Family Atlantica
Spanning Latin America, Africa and Europe in a single record is no mean feat. But Family Atlantica absolutely pull it off.
It Takes Two…
Love comes in many forms, but music never lies when it comes to harmony...so we bring you the best in North-South Harmony? From Frank Sinatra and Tom Jobim when mutual admiration looked so cool (I mean, the legs crossed and fag…
Explosive Alegría
It would seem that anything Gente de Zona touches turns to gold. Whether it’s putting Enrique Iglesias back at the top of the charts, or keeping Marc Anthony relevant, everyone who’se anyone in music goes to this Cuban Reggeatón…
Going Back to Move Forward
If anyone knows the secret to moving ahead by looking back it is Juan de Marcos, the man behind the original Buena Vista Social Club Album and all that followed. He talks to Latinolife with frankness about Music, Cuban Identity,…
Lula All Stars: Salsa de la Buena (Lulaworld Records)
Canadian based Salsa outfit playing wth passion and flavour
The Audacity of Being Brazilian
Pianist/singer/songwriter Eliane Elias is known for her distinctive musical style, which blends her Brazilian roots and her sensuous, alluring voice with her virtuosic jazz, classical and compositional skills. We caught up with…
New Era Jazz Queen
What is the outstanding quality that westerners find so baffling about Cuba’s bounty of world-class artists? From Carlos Acosta to Chucho Valdez, you’ll find a common combination unique to this idiosyncratic Caribbean island – a…
The Pulse of Hispanic Heritage
Julián Duque is the Colombian entrepreneur behind Immigration Records, a label born out of migration, identity, and the shared drive of a community that never stops creating. His journey reminds us that being Hispanic isn’t…
J Balvin'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? Man cannot live on sun and fish alone right? Our castaway, J Balvin, one of Latin America’s hottest urban…
Gilberto Gil: “I’ve always felt I was in the best place I could be”
Thirty years after first seeing him in concert at the age of eight, Amaranta Wright comes face to face with the Brazilian music legend Gilberto Gil on his recent visit to London, and gets an insight into the man that inspired her…
Fresh Blend
Legendary Latin dance-music pioneers Bomba Estéreo are back on tour, bringing their blend of cumbia, rave and rap to top clubs and festivals across Europe and the US. Founder and maestro Simón Mejía talks to Charley Allan about…
Omar Sosa'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, composer-pianist-bandleader Omar Sosa, one of Cuba’s most celebrated Jazz musicians, grew up…
FUNK FOREVER
Los Amigos Invisibles is arguably the most globally recognized music act from Venezuela since Oscar D'Leon (the Salsa legend on their new album). Breaking onto the international scene on David Byrne’s (Talking Heads)…
Latin American Selection by George Peguero
Hailed as a child prodigy in Cuba, the UK-based artist takes us through the music of his childhood and gives us his selection of the top Latin American tracks ever (with a few honourary Latinos thrown in!)
Tego Calderón's Fantasy Island Tracks
If you were stranded on a desert island, which tracks would you absolutely need to have to get you through those times of loneliness and despair? Man cannot live on sun and fish alone right? Our castaway this week is Tego…
Camilo Menjura on life and LUKAS nominations
Camilo Menjura is certainly a very busy musician! The Bogota born multi-talented player is once again up for a LUKAS nomination, having won in two categories "Musician of the year" and "Community worker of the year…
Lucas Santtana @ The 299, London
Having collaborated with giants of MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) such as Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte and Paralamas do Sucesso, among others, and having played in Gilberto Gil's band for several years, the singer from…
A BODY IN THE WORLD
One of the brightest gems of contemporary Brazilian music, Luedji Luna fuses Afro-Brazilian rhythms, jazz and soul with poetry that honours her Bahian roots. Having just picked up two Latin Grammies, one for Best Brazilian…
The People's Salsero
At first dismissed for his wordy complexity, Rubén Blades - composer, singer, salsero, lyricist, narrator, poet, social conscience and political activist - soon proved to be Fania Record's biggest money spinner and Latin…
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
Joe Bataan ‘Call my Name’ (Vampisoul)
Joe was one the faces of New York’s Latin music movement in the late 60’s and 70’s. He recorded some of the biggest hits of Latin Soul, Boogaloo, Salsa and Funk, including ‘Gypsy Woman’ and ‘Subway Joe.’ He has become a cult…
Rumbero de Corazon by Dorance Lorza & Sexteto Cafe
The latest smooth salsa sounds from maestro arranger and vibrophonist Dorance Lorza
The Latinolife Incubator: A Leg up for Emerging Latin artists
Since 2022, Latinolife has hosted annual Incubator events, giving young Latin artists the visibility, knowledge, and networks they need to navigate today’s competitive music landscape.
The Phenomenon of Latin Music in the US
Back in the late seventies an outstanding documentary was made about Salsa in New York and its social significance. It became a seminal work. Thirty years later its director Jeremy Marre, commissioned by the BBC, went back to…
La Yegros at Rich Mix
La Yegros is so cool. Self-aware and on top of everything that goes on during the show, she comes to stage in high platform shoes, short skirts, afro hair up, really up, and full of colour. Tones of green, pink, blue, yellow, and…
The Simplicity of Complexity
Multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, Zé Ibarra, began garnering attention aged 15 as the voice and pianist of Rio band Dônica, and went on to co-found Bala Desejo with Dora Morelenbaum, Julia Mestre, Lucas Nunes, which…
The Reggeatón Evolution – Three Decades of Flow
When quintessentially English band Clean Bandit was recently rocking X Factor with their latest hit ‘Rockabye,’ few watching would have known that the country that invented its catchy beat was banned from playing it for years.…
Latinolife's Best Party Tracks of 2016
As the Reggeatón beat continues to generate global party anthems, and mainstream music sees Latin influence on an unprecedented scale, we thought we'd pay tribute to this incredibly appealing and uniquely Latin beat, with…
THE DECEMBER REGGAETON RECAP | 2025
What a year 2025 has been, but don’t wish it away too fast, there’s still a whole month of new music to digest from some of your favourite Latin stars. If you’re after a way to kickstart your new year, how about a brand-new…
LatinoLife's Christmas Bangers 2018
After a year of reggaetón smashers, the ladies show they rule with hits that are sending the year off with a bang
One Minute in Time
One of the greatest references of Argentine rock drumming, Jorge Araujo played for years with Los Divididos, one of the best and most popular rock bands in Latin America, and later Gran Martell. Now Araujo launches his second…