
And will God look favourably this time?
Having withstood years of international criticism, Chavez may need a bit of divine favour in his closest election battle yet.
Being Latin in London - Part 1
We all come with a different story. From the high life of Carlos Acosta and polo players who mingle with royals, to the invisible cleaner working double shifts in city offices so that she can put her children through school back…
Revolutionary People - A Brief History of Latin Americans in London
From Francisco de Miranda and the revolutionaries of the Wars of Independence to Ossie Ardiles and the new UK-Latin music pioneers of today, Latin Americans in London have always been trailblazers and visionaries. Forging new…
Would Oil be a Blessing or a Burden? The Cubans Sure as Hell Want to Find Out...
With speculation in the air and a Chinese drilling rig poised off its coast, Hugh O'Shaughnessy visits the island and talks to Ricardo Alarcón, president of the Cuban Parliament, about the country's hopes and fears.
Chavez' Victory - A Point Proven?
Hugh O'Shaughnnessy reports from Caracas on an amazingly good electoral process and how cold warriors in some of London´s progressive papers who have been dissing Chavez as a dictator are having to eat their words.
This Latino Week...
Oscar nominated 'NO' launches in the UK, Latin awards announces Hall of Fame, Brazilian nightclub fire blamed on cheap fireworks, El Pais retracts fake Chavez photos and more.
Not So ‘Pura Vida’
Sun and sea yes, but sex tourism, in Costa Rica? Behind the image of the Caribbean’s cleanest and most civilised tourist hotspot, lies a murky world, fed by foreign sex tourists, of exploitation and poverty.
...MEDELLIN No.1... 'Flirting with the narcos'
The first of our series of city scenes, our 'postcards from...' take snapshots from different Latin American cities, painting a picture of the continent's urban landscape like you've never seen. This one is…
Meet the Prince and Princess of Whales
As whale watching season in Patagonia nears, Sorrel Moseley-Williams, who witnessed the amazing scene last year, describes what any visitor can expect from this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.
Take the Slow Road in Eco-Ecuador
Hannah Bewley delights in the efforts and charms of an unknown coastal eco-village off the beaten track in Ecuador.
Macho, sexist, leery - lovely...
Flirting with strangers in the street is a way of life in Buenos Aires. One gringa tries very hard to disapprove.
PANAMA’S CHARM (just keep it to yourself!)
Amaranta Wright explores the unspoilt joys of Panama, from the friendly faces and swing of the capital to the stunning archipelagos of the Caribbean.
SURVIVING BAHIA'S CARNIVAL
Sweaty grabbing men, cheesy electric guitar music, trance-enducing drumming and plenty of piss: how our girl in Salvador de Bahia got lost in the frenzy that was Brazilian Carnival 2010 and managed to come out to tell the tale.
The Day That Time Stopped: The Springs of Semuc Champey
Semuc Champey is one of Guatemala's most beautiful natural monuments: a natural 300 metre limestone bridge, under which passes the Cahabón River, and a series of the most incredible turquoise natural pools. It is, according…
Brown Girls in the Ring Make Argentina Sing…
How Cumbia conquered Argentina. The Cumbia invasion rides on populist political culture, but has urban snobs singing a different tune.
Area 23, Hip Hop and Venezuela’s Cultural Revolution
Jorney Madriz or ‘Master’ as he is commonly known, is a rapper with hip hop group ‘Area 23’, based in ‘23 de enero’, one of the most militant low-income barrios, that encircle the country’s capital Caracas.
The History of Latin Music in London
Notwithstanding the cheesy album covers, Latinolife explores the rich and idiocyncratic story of Latin Music in London.
Music, Baseball and Cacao
It’s not only Rio Ferdinand who sees himself as the next Simon Cowell, baseball legend Bobby Abreu has put his weight into promoting Venezuelan music worldwide, with a marketing strategy only fitting for a baseball star.
Alí Primera’s ‘Necessary Song’
Ali Primera, Venezuela’s own Silvio Rodriguez, was long-discarded to the official cultural sin-bin. But his popularity never waned and now his voice is being resurrected by the establishment that once scorned him.
Our Tribute to Sandro
The man known as The Argentine Elvis was a national treasure. The funeral was held on January 5th at the Argentine national congress, usually reserved only for presidents or former presidents. The streets where lined with…
The History of Reggaetón
For those of you who've come to it late, here's a beginner's guide...
The End of the World As We Know It
Roxana Silbert, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Argentine born Associate-Director, talks to Elizabeth Mistry about the RSC's joint venture with Mexico's Teatro Nacional which opens in Stratford before transferring to…
Clash of the Literary Titans? (and THAT black eye)
Candela explores the beef between Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa that has long been the intrigue of the literary world. Now that the Peruvian has won the Nobel Prize for Literature, is it time for Latin America…
The Unusual Spaniard
As daughter of Hollywood legend Charlie Chaplin, Geraldine Chaplin was destined for fame or failure in her own film career. Instead, she became an unlikely icon of Spanish cinema through some unusual choices of her own.…
Macedonio Fernandez - The Non-Believer's Belief
This week it is sixty years since the death of Macedonio Fernández, the Argentine writer and philosopher, who Jorge Luis Borges admitted he imitated ‘to the point of devoted and impassioned plagiarism.’ Yet virtually nothing is…
Argentina finds a New Kind of Meat to Export
They're on the television all the time, they're in the magazines, they're on the arms of footballers, politicians and businessmen in all the smart restaurants and nightspots of Buenos Aires.........they are the new…
Cheap Frills Better than No Frills for Argy women
In post-crisis Argentina, middle class women have been forced to lower their lingerie standards.
At Last Reflecting Everyone's Culture
Richard Gott, author of 'Land without Evil' and 'Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution' explains why Chavez' cultural policy is doing exactly what it should be in a social revolution.
The Politicisization of Venezuelan Culture
Gloria Carnevali, Venezuelan Cultural attaché 1995-2006, says Chavez' cultural policy poses both benefits and dangers to Venezuelan culture.
WRITING BEYOND MACONDO
Do modern Colombian authors still lurk in the shadow of Gabriel García Márquez? Candela explores Colombian literature in light of the 2010 celebrations of all things Latin American: a new list published by Granta magazine of the…
In Oaxaca The Walls Speak
In a country whose history simmers with political resistance and art, graffiti has come to reflect a post-modern merging of the two. Far away from the Banksy hype, we celebrate the art of Mexican political graffiti and the…
The Taste of Colombia
London's most celebrated Latin American chef and owner of one of London's finest Latin American restaurants describes his passion for the cuisine of his homeland, Colombia. Can we sense a touch of nostalgia, Esnayder?