Flesh and Blood: True Fiction by Marcus Dalrymple
Marcus Dalrymple’s Flesh and Blood follows his debut novel, Killing Time. Dalrymple’s contextual knowledge of Mexico is without fault, complemented by Flesh and Blood’s compelling storyline. Following the adventure of Brit John…
The Motherf**ker with the Hat
A poetic, profane, whip-smart look at love and addiction finds light even in the darkest corners of New York City. Motherf**ker With The Hat premiers at the National Theatre, after having been nominated for six Tony awards on…
Indiscretion by Hannah Fielding
Hannah Fielding is an award-winning writer and published her first book, Burning Embers, in 2012. Since then, she has gone on to publish two more works, The Echoes of Love (2014) and Indiscretion (2015). Extensively travelled…
Storm in the Andes (2014) Dir. Mikael Wiström
This year's London leg of the International Human Rights Watch Festival include a compelling selection of Latin American films. Of the many harrowing conflicts besetting Latin America in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, that of Peru…
Wild Tales (2014) Damian Szifron
A box office and critical hit, both in Latin America and outside, this anthology of short stories linked by themes of rage and restraint in post-modern living, is Argentina's most recent example in a long tradition of…
Futuro Beach (2014) Dir. Karim Aïnouz
Shot in 2012 in Brazil and Germany, Futuro Beach touches on the themes of expatriation, nostalgia and family links. Its contemplative tone offers an impactful and realistic sense of time passing by. Futuro Beach is now out on DVD.
Tamsin on the Verge
The Playhouse Theatre is now hosting a boisterous adaptation of Almodóvar's film: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Complete with its own musical score, this impression of Madrid in the 1980s becomes surprisingly…
China on the Ground in Latin America: Challenges for the Chinese and Impacts on the Region
A new book shows how Latin America is shaping China’s foreign policy, but ignores China’s impact on the environment and people of the region itself
Gente de Bien (2013) Dir. Franco Lolli
The feature debut from the Colombian director Franco Lolli, Gente de Bien is a sensitive, unsettling and realistic piece of social reflexion. It narrates a parent-child relationship against the backdrop of Colombia’s wealth gap,…
Historias de Lavapies (2014) Dir. Ramon Luque
Historias de Lavapiés is Ramón Luque’s third release which opened this year’s London Spanish Film Festival. It is a truthful, beautiful snapshot into Spain’s multicultural society and continuing economic difficulty. Few films…
Evita at The Dominion Theatre
After its successful UK tour, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's weirdly popular journey into the heart of Argentine history returns to the West End. With 55 new performances, the epic bio-musical that dissects the character…
Don Juan in Soho @ The Donmar Warehouse
The myth of Don Juan is well-known. Though it found its origins in literature over four centuries ago, the idea has come into popular culture and evolved to fit the typically modern term of ‘womanizer’. Yes, Don Juan is a…
TOP TEN Latin Clubnights in London
Latinolife's guide to the best Latin nights out in the capital
Wakolda (2013) Dir. Lucia Puenzo
The latest film by Argentine director Lucia Puenzo in which themes of adolescent attraction and the place of beauty, uniqueness, difference, and normalisation serve as a bridge between past and present, set in the ever…
The Golden Dream 2014 Dir: Diego Quemada-Díez
Gripping and aesthetically beautiful, but always honest and uncompromising – The Golden Dream is an unusual and impactful depiction of US immigration. Starring: Karen Martínez, Brandon López, Carlos Chajon, Rodolfo Domínguez
Sidelines: Four Films about Football, Latin America and Human Rights
Ana Ryle spent a weekend at Amnesty UK’s first football film festival at Hackney Picturehouse. It aimed to bring together the worlds of football and human rights. Four of the thought-provoking films shown - Looking for Rio,…
Heli (2013) Dir. Amat Escalante
Keeping viewers on the edge of their seats, from the very first scene in which a bound-and-gagged man is carried to the top of an overpass and hung for all to see, his acclaimed third film by self-taught director from Guanajuato…
CUBAN FURY (2013) dir. James Griffiths
Starring British comedy actor Nick Frost, a warm-hearted if not warm-blooded salsa comedy; representing more the awkward British take on salsa than its true corazon.
Fuerza Bruta @ The Roundhouse
The Hyperactive Argentine spectacle at The Roundhouse until March 2nd
Day of the Flowers (2013) Dir. John Roberts Starring Carlos Acosta
Our very own Cuba aficionado Kerry Ribchester, went to the Day of the Flowers premier to see if all the fuss about the new Latin-infused chic flick, starring Cuba's very own global ballet icon Carlos Acosta, was all it…
Blood Wedding, by Gabriel Garcia Lorca at The Courtyard Theatre
Beautiful, affecting and credible, The Courtyard’s production of Blood Wedding does more than justice to Lorca’s sublime play about love at its highest levels of intensity.
“Beyond the Legend…Lies a More Fascinating Truth”
It was a gloomy Sunday. The grey sky and all-consuming rain made my bed feel like a toasty heaven, which I was reluctant to leave. However, the anticipation and desire to see first-hand the beautiful gold art work of my…
Bon Voyage, Mr President and Other Stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Penguin Books, 1995)
An insight into the world of the great Colombian writer that touches on subjects that everyone can relate to. A beautiful book to read when in between books or when in need of a short term change in literature.
Stockholm (dir. Omar Al Abdul Razzak 2012)
A superbly crafted film exploring the politics of desire and attraction
The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho
From the first page you are thrown in to the deep end with magical stories and explanations of what alchemy is, however at no point do you feel out of your depth. Written in third person, the world of a magical adventures and…
Joining the Dots (Dir. Pablo Romero-Fresco)
Joining the Dots (2012) tells the story of Trevor, who lost his sight at the age of 60. Following a period of depression, he found his way out with the help of audiodescription, which also enabled him to rekindle his passion for…
Paco Peña's Quimeras
An uplifting and inspiring piece that tells an emotive story and touches political themes through music, dance and the spoken word
Juana in a Million
A mesmerising one-woman Latina show at The Southwark Playhouse until 15th June
Grupo 7 Dir. Alberto Rodriguez (2012)
A Spanish film about urban ‘clean up’ operations in the run up to staging international events, one which the Rio de Janeiro government members might want to watch
Federico García Lorca, Sketches of Spain, with illustrations by Julian Bell.
The Spectrum of Young Lorca.
'Casa de mi padre'
“If it sounds Spanish, man, that's what it is; it's a Spanish movie.”
Tyrant Banderas by Ramon del Valle-Inician
A new English translation by Peter Bush. New York Review of Books Classics series 2012.