
The Power of Refusal
Despite harassment and assassinations after declaring themselves neutral to Colombia’s armed conflict, The San José Peace Community, a group of brave rural farmers, have proved to be an inspiration for farming communities around…
Miguel Hernandez: The Man with Lots of Heart
Today, on the 30th October in 1910, in the town of Orihuela in southeastern Spain, Miguel Hernandez was born. As we come to the end of the month of October, it would seem an apt moment to delve a little into the work and life of…
Cuba’s Magical Music Train (and its Driver)
How many musicians can boast a 40 year global music career? Cuba’s Juan Formell and Los Van Van are up there among the rare few, on a never ending Magical Mystery Train Journey which has them touring constantly around the world,…
North Brazil meets South London
Having collaborated with titans of Brazilian music such as Nana Vasconcelos, Gilberto Gil, Daniela Mercury, Carlinhos Brown and Hermeto Pascoal, as well as jazz legends Stanley Jordan and Joshua Redman, Letieres Leite, one of…
“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.
Buika: 'La Noche Mas Larga' (2012)
A few months ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Concha Buika. Charming, clever, talented beyond words and with a unique a yet universally appealing personal history: the daughter of African immigrants who grew up in Spain…
Divine Sensuality: The Genius of Juan Luis Guerra
From his lyrics that verge on magical realism, to his intensely sensual melodies and his relationship with God, we praise the undecipherable enigma that is Juan Luis Guerra, one of Latin America’s most sublime music makers and…
The Young Face of the Old PRI?
Now the PRI have been given a second chance by the Mexican public, after its 71-year authoritarian rule, are they proving to be the same old dinosaurs?
Peru Maravilloso: Vintage Latin, Tropical and Cumbia
Peru Maravilloso: Vintage Latin, Tropical & Cumbia
Butterfly Catching
In Madame Butterfly, the One Man Opera, the butterfly takes flight one more time as the abandoned son goes looking for his father in the US. Mexican born Ignacio Jarquin, who himself metamorphosised from Opera conductor to singer…
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…
Southern Exile
As the Tate Modern hosts the first exhibition of Mira Schendel's work in a decade, we take a look at this extraordinary Swiss born artist who made Brazil her home, escaping a hostile Europe to finding artistic freedom and…
Travelling Heart
The new film Viramundo follows legendary Brazilian singer-songwriter Gilberto Gil on a musical journey from Bahia, Brazil to Australia, South Africa, and back to the Brazilian Amazon. It had its UK premier at Barbican in late…
Allende’s Children
40 years after the coup that changed Chile, Pinochet’s exiles around the world have inspired a new generation in the fight for justice and equality. There is no better example than the Navarrete family who came to the UK…
“It is only a question of time.” The Last Days of Salvador Allende – an insider’s story
Isabel Camus worked for Chile’s nationalized copper company and was a close aide of Salvador Allende. In the days leading up to the coup in 1973, Isabel travelled to Europe to try to counteract a big legal operation mounted by…
...The Greatest Latin American Plays of all time
A selection by Daniel Goldman, Artistic Director of CASA Latin American Theatre Festival
Music Speaks
At only 46, Vicente Amigo is already considered a Flamenco legend and the greatest Spanish guitarist of his generation. Currently touring with his new album “Tierra” Vicente Amigo talks to Latino Life.
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…
Revolutionary or Celebrity in the making?
Gordon Ramsey might not have read the script when he dubbed Omar Allibhoy ‘the Antonio Banderas of cooking’. But Hollywood looks can’t hurt and, as Emma Cory finds out, the reference takes little away from the chef on a genuine…
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…
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
BUIKA THERAPY
Born of immigrants from Equatorial Guinea and growing up among Romani gypsies in Mallorca, Concha Buika has emerged to become Spain’s most unlikely Flamenco star. Yet her haunting, velvety voice, her sentimiento and chiselled…
Un-Dazzling the Gold
As The British Museum awaits over 200 hundred spectacular pre-Columbian gold objects from Bogotá’s Museo de Oro to exhibit in its ‘Beyond El Dorado’ exhibition, Colombians in London might be thinking of protesting rather than…
“Che had the voice of a brother”
Ciro Bustos was Che Guevara’s right-hand man in Argentina and survivor of Che’s Bolivia campaign. Once accused of betraying Che, in his new book ‘Che Wants to See You’ Ciro relates what really happened and his life beside the…
The Big Chill
Amaranta Wright meets the Argentine tennis giant Juan Martin de Potro, the youngest ever winner of the US Open, Wimbledon semi-finalist and 2-time Olympic medallist, and finds a refreshing focus on playing rather than being a…
The Magnificent Seven
They are Spain’s newest offering to the Flamenco scene: seven Barcelona-bred brothers by a father of 39 offspring, who blend the classical and the contemporary. Framed by a band of eight female musicians, Los Vivanco's…
Juana in a Million
A mesmerising one-woman Latina show at The Southwark Playhouse until 15th June