LATIN LONDONER #56 - Gledys Ibarra, Actor
A powerhouse of Venezuelan TV, Gledys Ibarra was the first Afro-Latina to achieve superstar status as a telenovela actor. With a career spanning continents and genres - from teenage boy pinup in South America to US fantasy in…
'The Latin American Cookbook' by Virgilio Martinez
Danica Katich delves into a masterpiece of research, commitment to food and ode to cooking and sharing by one of Peru’s most magnificent chefs
‘THE FEVER’ (A Febre -2019) by Brazilian director Maya Da-Rin -
“Like a hunter with no prey”- The multi-award winning ‘THE FEVER’ has a haunting, dreamy quality. We are immediately immersed in the quiet, alienated world of the protagonist, who is surrounded by an environment dominated by…
OUR MOTHERS (Nuestras Madres) - A Debut feature by César Díaz
Winner of the Camera D’Or in Cannes, Guatemalan filmmaker César Díaz’s multi award-winning film, OUR MOTHERS opens us to the horrors of the 36 year civil war in Guatemala between 1960 and 1996, through the experiences of Ernesto…
The Lost Children, 2024, by Orlando von Einsiedel, Lali Houghton and Jorge Durán.
“Until we find them” – This gripping documentary reveals the extraordinary trials of 3 young children and a baby, the sole survivors of a small plane crash in the remotest Colombian Amazon, seen from the point of view of their…
San Juan Noir
Award-winning Puerto Rican poet and novelist Mayra Santos-Febres has been a pivotal literary figure in her island home for many years, championing the work of upcoming writers through her creative writing classes at the…
Ay, Carmela! Shines Again.
The excellent English and Spanish productions of José Sanchis Sinisterra’s comedy ‘Ay, Carmela!’ have just completed their runs. Latino Life’s Corina Poore comments on the productions and meets up with the director Paula Paz at…
El Mensaje (The Message 2025) by Argentine director Iván Fund
Nominated for the Golden Bear Best Film at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, this gentle thoughtful film had its world premiere in Berlin, with powerful and understated performances by all three leads, Anika Bootz,…
Pain & Glory Dir. Pedro Almodóvar
Along with Law of Desire and Bad Education, Pain and Glory represents the third and final instalment of an unplanned trilogy which has taken thirty-two years to complete. The three films all focus on male film directors as…
Re-Nascimento
Celebrating the centenary of Nascimento, the legendary Chilean publishing house
Latin Londoner #46 - Patricia Bidi, Visual Artist
Peruvian artist Patricia Bidi has been living in London for over 20 years and exhibiting her work all over the world. After working on Cecilia Vicuña's Brain Forest Quipu at the Tate Modern, Patricia explores these themes in…
Penal Cordillera (2023) by Felipe Carmona Urrutia
“Not only condors fly.” In 'Penal Cordillera' a group of five high-ranking military officers convicted of crimes against humanity during the Pinochet Military Dictatorship, find their privileges threatened at their…
Maya Da-Rin, award-winning Brazilian film director of ‘The Fever’ (2019)
“They don’t know how to look into dreams, they have big eyes but they only see what is in front of them.” Brazilian filmmaker Maya Werneck Da-Rin is a bubbly, energetic, resourceful and creative person with a huge talent. Moved…
UK Colombian Creatives to be Proud of
Creativity is in any Colombians' DNA, it’s part of our necessity and hence our everyday lives. We’re celebrating Colombian Independence by shining a light on the amazing Colombian talent here in the UK. From dancers,…
PUAN 2023 by Benjamin Naishstat and María Alché
“Llueve sobre tu desolación” (It rains on your despair) In the philosophical comedy by Benjamin Naishstat and María Alché, premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, the upended life and personal struggles of…
DANCING QUEEN
Charismatic, dynamic and sensual, Mariana di Girolamo has caused a stir as the protagonist of Pablo Larraín’s new film EMA alongside Gael Garcia Bernal. Corina Poore talks to the rising Chilean movie star about her role as an out…
OSCARS 2023: The Latino Contenders
Last year at the Oscars, the animated movie Encanto and Afro-Latina actress Ariana DeBose took home awards. In recent years, figures such as Alejandro G. Iñarritu, Alfonso Cuarón, and Guillermo del Toro have been winners. This…
Elliot Grove: The beating heart of RAINDANCE
London is a creative hub, and the number of film festivals over the year are truly astonishing. They represent a myriad of countries from China, Latin America, Brazil, India and Africa to local British productions. The Raindance…
The Motherf**ker with the Hat
A poetic, profane, whip-smart look at love and addiction finds light even in the darkest corners of New York City. Motherf**ker With The Hat premiers at the National Theatre, after having been nominated for six Tony awards on…
FIRE IN THE BASEMENT (2019) A short film by Eva Vázquez de Reoyo at the Raindance Film Festival.
An inventive short film that examines the revolution of ideas and shocking violence that took place in Mexico in 1968, from the point of view of 3 student friends in Mexico City. The Director Eva Vázquez de Reoyo talks about the…
‘ASFIXIA’ Dir. Kenya Márquez
Mexican writer/director Kenya Márquez excels with her second feature ‘Asfixia’ (Suffocation 2018), to be screened (free) online at the Raindance Film Festival 2020, in the Female Gaze strand. It is a tale of redemption and love,…
'Prazer, Camaradas!' Dir. José Filipe Costa
‘Prazer, Camaradas!’ is a charming, fiction-documentary by Portuguese director José Filipe Costa that was recently shown at the 63rd BFI London Film Festival. With acute observations and a gentle humour, it examines the impact on…
ON YOUR FEET
The story of how a child fled from Cuba to Miami to become a global superstar needs spicing up, but the rhythm is gonna get you, says Elizabeth Mistry
ON YOUR FEET
The story of how a child fled from Cuba to Miami to become a global superstar needs spicing up, but the rhythm is gonna get you, says Elizabeth Mistry
Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer (1932 - 2014)
Fashion icons such as Marc Jacobs along with the industry bid farewell to the reverent and much-loved Dominican American designer, Oscar de la Renta this week. After fighting cancer for eight years, the icon passed away aged 82…
'The Penguin Lessons' Dir. Peter Cattaneo
“He was short, only 2 ft tall, he smelt bad and he shat everywhere, but real friendship is about seeing beyond that superficial stuff” A cynical English teacher, who goes to work in a posh British school in Buenos Aires,…
Latin Londoner #39: Spin, Professional Bboy
Born in Cali and raised in London, Juan David Gaviria Muñoz (aka Spin) is a professional Bboy (breaker): five times National Solo Champion, two times European Solo Champion and five times World Champion in crew category,…
Chocolate, Politics and Peace-Building
An Ethnography of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, Colombia by Gwen Burnyeat
BETTY BOO by CLAUDIA PIÑEIRO / Bitter Lemon Press 2016.
The latest novel from Latin America's literary sensation being dubbed the Argentine Patricia Highsmith
LatinoLife's Guide to Bi-lingual Poetry
Rhyming translator-poet, Timothy Adès guides us through the daunting world of poetry, finding moments of bi-lingual inspiration to help us battle through dark times and relish the good...
'The Sleepwalkers' by Paula Hernández
The latest film by Argentine director Paula Hernández who continues her successful run of intimate dramas with ‘The Sleepwalkers’ (Los Sonٞámbulos-2019). Selected to represent Argentina at the 93rd Academy Awards, it tells the…
Breaking Convention in Peru
From the barrios of Lima, 12 dancers arrive in London next week to perform an exciting work with Latin and hip hop influences at Sadlers Wells' 19th Breakin' Convention. We talk to D1 Dance Company founder Vania Masias…
‘In her Place’ (El Lugar de la Otra) Dir. Maite Alberdi
Chilean director Maite Alberdi, nominated for two Oscars, with 28 wins and no fewer than 39 nominations under her belt, has released her first feature film ‘IN HER PLACE’. Emanating from the celebrated Fábula Productions stable…
Latin Londoner #49 - Gabriela Vallim, journalist, cultural producer
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Gabriela Vallim is a journalist, cultural producer and founder of Baile Funk Culture, expanding the Brazilian street culture in the UK through events and workshops. She’s curated events at the…