The Photos of Debbie Bragg and the Rise of a New UK Club Culture

During the last five years, the Latino club scene has changed dramatically. From being a completely Salsa orientated market to a Reggaetón/Urban crossover scene, made up of first generation Latino-Brits - young, fresh and with more spending power than their parents. Suddenly Latino raves transformed as they went from small clubs in Peckham to the super clubs of South London

Part of that metamorphosis was due to the canging in perception of what being Latino in Britain was. Pictures of the parties got the attention of the national and local press. Pictures of young, vibrant and happy people raving. They looked London urban, and yes, happy without the E! They were mostly British born people of Latino origin, and their pictures were beautiful. The photographer was Debbie Bragg.

Bragg is a fantastic club photographer but also a renowned portraitist (with pictures of Sean Paul, Usher, Rihana and many stars in her portfolio). She played a major role in the way the media started to look at London's Latinos. Debbie fell into the Latin scene by chance, and has not left ever since, becoming THE photographer and documentarist of the Urban Latin movement on the UK. In our gallery we profile a selection (made by Debbie herself) of her work  in three stages:

Early Stages: These pictures were taken for The Facemagazine and other big publications. At the time she took pictures of some of the leading figures of the Latin movement, from salsa promoters to up and coming artists. Some faces you will recognize.

La Bomba Hits Town: Without a doubt, the most influential Latino party ever in the UK. It took the club scene by storm and it has a residency in the world famous Ministry of Sound, as well as Pacha Ibiza. It gave young Latino-Brits a sense of pride. They would not have to go back to other people’s raves to party hard, now they had their very own to be proud of. This pictures we taken at Ministry, SEONE, Pacha London and Scala.

The Movement: More recent pictures of La Bomba and other events, featuring some of the household names and big players of the scene. What one day was a Latino stronghold it is now a cultural melting pot, from people from around the world raving to Latin music, a piece of the Hispanic Caribbean in London.