Image
She Who Demands the Stage
Diva is the Latin word for goddess and Cuban-Spanish singer, Lucy Calcines, became just that when her performance on The Voice UK in 2020 raised the studio to its feet, got four judges turning and became the most streamed…
The Essence of Salsa Aristocracy: why we love Pete 'El Conde' Rodriguez
Of all the legendary crooners of salsa’s golden era, Fania founder Pacheco always claimed that Pete 'El Conde' Rodriguez was his favourite singer. And you only need to listen to his songs to see why: the understated…
Finding Freedom
After a decade as one of the most sought-after salsa musicians in Europe, Rene Alvarez is embarking on a long-life dream of fusing his Afro-Cuban heritage with his love of North American funk. His new band, Alvarez Funk, departs…
We Love Johnny Pacheco
And this is the bit where we say thank you to the legend on whose shoulders we stand. Put simply, Johnny Pacheco, flautist, percussionist, bandleader, arranger and co-founder of Fania Records, was one of the most influential…
10 London Latina DJs to watch out for
In the macho world of Latin DJs, Latina and Latinx talent have had to fight tooth and nail for their rightful place. Here are those who have done so, and whose blood, guts and passion can be heard in their sets that sing with…
UK Latino Music Producers
With the UK Latin urban music scene boiling over into the mainstream, a generation of talented Latino producers are rising to the surface. Drawing on their diverse Latin American roots, London influences, and the talent and…
Things That Matter to...Alfredo Rodríguez
Widely considered to be one of the most gifted and exciting jazz pianists of his generation, Alfredo Rodríguez’s high-octane, warm and joyous musicianship won him at first the mentorship of Quincy Jones then a Grammy nomination.…
The Reluctant Artist
When his debut album 'Veneer' went platinum back in 2006 while a Phd student at Gothenberg University, José González’s life changed forever. About to embark on a career as a ground-breaking scientist, his instantly…
Things That Matter to…Eliane Correa
Eliane Correa studied piano and composition at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, before relocating to London where she quickly gained fame for her work as a composer, musician and bandleader. After years as arranger,…
Remembering Lalo Rodriguez
"Lalo" Rodríguez was one of salsa’s great prodigies. The talk of the town in his native Puerto Rico in the early 70s when, at the age of 15, he was a discovered by Eddie Palmieri, the phenomenal force in Latin music at…
Prodigious Child
Silvana Estrada grew up in rural Mexico in a home where music and instruments were made; both of her parents are luthiers. She was raised singing Mexican son jarocho before studying jazz and absorbing the music of the likes of…
Street Elegance
L-Gante is one of the most exciting, original and successful urban artists to emerge from Latin America in recent years. Emerging from the working-class suburbs of Buenos Aires, the boy from el barrio came out of nowhere and…
Things That Matter to…Susana Baca
Three-time Latin Grammy winner, Susana Baca is Peru’s most internationally renowned artist, who shone a light on the previously little known world of Afro-Peruvian rythmns. In 2021, she marked the 50th year of her career with the…
Remembering...Pablo Milanés (1943-2022)
Where Poetry and patriotism meet sublime musicality. Any Latin American will know the angelic voice of one of Cuba's most well known singer-song writers, who stands tall amidst a plethora of Cuban musical legends. Love songs…
Hot Steppin’ Chamo
With his latest single ‘Hot Steppa’ breaking records as the fastest-growing UK-produced Latino song ever, clocking over 160k views in YouTube in 4 days, Angelo Flow is on a high. The song, a collaboration with dancehall legend J…
Candela Records announces "Hot Steppa" Angelo Flow's latest single featuring & J Spades and Diztortion
Following on from his club hit "Solo Tu", Angelo teams up with UK rap pioneer J Spades on a new JA dancehall influenced "Hot Steppa". Fusing the artists' Jamaican and Venezuelan Caribbean flows and London…
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…
10 Love Songs to play your Valentine
To be honest, we could make a hundred lists of Latino love songs, indeed we have, so this year we decided to put it out to the public. Here is what we got for the Valentine's Playlist 2023!
We Love...Gal Costa
Endowed with a charismatic and exquisite voice filled with stylistic delights, Maria da Graҫa Costa Penna Burgos (better known as Gal Costa) was a native of Salvador, Bahia. Along with Maria Bethania, she was one of the primary…
Spotlight on…Rubén Blades
There are many great salsa tunes; ones that, when you hear them in a club and you’re dancing, you don’t want them to end. And then there is Rubén Blades; the Panamanian song-writing law student with an abundance of rhythm,…
A Megaphone for Peru's Musical Wealth
One of Peru's most groundbreaking bands, with a trajectory of almost 40 years, PeruJazz has germinated the fusion between traditional and contemporary, folkloric and urban, the cajón and the saxophone. Drawing inspiration…
10 Rising Stars of Argentine Music
Argentines have a tradition of autogestión; a culture of dynamism and resilience where people just get on with it. This generation is no different: Just like their predecessors watched, copied and carved their own identity to…
From Rock to Reggaeton: Argentina’s Revolutionary Road
Once known for producing Latin America’s greatest rock icons, Argentina was forced to take a back seat as the tropical urban beats from the Caribbean conquered the Latin music market. Yet the recent success of “Bzrp Music…
SON OF HIPHOP: An interview with Trueno
Of the dozens of artists being hailed as the ‘next big thing’ in Argentine urban music, one has caught our attention. The son of a true pioneer of Argentine hiphop, Trueno has grown up immersed in the genre: a technically…
Brave New Woman: An Interview with Nathy Peluso
Fiery and fearless, big and bold, Nathy Peluso aims to provoke. A woman’s woman, she creates characters and shape-shifts between styles, genres and languages; hiphop, R&B, salsa or jazz - nothing fazes this Spanish raised-…
Camilo ‘Azuquita’ - A Black Man from Panama - (1945-2022)
He was the daddy of salsa singers, the ultimate papichulo with his crisp swagger and style and one of our favourite salsa singers of all time. Luis Camilo Argumédez had a voice like honey that was so distinctive, so sweet and…
The Global Adventures of Paquito D’Rivera
From child prodege in Havana to one of the greatest Latin jazz artists of our times, we pay tribute to the great Cuban musician and all round renaissance man.
LatinoLife - The UK's First Latina-run National Portfolio Organisation
In April 2023 LatinoLife became the UK's first and only Latina-run National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), selected to be part of the UK government's ‘most varied and ambitious’ portfolio of NPOs. In being chosen as one…
The Wonderful World of Tim Maia
Back in the 1970s the deep velvety voice of Tim Maia sparked a revolution in Brazilian mainstream culture that went well beyond music, igniting the rise of the Black Rio movement. His bassy tone, resembling that of his funk and…
THE POWER OF NOW: An Interview with Cultura Profética
Cultura Profética is one of Puerto Rico's most influential bands. Formed in 1996, the group came to encapsulate what it is to be Latin Caribbean with its unique fusion of Caribbean reggae and Latin genres such as bossa nova…
An Aural Mapping of Nostalgia
One of the most critically and commercially successful bands to emerge from Latin America, Café Tacvba have come to define the essence of Mexican rock. Ahead of their European Tour this September, Shyal Bhandari speaks with…
LatinoLife 22 Confirms its Place as 'the UK's Most Inclusive Festival'
The only UK festival to be chosen for 'The Inclusive Festival Guide' compiled by European research project Fest Space, LatinoLife's 7th edition delivered the UK's biggest Latin music Festival. London’s only…
TIMBA’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN
Those who were enjoying Eliane Correa and su Evolución at this weekend's LatinoLife in the Park, are no doubt are fans of Maykel Blanco - today's bonafide guru Cuban Timba. Lucky for them, for the first time in six…
Reclaiming The Streets
Ryan Castro is the latest in a string of Medellin music sensations to reach global fame, with hits such as Jordan, Wasa Wasa, Malory and Mujeriego. Just as Colombia’s ‘City of Eternal Spring’ has come to be known as the new…
Mexican Maverick
Striking gold in 2018 with his diamond-certified hit ‘Fuentes de Ortiz’, Latin Grammy-winning 21-year-old Mexican, Eduardo Hernández Saucedo, also known as Ed Maverick, became one of Latin America’s most in-demand talents…
Latest Content
Food
Alcoholic drinks from Maté tea? Is this possible or too far-fetched?
A fine liqueur ‘YERBA SPIRIT, and a smooth ‘LONDON MATE DRY GIN’, both made with Maté tea, have…
Film & Theatre
FORASTERA (2025), Catalan writer/ director Lucía Aleñar Iglesias’ debut…
Developed into a full- length feature film from her successful multi-nominated short of the same…
Music
THE AUGUST REGGAETON RECAP
As we enjoy the last few days of sunshine and blue skies, artists have been dropping some upbeat…
Most Viewed
Top 10 Argentine Footballers
As one of the biggest football teams in South America and the world, the Argentine Football…
Top 10 Mexican Boxers
Globally, Mexico is known as a boxing powerhouse, boasting some of the greatest champions in the…
Ballads and Boleros
LatinoLife's Favourite Mexican Male Singers of all Time
Since the days when Mexico was a serious rival to Hollywood in terms of film production and quality…
