The Things That Tie Us
During his day job as a Spanish criminal interpreter in a small town in California, filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes met a young man named Sansón, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was sentenced to life in prison without parole.…
Argentina: Forty years of the ‘Mad Mothers’
April 30 marked the 40th anniversary of the foundation in Argentina of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo. Some of them are still searching for their disappeared loved ones.
Trovador Extraordinaire
In an era where bland music and meaningless lyrics pollute the airwaves, singer-songwriters such as Pablo Milanes, the legendary Cuban icon and one of the founders of Nueva Trova, are revered more than ever. His songs about the…
The Food Guerrillero
When Gordon Ramsay dubs you the ‘Antonio Banderas of Spanish cooking’ surely its a provocation. In the quest to modify taboos and fears over the complexity of the meals, Omar Allibhoy found his calling: presenting to the British…
LATIN LONDONER #9 Paco Peña - Flamenco Guitarist
The Spanish Flamenco Maestro who has become living example of an artist that has explored the best of London’s diversity and multiculturalism whilst cherishing his Spanish roots to make simply beautiful music.
Prawns with Habanero and Coriander
Spice up your midweek meal to produce a fast food piece of magic - if you love working with fresh ingredients this dish is totally inspirational. Prawns has such a unique flavour and easy to enhance it with the slight punch of…
Haikus for a Pandemic
Leo Boix is a bilingual poet, translator and journalist born in Argentina who lives and works in the UK. Boix has published two poetry collections in Spanish, Un lugar propio (2015) and Mar de noche (2017), and has been included…
The Reggaetón Boss
Back in 2005, Daddy Yankee became the only Reggaetón artist ever to chart in the UK, with 'Gasolina' at #4. Now the same artist has again hit the spot and broken another record with his current song ‘Despacito,’…
Lita Stantic: The ‘Producer’ of New Argentine Cinema
The career of Argentine film director, scriptwriter and producer Lita Stantic spans for longer than four decades, a time during which Argentine cinema has established itself as a reference among national cinemas. Despite having…
Telajeta Musica de Venezuela in London (White Label)
A daring new take on Venezuelan music by a collective of London-based musicians including Caracas-born Ernesto Marichales on drums and percussion. Re-arranged and ‘jazzified’ by the whole band, Musica de Venezuela brings classics…
Above All...
‘Sobretodo’ in Spanish is the word for ‘coat’, but the literal translation means ‘about everything’, a detail not lost on the author, as this delightful selection of poems by Argentine author Sylvia Libedinsky is exactly that:…
"They Looked for Them out of Love"
'Abuelas' is a film about a group of ordinary grandmothers who became extraordinary women. Known as the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, these women have spent almost 50 years looking for their ‘disappeared’ grandchildren who…
LATIN LONDONER #53 - Jimena Larraguivel, Actor, Writer
Mexican actor Jimena Larraguivel has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company twice - first in 2018, in a musically devised piece about the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico, and then again in 2023 in the UK tour of…
Things we love about...El Puerto, Punta del Este
For decades now, Punta del Este has been the summer destination of choice for wealthy Argentines, Brazilians and, more recently, celebrities from all over Latin America and beyond. The likes of Naomi Campbell, Ralph Lauren,…
TIDES (2017) Unwinding down winding canals
Shot in mesmerizing Black & White against a backdrop of Surrey’s serene canals, a group of forty something friends who have not seen each other for a while, decide to spend a weekend on a narrow boat to rekindle their…
The Isolation Film List
You may have missed them first time around in the cinema, but here’s ten relatively recent Latin-American films available online to watch in isolation – you won’t be disappointed!
Maria (2024) by multi-award-winning Chilean director Pablo Larraín.
“I’m in a mood for adulation” Pablo Larraín explores the last years in the life of coloratura soprano María Callas once the applause had faded, as she lives, almost unknown and forgotten in a sumptuous apartment in Paris, France…
Spain's Film Intellectual: interview with Ramon Luque
A lover of Woody Allen and Ingmar Bergman, Spanish director Ramon Luque is a great Film intellectual, known just as much for his nine books than for the three films that he's made. His latest film, the critically acclaimed…
COSMIC CONNECTIONS
Patricia Diaz describes herself as a migrant storyteller, for she has lived longer in London than in her native Colombia. Her debut novel ‘The Golden Bat’ touches on the tragic events of the 1985 Nevado del Ruiz volcano eruption…
Latin Shorts
Since short films were removed from accompanying all features at cinemas, they have struggled to find venues to reach an audience. The The 21st London Short Film Festival aims to change that, in style. We review four Latin…
THE ROAD TO PATAGONIA Dir. Matty Hannon
This is a document of 16 years of ecologist Matty Hannon’s life, as he follows his dream to travel and be at one with nature, while falling in love and surfing some of the wildest waves on the planet travelling down America'…
Nature’s Children
We can all recognize the low whistle opening To My Love, or the growing drum and guitar rhythm of Fuego. Fans of Colombia’s hippest electro-tropical outfit will be dying to see Bomba Estereo after its 4-year break since Ayo. With…
Cañas y Tapas
The London franchise of a well known Spanish Chain delivers service and quality in Islington
Real People Hurt
The female voice of self-assured sensitivity, angst, frustration, betrayal, love, yearning and truth was once a staple of music. But somewhere along the line the frank and authentic female vocalist has been lost. Cue the…
Latin Londoner #47 - Esco, Music Producer
Esco is an young up-and-coming sound engineer and producer. Born in Camden to Jamaican and Colombian parents he has absorbed two musical cultures in a very London way. After being heavily involved in gangs as a teenager which…
‘The Silence of my Hands’ (2024) by Mexican documentary film maker Manuel Acuña.
Screening at the 2025 BFI Flare LGBTQAI+ Film Festival, ‘The Silence of my Hands’ follows the travails of two deaf Mexican women who struggle to keep their relationship alive despite separations, the short spells when they are…
LATINOLIFE'S NEW YEAR'S HOTLIST
At Latino Life we like to bring in the New Year with Latin bang...here's a few ways to help
Classic Album: 'MTO² New Generation' by Don Omar
We revisit Don Omar's Album "Meet the Orphans 2: New Generation", released nine years ago. Full of surprises and without a shadow of a doubt, an album that made history in music.
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…
THE LUKAS MUSIC WINNERS 2019
Undoubtedly the best ever year in terms of the range and quality of nominations, we proudly present this year’s LUKAS winners 2019 for Outstanding Contribution to Music
Ana Victoria's Story - Part 4: A Life of Purpose
Ana Victoria is an Afro-Colombian biologist and the first female Colombian Anglican priest. After being kidnapped by armed traffickers while she was working with indigenous communities in the Choco region, she subsequently fled…
Córdoba: Tierra Querida
It is easy to see why the city of Córdoba is overlooked by many travellers. Tucked in between Andalusia’s ‘southern capital’ Seville and the mountainous territory of Granada, Córdoba – which makes up the third city in what is…
Magical Martel
Back in 2001, La Cienaga (The Swamp), the first feature film by a 35-year-old Lucrecia Martel, had a profound effect on the film world, earning fans such as Pedro Almadover and launching the young Argentine as a major world class…
LINA TUR BONET & MUSICA ALCHEMICA bring new shine to ‘Il Grosso Mogul’ of Vivaldi
LINA TUR BONET & MUSICA ALCHEMICA have recently released a superb new recording of ‘Il Grosso Mogul’. The CD “Antonio Vivaldi Il Grosso Mogul, Violin Concertos & Sonatas” includes some of the lesser known music of Vivaldi…
Covid-19 in Latin America – Update 13, 25 August
The incidence of coronavirus and the responses of governments and local communities. Update No.13.