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Fearless Soul
Multi-instrumentalist and owner of a unique voice, Natalia Lafourcade has become one of Latin America’s the most successful artists. Ever since the young Mexican, daughter of a Chilean refugee, first broke into the charts in 2003…
J Balvin's Fantasy Island Tracks
If you were stranded on a desert island, which tracks would you absolutely need, to get you through those times of despair? Man cannot live on sun and fish alone right? Our castaway, J Balvin, one of Latin America’s hottest urban…
Little Louie Vega's Fantasy Island Tracks
If you were stranded on a desert island, which tracks would you absolutely need, to get you through those times of despair? Man cannot live on sun and fish alone right? Our castaway, Little Louie Vega, the world renowned house…
A Fan’s Dream Comes True
What happens when the UK’s most famous music fan and his long time idol, arguably Latin America’s most gifted guitarist, get together? Corina Poore visited Jools Holland and Jose Feliciano to learn about an English presenter’s…
Latinolife’s Worst One-Hit Latin Wonders
British consumers love a bit of kitch, and there’s nothing like a foreign-ish song to give the drunken punters a laugh on the pub dance floor. From the pastiche to the parody, they were painful at the time, but now a dying genre…
The Trailblazers of Latin Hit-Making
From Perez Prado and Vinicius de Moraes to Carlos Santana and Emilio and Gloria Estevan, in our series of articles on Latin-hit-making in the UK, we recognize the heavyweights from Latin America and the Latin diaspora, whose…
THE LATIN HIT TIMELINE
We’ve gone back decades and delved into our archives to bring you a definitive Latin hit timeline…from the 1970s and Julio Iglesias to Maluma’s Hawái via Ricky Martin and ’Despacito’. Remember the lost years of Latin Cheese? from…
Just Another Lonely Latin Hit?
We’ve seen it before, the querky pop tune with a tropical feel that gets under the UK’s skin for a while. Every so often they hit this cold little island, create a Latin craze and then disappear. In the nineties we had ‘Mambo no.…
Latin Pop's Feminine Side
Bomba Estéreo has paid its ‘derecho de piso’ and proved that it’s not just another ‘alternative’ Latin band adding funk beats to folklore. With a 20 year trajectory writing and producing innovative songs, founder and bassist of…
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs in London
Argentine rock band Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (aka LFC) set the place on fire for almost two hours non-stop at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire London on Friday.
Ground Control to Major Juan
Elizabeth Mistry hears how the Colombian super-bard has put aside his Camisa Negra for a spaceman's helmet.
The Fabulous Chameleons
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs have calved a place as one of Latin America’s most successful rock bands, thanks to a unique and ever-mutating style - a concept, they say they copied from The Clash. Latino Life talks to Vicentico and…
JESSE & JOY (East West Records)
This is the album that won Jesse & Joy, the Mexican brother and sister duo, their first US Grammy for best Latin pop album in February this year. It’s also their first to feature songs in English, some of which have already…
The Turbulence of Budding Stardom
Once a mere suburban boy from outside Barcelona, now Spain’s representative at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, via a controversial decision that split the country, Latinolife talks to Manel Navarro, as he prepares for his…
Mexico's Ranchera-Pop Anti-Diva
Blending traditional Mexican ranchera sounds with elements of the Pop and Rock she grew up with in Tijuana, Julieta Venega first landed on the Mexican Rock scene in the nineties and has since won a Grammy, been nominated for two…
Bridges and Walls
With 1.5 billion YouTube views, a 3x platinum debut album in Mexico and a second album premiering at #1 all over Latin America and several Grammys, what makes Jesse and Joy one of Latin America's biggest emerging acts? As…
Agente Rex ‘La Tregua’
From Venezuela arrives Agente Rex, a new rock band formed by heavyweights of the Caracas music scene. Venezuela has never been short of musical talent and this band showcase how far the rock genre has come since the 60s. A mature…
LOVIN’ LATIN LONDON - The Musicians
London’s Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese communities are well into their second and third generations. Some came here decades ago, as political refugees or economic migrants, and those born and bred here form part of the…
VARIOUS ARTISTS "ALGO SALVAJE Vol 2” (Munster Records)
‘Something Wild’ is the translation of this title, the second volume of Munster Records project compiling Spanish rock, indi, pop and other underground music from the 60s. Living under the Franco’s regime, Spanish music of the…
Renaissance Man
Doctor, poet and musician, Jorge Drexler has taken the long and winding road to global success. Winning an Oscar at 41 – the first ever for a song not sung in English – was just the beginning. Now recognised as one of the finest…
Order Within Chaos
Desorden Publico is arguably Venezuela’s most loved band. A kind of Rolling Stones meets Madness with a tropical vibe that has been rocking generations in Latin America. Jose Luis Seijas meets the legendary band in Caracas on…
Radical Beauty
Every now and then, someone special emerges through the cracks in the music industry monolith to grab listeners’ attention. Marta Gómez is one of those artists. Her authentic sound, her story-telling and meaningful lyrics have…
JORGE SPITERI: The Father of Latin Funk
Signed to major record labels in the 1970s, Jorge Spiteri is considered by many to be the pioneer of Latin music in the UK. In Latin America, he is known as the godfather of Latin Funk, influencing a generation of bands, such as…
Top Ten Mexican Rock Bands
Mexican rock and pop has produced some of Latin America's most succesful bands. Whether British and US influenced bands or the indigenous groups creating innovative music styles and of the 'Rock en tu idioma'…
....Best Mexican Albums of 2014/15
Some of the Latin America's best music is produced in Mexico. Here is Latino Life's top ten selection of best Mexican Albums of the Last year
Raíz - Lila Downs, Niña Pastori, Soledad
An ambitious collaborative project from Mexican-American folk singer/songwriter Lila Downs, Latin GRAMMY-nominated Argentine folk/pop singer Soledad and Latin GRAMMY-winning Spanish flamenco singer Niña Pastori.
Trovador Extraordinaire
In an era where bland music and meaningless lyrics pollute the airwaves, singer-songwriters such as Pablo Milanes, the legendary Cuban icon and one of the founders of Nueva Trova, are revered more than ever. His songs about the…
It's OK to Love a Love Song…in Spanish
Love e'm or hate 'em, nobody can deny the power of a good love song. Especially when it's in Spanish. No, not even Phil Collins and Bryan Adams can top the Latino crooners. Actually, especially them. A sentimental…
LATIN LONDONER #3 LAMAR - Vocalist, Composer, Producer
Born in Barcelona in 1979, Javier Moreno got his Flamenco influence from his Andalucian dad. He grew up in a little Catalunyan village, playing in the streets and 'with a great sense of freedom' Moreno before emigrating…
Lease of Life: an interview with Draco Rosa
Having made Ricky Martin's global career with the songs "Livin' La Vida Loca," "She Bangs" and "Shake Your Bon-Bon," Bobby Draco Rosa is considered Latin American music royalty. The two…
The Latino Behind the Legend: Phil Manzanera
Before being presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to British Music by PInk Floyd's David Gilmour at this year's the LUKAS Gala, few people knew much about this London born Latino. We invite…
Top 10 Argentine Rock Bands
Rock Nacional Argentino has a dynamic and eclectic history, not to mention legendary status in Latin America. I mean just their names make you want to listen to them. Who else but a mad Argy could come up with …Los Abuelos de la…
...Argentine Rock Legends
In the genre of Rock en Español, Argentina has stood out as the producer of some of the most distinctive, unique and talented artists in Latin America and Spain. Argentine rock has an instantly recognizable timbre and sound - the…
It Takes Two…
Love comes in many forms, but music never lies when it comes to harmony...so we bring you the best in North-South Harmony? From Frank Sinatra and Tom Jobim when mutual admiration looked so cool (I mean, the legs crossed and fag…
The Kid is Back
Kid Creole & The Coconuts created a generation of Latin music lovers in London in the early 1980s when he jetted in with a string of outstanding live shows and great albums. Now he's back. Due to perform at the Barbican…
Recent Music
Classical Jazz and Folk
HEARTSONGS
Lila Downs is back – with not one but Dos Corazones – a new song which she will be debuting live in…
Urban
Reggaeton Revolution: 20 years of UK Urban Latin Culture
Back in 2004, when the UK music industry was ignoring reggaetón and Maluma was in nappies,…
Brazilian Music
Things That Matter… Jards Macalé
Having worked with some of the biggest names in Brazilian music, including Joao Donato, Gal Costa,…
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Ballads and Boleros
Top Ten Mexican Male Singers of all Time
Since the days when Mexico was a serious rival to Hollywood in terms of film production and quality…
Urban
Top 10 Female Reggaeton Artists
We may have come a long way since the days of overt misogyny in Urban Latin Music, but the industry…
