reggeatón…
From Hypnotic Cuba to Stiff British Splendour
From the deep, hypnotic rhythms of Cuba to the stiff splendour of the Royal Albert Hall, composer and conductor Odaline de la Martinez has ridden the waves of a musical adventure. The recipient of this year's LUKAS Lifetime…
Who'll be the UK's Favourite Sports Personality?
As English fans vote for its favourite Latin and Spanish footballers in the UK, for those who live for other things than footballers, here is our guide to the LUKAS nominees for theis year's Sports Personslity of the Year
Beyond Andean
Few people think of heading to Peru for Christmas. But, as Amaranta Wright finds out, summer in Lima and its amazing coastline, Machu Picchu without the crowds and jungle experience without the heat, conspire make Christmas a…
World Cup Profile: Colombia look to build upon successful 2014 campaign
In the second of our profiles on the Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese teams who have qualified for next year’s World Cup finals, Lewis Blakeman looks at Colombia – nicknamed ‘Los Cafeteros’ – and their chances of repeating…
An Amazon view of Brussels
Elisa Dias, 22, a drummer from the AfroRaiz Collective, Marabá, coordinator of the Salus project for Rios de Encontro. made trip to Europe as a trainee international project coordinator, accompanying Dan Baron Cohen, to plan the…
Tego Calderón's Fantasy Island Tracks
If you were stranded on a desert island, which tracks would you absolutely need to have to get you through those times of loneliness and despair? Man cannot live on sun and fish alone right? Our castaway this week is Tego…
Flamenco's Poetry in Motion?
Inspired by the purist Flamenco that he learnt from his teachers, Rafael Amargo, Spain’s most eclectic dancer and choreographer, was influenced by US contemporary dance schools such as the Martha Graham, while living in New York…
Two Beats One Soul, feat. Little Louie Vega
A beautiful tribute to bi-cultural ingenuity as Little Louie Vega heads up this latest gem in a long tradition of Cuban-Nuyorican collaborations
5 SIGHTS OF SOUTH AMERICA YOU WON'T FORGET
Bored of beaches, banal museums and grotty hotels? Want to do something different this time you go away? South America harbours some of the most breath-taking natural phenomena in the entire world. No tour guide needed, just a…
The Reggeatón Evolution – Three Decades of Flow
When quintessentially English band Clean Bandit was recently rocking X Factor with their latest hit ‘Rockabye,’ few watching would have known that the country that invented its catchy beat was banned from playing it for years.…
Latino medal achievements at London 2012
Latin American countries are not traditionally known for bountiful medal counts, but the London 2012 Olympic Games are showcasing talented athletes who are slowly growing the region's haul of silver and bronze. Teams from…
"Our society still needs to demonstrate that Human Rights Defenders can take action without the threat of being killed"
Visiting the UK to brief UK lawyers on the current situation in Colombia, in tandem with President Santos' state visit, was Dr Reinaldo Villalba Vargas of Colombia’s most prestigious human rights lawyers collective, the…