
Brazilian Filmmakers Karine Teles and Gustavo Pizzi
In their film ‘Trilogy’, ‘Craft’ (Riscado) 2010, ‘Loveling’ (Benzinho) 2015, and now ‘The Last Days of Gilda’ (Os Últimos Dias de Gilda (TV mini-series), Brazilian film makers Gustavo Pizzi and Karine Teles have created three…
Things That Matter to...Luiz Gabriel Lopes
Luiz Gabriel Lopes is a singer-songwriter from Minas Gerais, the fertile territory that spawned the incredible Clube da Esquina generation of Milton Nascimento, Lo Borges, Toninho Horta et al. Echoing these illustrious…
Shake It Off!
As we head towards the easing of lockdown we all feel a little relieved. But the carnage that the pandemic has wreaked on our mental health has yet to be unveiled. Rafael Santandreu, one of the world’s leading psychologists,…
“Happiness is a Myth"
In his book 'You are not Meant to be Happy, so stop Trying' Basque psychiatrist Dr Rafa Euba argues that happiness is merely an ethereal ghost that inhabits our brain, not something to strive for. Released in these…
Latin Londoner #37: Claudia Lopez-Prieto, Educator
Claudia Prieto is an EAL (English as an Additional language) teacher at Saint Gabriel's College Secondary school in Lambeth. In her 14 years as an educator, she’s earned a reputation for her dedication to engaging and…
“The Birth of Latin Jazz was simultaneous to the Birth of Jazz”
Associate Professor of Music at Columbia University, Chris Washburne is one of the world’s leading academics on both jazz and Latin music and a respected musician in his own right, having played with many of the artists he writes…
Paula Hernández: Argentina's New New Wave of Film-making
Paula Hernandez is an Argentine writer and director whose recent film THE SLEEPWALKERS (2019) has been selected to represent Argentina at the 93rd Academy Awards. Being a talented filmmaker, with an eye for creating unforgettable…
Latin Londoner #36: Blanca Huertas, Senior Curator, Natural History Museum
Born in Bogotá, Blanca Huertas is Senior Curator of the Lepidoptera collections at the Natural History Museum. She is responsible for the direct care, development and access of the world’s largest and oldest collection of…
Surrogate Latina #5: Sara Mc Guinness, Pianist and Bandleader
In 2018, Sara Mc Guinness was the first non-Latinx to win the LUKAS Musician of the Year. So respected and revered is Sara amongst Latin musicians in the UK that, will very little self-promotion, she garnered the most votes in…
Things That Matter to...La Chica
Uniting Paris Belleville and Merida, Sophie Fustec was born in Paris to a French father and Venezuelan mother. Between visits to Merida, Sophie studied violin and then piano, for 13 years in the conservatory and then sound…
Latin Londoner #35: Adriana Cavita, Chef and Food Entrepreneur
Adriana Cavita, the prodigious Mexican chef who previously worked at El Bulli and Pujol, is bringing the authentic flavours of Mexico to London at her debut restaurant, Cavita.
Caetano Veloso – 54 days during the dictatorship
Narciso em Ferias (Narcissus Off-duty) is Caetano Veloso’s personal testimony of his arrest and imprisonment in 1968 during the dictatorship in Brazil. Premiering at the Venice Biennale and shown at DocLisboa, the film follows…
Apache: HipHop Sin Fronteras
The quality of Venezuelan Hip Hop has always been undeniable amongst fans of Latin HipHop, having produced international talent such as Canserbero, Lil Suppa, McKlopedia, Akapellah, along with the following artist. Larry Rada,…
Things That Matter to...Arya
The second profile in our series on Venezuelan Diaspora Music, we are delighted to present a true rising star; Italo-Venezuelan singer/songwriter Arya. Daughter of Orlando Watussi, a well-known Venezuelan salsa singer, Arya grew…
Latin Londoner #34: Gisella Stapleton, Artist
The unique artworks of vibrant colours, inspired by folklore and culture, with social undertones, are quickly earning a name for Peruvian artist Gisella Stapleton. Gisella’s work combines realism and abstract art, mixing figure…
Fish Finding Water: The Story of Pescadito Films
Children’s films do not always get the headlines they deserve despite being vital to the film industry these days. With Disney recently finding a lucrative business in Latino related animations such as the hugely successful Coco…
The Queen of Quechua Pop Grows Up
Back in 2018, Renata Flores Rivera burst onto the international music map with her cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ in Quechua, the indigenous language of the Incas. The video received almost two million…
Latin Londoner #33: Natalia Luisbassa, Conductor
Coming up through Venezuela's world famous El Sistema, Natalia became the first person to obtain a degree in Orchestral Conducting in Venezuela. She completed her postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in…
Latin Londoner no.32: Alejandro Madrigal, Scientist
Prof. Alejandro Madrigal is a world leader in the area of stem cell transplantation. Beginning in Mexico, he continued his training at Harvard, Stanford and University College London (UCL). He is currently Professor of…
Nheengatu – Conquest and Resistance in the Amazon
Travelling by boat along the deep Amazon forest, Portuguese Film director José Barahona searches for a language that was all but obliterated when his ancestors imposed their own language upon the native population in Brazil.…
Things That Matter to...Nestor García Gonzalez
32 year old Mexican Nestor Garcia Gonzalez has been working as a professional break-dancer for the last 9 years. In Mexico he was flexing his amazing talent in international touring shows, such as the Michael Jackson tribute and…
Latin Londoner no.31: Angelo Flow, Reggaeton Artist
22-year old Angelo Quesini, known as 'Angelo Flow’, is a reggaetón artist born in Valencia, Venezuela. After living in Italy for three years, he came to London, and decided to stay. And the luck might be ours for the word on…
COVID STORIES: The Grief of the Marmolejo Family
Los Marmolejos, a family at the very heart of London’s Latin Community, who lost their beloved husband, father and grandfather, Hector, to COVID in March. In the most honest way, Julian, Hector Jr, Kike, Jorge, Sandra and Maria…
COVID STORIES: Fabian, a London Survivor
Fabian Cataño is a London surviver. In 2005 Fabian was badly injured in the 7/7 bombings, but came back from 2 years of rehabilitation to build his cafe in Seven Sisters indoor market. In March 2020 Fabian spent 30 days in ICU…
Mexico's New Movie Magician: Fernanda Valadez
In the world of booming Mexican cinema, it's hard not to notice that most of the big names are male: Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñarritú. Nor for much longer if Fernanda Valadez is anything to go…
Surrogate Latina #4: Despina VIolari - dancer
Cyprus-born dancer Despina had been accumulating admirers on the Salsa scene for several years before getting to show off her grace and talent on the West End stage as part of the dance ensemble of 'On Your Feet'. She…
Marcos Valle'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? Our castaway this month is Marcos Valle, one of the most important and popular artists in the history of…
Things That Matter to… Joao del Monte
We came across Joao del Monte a year ago through a video that went viral of him improvising in a bar in Spain with flamenco singer Daniel Peña “Deni.” The music-making chemistry between the two, with Joao mixing in his cuban…
Grupo Tromboranga: The Art of Re-Invention
The Barcelona-based salsa-dura outfit Tromboranga seemingly came out of nowhere when they first exploded onto the music scene in 2011 with hit singles such as ‘Agua que va caer’. From then onwards the group has become the most…
No One is Above the Law: an interview with the man investigating Alvaro Uribe
On August 4th former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe was detained by the Colombian Supreme Court, following an investigation spearheaded by human rights lawyer Reinaldo Villalba; the first ever instance of a former president…
Cumbia Feminism?
What is Acid Coco? You surely are asking. Acid Coco is that first sip of Colombian coffee in the morning to get the day started right. Acid Coco is taking a stroll through ‘El Tayrona’ watching the sunset, making you feel in tune…
LATIN LONDONER #30: Daniel Carbonero, dancer
Born in Malaga, Spain Daniel Carbonero is a professional dancer, choreographer, model and actor. After 16 years of intense training and dance competitions in Spain Daniel moved to London and founded the Carbonero Dance Academy,…
Things That Matter To...Antonio Lizana
Growing up immersed in the world of Flamenco, Cádiz-born Antonio Lizana studied Jazz in Musikene, the Advanced Music School in San Sebastián. Though submerged in jazz composition, he found that flamenco crept into every song he…
Things That Matter To...Pablo Egea
Winning last year's LUKAS for Outstanding Male Dance Performer, Pablo Egea captured Londoners' attention after spotting this rising star in the West End show "Heart Beat of Home" as a flamenco soloist dancer.…
LATIN LONDONER #29: Julia Ruiz Fernández, dancer
Julia Ruiz Fernández is one of those rare dancers who traverses the world of Latin dance and ballet. Born in Málaga, Spain, she graduated in Contemporary dance and Ballet before training with the prestigious Alicia Alonso company…