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London Bars with a Latin Edge
London is a city that's always buzzing with stuff to do. There is never a shortlist of places to go on a Friday night, but, unfortunately, your weekend budget is not always grand. Susana Cicchetto went out on the town to…
Latin Londoner #41: Sonia Bernardo, Singer Songwriter
Sonia is a British-Portuguese singer/songwriter that has been pricking ears with her powerful soulful voice, tinged with a Fado weep, mixed with Bossa-Nova simplicity and jazzy embellishments. Bernardo caught the attention of…
PIGGY (CERDITA) Dir. Carlota Pereda
The 18th 2022 London Spanish Film Festival ended with the screening of the excellent film ‘Piggy' by Spanish director Carlota Pereda where it was awarded a Special Mention. Pereda has created a complex and harrowing tale of…
Ten Reasons to Love Juan Gabriel
The songs of Juan Gabriel, one of Latin America’s most important singer-songwriters who died this week, have become anthems, re-recorded by the biggest current and former pop stars, such as Marc Anthony, Rocio Durcal, Juanes and…
London’s Best Brazilian Street Food
The street food scene in London is booming and Brazilian vendors have been busy showing that Brazilian food is more than just about churrasco and feijoada. Alicia Bastos picks her favourite Brazilian street food ambassadors
Celia Cruz Tunes That Rock the Dance Floor
There are so many things to say about Celia Cruz: she was the number 1 Latin-Caribbean singer before, during and after the Salsa boom; she was as good a “sonera” as the greatest “soneros” of her time, her stage precedes was…
Roberto Gómez Bolaños, Comedian (1929-2014)
Estimated by Forbes magazine to have produced billions for Mexico's main television station Televisa, Roberto Gómez Bolaños aka Chespirito (a parody of his namesake Shakespeare) was one of Latin America's most loved…
Brazil: Pixacao Sao Paulo’s Urban Calligraphy
Although present in many different Brazilian cities, pixação (often spelt ‘pichação in official accounts) is most closely identified with São Paulo. In this ‘city of walls’, pixação is everywhere. No building or wall is…
The Danger of Being Underestimated: the Peruvian Double Agent who was Key to D-Day Victory
On the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when thousands of Allied troops landed on beaches across Normandy, starting the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied northern Europe, we look at how Elvira de la Fuente Chaudoir, a little known…
NORTHERN SKIES OVER AN EMPTY SPACE (2022)
Selected to be screened for the Panorama Competition at the 72nd Berlin Film Festival, this Mexican ‘western’, the third feature to be directed by Alejandra Márquez Abella, delves into magical realism with the build-up of omens…
KLAUS (2019) Dir Sergio Pablos
“A true, selfless act always sparks another”. Sparkling winner of this year's Bafta for 'Best Animated Film, 'Netflix’s first animated feature KLAUS, by its sheer exuberance, inventive story-line and characters,…
Latin American Liberation Theologists
Liberation theology is a brand of Catholicism that prioritises the helping of the poor by actively seeking social change, and came to prominence in Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s. Many priests who took this position were…
Remembering Rafael Escalona, composer (1927 - 2009)
Rafael Escalona was one of Colombia's most important musical lyricists and composers, revolutionising Colombia's vallenato tradition, modernizing the music's rough, accordion-based sound via the addition of vividly…
‘El Perro del Hortelano’ (The Dog in the Manger) by Lope de Vega.
Lope Félix de Vega Caprio, (aka the Phoenix of Spain- 1562-1635) was possibly the first, and maybe the finest playwright that helped launch the Golden Age, el Siglo de Oro in a Baroque Spain. A contemporary of William Shakespeare…
Top Ten Salsa DJs in the UK
As everyone who loves dancing knows, the DJ holds the key to making a great night on that dance floor. And Salsa is no exception. Here is Latinolife's guide to the best salsa DJs in the UK. Follow them and you'll be…
Bebel Gilberto: Mother of Bossa Electronica
Being daughter to the legendary Joao Gilberto was quite a shadow to step out of. But over a remarkable 40-year career of her own, the multi-Grammy nominated and winning singer Bebel Gilberto became her own star with compositions…
Should we Boycott Narcocorridos?
Sarah Quarmby delves into the gory culture that surrounds increasingly popular Mexican drug ballads.
Martin's Causa Santa Rosa
Causa is a Peruvian classic style of dish meaning ‘the cause’. It originates from the wives of Peruvian soldiers who made a wonderful salad style dish from cold potatoes and various fillings including seafood and avocado. This is…
Wilfredo Lam: Painting Afro-Cubanism
The 20th century Cuban painter, Wifredo Lam, was one of the finest artists of his time. Full of Afro-Cuban mysticism, Lam's work - revolutionary, non-conformist and deeply spiritual - pays homage to Cuba's unique mixed…
The Fabulous Fattoruso Brothers
The Uruguayan Fattoruso brothers, Hugo on piano and accordion and “Osvaldo” on drums, were massively influential on the New York Jazz scene in the late 60s with their mix jazz, rock, Brazilian music and Uruguay’s unique Candombe…
Frankie Ruiz Tunes that Rock the Dancefloor
Making this list we couldn’t stop saying…. ‘this music is SO f#@•ing good!” We can truly say that Frankie Ruiz is one of our all time favourites…few vocalists can boast the level of success of "El Papá de la Salsa.” One of…
Things That Matter to...Chucho Merchán
Colombian born Chucho Merchán is one of British rock’s most successful bass guitarists. After studying at Cambridge University, he spent two decades playing and touring with The Eurythmics, The Pretenders, George Harrison, Pete…
The Uribe Legacy: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
In his eight years as president Álvaro Uribe changed Colombia. But was it all for the best?
Madame Satã - A Gem from the Archives
The debut feature of celebrated Brazilian writer/director Karim Aïnouz, ‘Madame Satã’ was selected from the BFI archives for the 2022 BFI Flare Film Festival. Based on real events, this film reveals the unusual and dramatic life…
Things That Matter to...Eva Ruiz
Born in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, Eva Ruiz has the ability to paint pictures with words and sounds, through her distinctly graceful, smooth yet powerful voice. She also portrays Jenna in Culpa Mia, a hit Amazon Prime…
'The Last Days of Gilda' Dir. Gustavo Pizzi
A Mini-series in 4 episodes, this is a lively and entertaining tale about the freedom-loving Gilda, who survives on a diet of love and more love, above all.
Congaheads: Martin Cohen and Salsa's Jewish Connection
Like with Jazz, American Jews have had an almost century-long love affair with Latin music, dating as far back as the 1940s when immigrants arrived simultaneously from post-war Europe and the Latin Caribbean, sharing a common…
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…
OUR TIME (Dir. Carlos Reygadas)
‘Our Time’ (Nuestro Tiempo) 2018 challenges our ideas of man’s condition in life. Juan Díaz and his beautiful wife Esther run a ranch in Mexico rearing fighting bulls. They have a perfect relationship in an open marriage, or so…
El Gran Combo Tracks That Rock the Dance Floor
We pay homage to El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, arguably the world's most popular Latin band ever. Filling dance floors around the globe for almost 60 years, It's is much more than a salsa band, but a cultural…
La Noche (Dir. Edgardo Castro)
Corina J Poore talks to the director of Argentina’s latest film to wow global audiences, a ferociously honest film that explores the drug-fuelled debauchery of Buenos Aires’ underworld sexual, and ye whose power lies in its…
...Spanish Tennis Greats
It's hard to look beyond Rafa Nadal, but Spain's current tennis titan didn't come from nowhere, he was inspired by the many that came before him. We tell you who...
Brazil’s big beautiful – and still illegal – balloon-making culture
From centuries old traditions Balloon-making developed into a competition between dedicated groups to create the biggest and most beautiful balloons which were released into the sky carrying lights and often fireworks, and then…
Quino, creator of "Mafalda" (1932 - 2020)
This week Argentina mourns a great loss. At the age of 88, Argentine cartoonist, Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón (more commonly known as ‘Quino’) passed away on the 30th September in Mendoza, Argentina. Creator and father of…
Passage of Time: an Interview with Paco Peña
As guitarist, composer, dramatist, producer and artistic mentor Paco Peña has transformed perceptions of Flamenco since his arrival in the UK in the late 1960s. Fusing his own Andalusian heritage with London influences, there is…
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Film & Theatre
Latin Londoner #72: Sergio Maggiolo - writer, performe…
Sergio Maggiolo is a London-based writer, performer, and director born in Peru and trained in the U…
Film & Theatre
THE PORTUGUESE HOUSE (2025) by Spanish director Avelin…
This charming and tender film is Avelina Prat’s second feature. It premiered at the 28th Málaga…
Film & Theatre
Salon de Belleza (Beauty Salon) 2026 by Mexican directo…
Selected for the ‘Giornate degli Autori’ at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, Nathalia Acevedo’s…
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