
I am a feminist, non-feminist writer…(or whatever it takes to stop them talking).
Can you be a socially conscious, female writer in Spain, or anywhere, and not be labelled a feminist? Few hispanic authors have had to battle the gender trap and its scrutiny more than Rosa Montero, one of Spain’s most popular…
A Deeper Love
In Part two of her response to the article 'Did Salsa dancers KIll Salsa Music', Kerry Ribchester argues that Britain's love affair with Salsa (Cuban salsa at least) has not died but evolved. Like with any true…
Freedom Control
Whilst the dazzling visual impact of muscular control and freedom can be startling and seductive, Tam Davidson peels away the mysticism of Capoeira to reveal its’ development through one people’s struggle against slavery.
We haven’t killed Salsa! Part 1
Earlier this year we published a piece 'Did Salsa Dancers Kill Salsa Music?' which generated much controversy. In a passionate response, Kerry Ribchester argues that we haven't killed Salsa, we are more in love…
It Takes Two Worlds to Tango
Representatives of 25 countries converge on the River Plate for the Third World Tango Summit.
Only Room for One Latin Diva?
Ever since Yanet Fuentes, the only Latin American ever to grace the UK’s prime-time talent shows, left the BBC’s 'So You Think You Can Dance', the blogosphere has been awash with outrage at judge Sisco Gomez's…
Acosting Fame
Carlos Acosta, arguably the best ballet dancer of his generation and London’s most famous Latino, looks back on his thirteen years in London, during which he went from the Royal Ballet's principle dancer to global ballet…
Ibero-African Tragi-harmony
Paco Peña, arguably the best-known flamenco guitarist and composer outside Spain, talks about the musical harmony and human tragedy of Africa’s relationship with Spain. In his upcoming dance show at Sadler's Well's…
The Demographics of Music
With a name like Che Sudaka, you can't help but be curious. We talk to the band of Latino immigrants in Spain creating a stir in Europe
"I wouldn’t mind dying if there were guitars in heaven"
Tiago Pereira talks about his latest documentary on Portuguese regional music: Chamarita - the country rock of the Azores.
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.
Copán: The jewel on the southern tip of the ancient Mayan Empire
Located in western Honduras only an hour from the border with Guatemala, Copán was an ancient Mayan city that dominated trade and commerce in the area. It holds great importance in Mayan history due to its geographical position,…
Dancing Salsa like a Nicaraguan (Not)
The Carnival in Granada occurs once a year and each year people from all over the country flock to the city to celebrate. One of the biggest events in the Nicaraguan calendar, Candela decided to hop on a float.
Las Cosas por su Nombre
Confused when someone tells you to "Stand my balls up", "arm a patch and throw out the wagon" or "take out my stone by making a show"? You'll need Candela’s guide to authentic Colombian Spanish…
MADRID - Europe's cool cousin
How to sum up Madrid? No Eiffel Tower, no Colosseum...How about that Madrid is the younger, cooler cousin of its European counterparts. What differentiates it from its arguably prettier, more historic sister city, Paris? Since…
Looking for Che: Bolivia's Revolutionary Road
Sixteen years after translating Che's 'Motorcycle Diaries', made famous in the Hollywood movie with Gaél García Bernál, Ana Wright goes on the hunt for Che in Bolivia as she seeks inspiration whilst translating a…
Breathing the Buenos Aires
¡Qué estupidez! I’ve only gone and given this article a misnomer for a title. A visit to the Argentinian capital will not result in breathing the Buenos Aires – because this city is utterly breathtaking. From the tranquility of…
Fuerte Apache, BUENOS AIRES
Our Candela visitor finds more heart than hostility in the notorious gangland estate on which Carlos Tevez was raised, as she visits the famous mural, homage to Fuerte Apache's favourite son.
Only in Buenos Aires....a TRULY alternative guide!
Having great and varied FREE things to do is the mark of a world class city and, if you look under the surface, Buenos Aires is up there with the best of them. Ana Wright challenges the view that Latin America is expensive and…
Granada: The Jewel in Spain's Crown?
It's embarrassing to admit that landing in Granada was a total fluke. Yet, if its true that the best things are discovered by mistake, Granada is an absolute gold mine of an accident; undiscovered by the masses and yet with…
Andalucia's Feria de Sevilla
Come rain, crisis or shine, Sevilla is always ready for a party.
Lonesome George - The death of a subspecies
The very last of his subspecies, the Pinta Island resident passed away at the estimated age of a hundred.
...Guatemala
From a mansion to a school trying to make ends meet, this couch surfer found a warm welcome in Guatemala.
Spain's Sweet Revenge
Four hundred years after Henry VIII divorced and disgraced Spain's beloved Katherine of Aragon, Spain has the chance to seek sweet revenge on the old rascal by bringing its interpretation of Shakespeare's Henry VIII to…
Che, Enrique IV, qué hacé!
Shakespeare in Argentine? Really? Just the thought of the mischievous Argentine psyche giving a twist to theatre’s most famous human commentator, is enough to make one smile. We talk to theatre director Rubén Szuchmacher, who…
Roberto Bolaño: Literary Hot Property or Hot Air?
Roberto Bolaño is being hailed as the best author to come out of Latin America in the past 40 years. Why, after years of success in Spanish, has the Chilean author only now come onto the English-language radar and does he live up…
Spanish in Spain ¿pan comido? Think again
Just when you think you’ve mastered the textbook basics, reality rudely interrupts with slang to turn those so useful words on their head. Throw away those textbooks! Here is your alternative guide to what you thought were the…
Interview with Patricio Guzmán
Award-winning filmmaker Patricio Guzmán, one of Latin America’s most important directors of the 20th and 21st centuries, talks to Latino Life about his new film, Nostalgia for the Light, and about his approach to and opinions of…
Acting Almodóvar
Maria Delgado looks at the acting styles of one of the Spanish-speaking world’s most iconic directors and the importance of acting in Pedro Almodóvar’s work.
In the shadow of Lorca
The poems of Federico Garcia Lorca have touched and inspired people and poets worldwide. Yet his passion, defiance to oppression and his unique vision of Andalucía as a tolerant fusion of cultures makes him particularly special…
...Argentine Beef
There is nothing quite like the taste of an Argentine 'parrilla', whether its the waft of prime beef grilling from a Buenos Aires building site or its idyllic mingling with Eucalyptus whislt lying in the Pampa sun.…
The Understatement of Talent
In a world of media hype, it is rare to be shocked and awed by talent. Perhaps that's why one has to travel to Cuba, hwich is where Sara Livero found Salvador Galindo Ruiz working silently in his workshop as she walked along…
Rule Colombian Britannia!
This year the BBC Proms pays tribute to a new British-Colombian generation by featuring the London born and bred accordionist Jose Hernando who won the BBC Radio 3 World Routes Academy at only 19. Here the burgeoning star talks…
TEGO CALDERON: Beyond the Genre
In the history of Latin Music there have been a lot of big stars. Yet we can still count on both hands the artists that have gone beyond the genre they were famous for to become true artists, representatives of a time and an era…