In Praise of Jairo Varela
A tribute to the founder and band leader of Grupo Niche, who put Colombian salsa on the global music map and helped make Cali the renowned capital of Salsa that it is known as today.
Cause and Effect in Bolivian Art
In the first ever show of Bolivian Contemporary Art in London featuring four Bolivian artists - painters Ivan Benítez and Marcelo Rodríguez and photographers Javier Molina and Fabiola Retamozo - ‘Analogue Intercourse‘ refers to…
LATIN LONDONER #27 - Juanita Euka - Singer-Songwriter
Juanita Euka is a LUKAS award-winning singer-songwriter. Niece of Congolese rumba legend Franco Luambo, she grew up in Buenos Aires before arriving on UK shores. Known for her work with Wara, London Afrobeat Collective and…
Things You Should Know About...Inspiring US Afro-Latinxs
Changing the world in everything from Poetry to Baseball, from Politics to Hollywood, here, in no particular order, are just some of the US Afro-Latinos who have helped shape the American landscape and who you should definitely…
Films to Watch Before You Die #2 - 'El Mismo Amor, la Misma Lluvia' by Juan Jose Campanella
OLIVETTI BLUES – A two-hour journey into the beauty of love, passion and dreams.
Things we love about...Surprising El Salvador
Affectionately known as El Pulgarcito de America (the Tom Thumb of the Americas), El Salvador may be the smallest country in Central America, but it is packed with authentic experiences. From mysterious Mayan ruins, to sleepy…
"Critics in Chile Did Not Consider Me a Writer"
Isabel Allende is one of the Spanish-speaking world’s most widely read authors. The award-winning Chilean novelist has written over twenty books, which have gone on to sell over 74 million copies worldwide and be translated into…
HOLA London @ The 02
Summer Showers Couldn’t Rain on Hola! London’s Parade of Latin Stars including Juan Luis Guerra, Juanes, David Bisbal and Sebastián Yatra
Myth or Reality, and Does it Matter?
Supposedly based on a true story about Basque farm lad, who started to grow uncontrollably to became Europe’s tallest man, reaching a height of 2,42m, Handia swept the boards at the 2018 Goya Awards, winning 10 out of their 13…
Between Land and Sea - an interview with Cuban artist Armando Mariño
One of Cuba’s most well-known contemporary artists, Armando Mariño studied in Havana, now lives and works in New York and exhibits all over the world. Now in London showing his large scale works rooted within the stories of…
Looking for Trouble – The Life and Poems of Roque Dalton
As the first bi-lingual edition of a selected works of the Salvadoran poet, Roque Dalton, is published, Roger Atwood reflects on the life and work of one of Central America's greatest literary figures and revolutionaries…
Top 10 Best Guacamoles in London
The world seems to have gone avocado mad. This delicious, healthy fast-food is no longer Latin America’s best kept secret. In the UK alone avocado sales have soared to an astounding £142 million in past year. Petitions have…
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.…
“…And Some Have Greatness Thrust Upon Them.”
‘Argentina 85’ directed by Santiago Mitre and starring Ricardo Darín and Peter Lanzani, is a taut, fact-based courtroom drama that is as suspenseful as it is intense. It tells the story of how Julio César Strassera and his…
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…
Great Latin American films from 2021
2021 was a difficult year for film, especially cinema releases. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the 2021 Academy Awards event took place in April 2021, at the usual event venue, the spectacular Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los…
Things That Matter to...Nestor García Gonzalez
32 year old Mexican Nestor Garcia Gonzalez has been working as a professional break-dancer for the last 9 years. In Mexico he was flexing his amazing talent in international touring shows, such as the Michael Jackson tribute and…
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…
The Films of Armando Bó
In the first of our 'Memorable Film' series on Latin America and Spain’s most memorable films and directors, Latinolife’s film editor, Corina Poore, profiles the ground-breaking Argentine director Armando Bó
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…
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-…
On The Trail of Che
A wave of nostalgia is sweeping Latin America as the 50th anniversary of the death of Che Guevara approaches. Julio Etchart follows the ‘Che route’ to the remote spot where the revolutionary icon was executed.
Peru 1982: A Six-month Photo Odyssey in South America
An exhibition at the Peruvian Embassy by photographer Tony Hutchings showcases the country's stunning landscapes and rich cultural diversity, captured during a six-month trip to South America.
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…
'Tu Casa Mi Casa' by Enrique Olvera
Enrique Olvera, the world-renowned chef behind Mexico City’s Pujol and New York’s Cosme, has collaborated with three Mexican chefs for his first home cooking book “Tu Casa Mi Casa”. Marketed as “Mexican recipes for the home cook…
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…
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…
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…
Films To Watch Before You Die #8 - Strawberry and Chocolate (Fresas y Chocolate) Cuba 1993
In celebration of LGBT History Month, we remember one of the most memorable queer films in Latin American film history. Strawberry and Chocolate is a delightful 1993 film by Cuban directors Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos…
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…
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…
'Sin Señas Particulares' Dir. Fernanda Valadez
The Devil is Alive and well on the Mexican Border in ‘Sin Señas Particulares’ (Identifying Features - 2020), one of the Latino highlights at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival - a moving, multi-award-winning Opera Prima from…
‘FOGARÉU’ (2022) directed by Flávia Neves
“When a baby is born it is thrown into the air, if it flies it is a bat, if it falls it is a fool”. ‘Fogaréu,’ is the story of a wealthy Brazilian family that interweaves overt class struggles with intimate family strife in wild…