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Congaheads: Martin Cohen and Salsa's Jewish Connection
Like with Jazz, American Jews have had an almost century-long love affair with Latin music, dating as far back as the 1940s when immigrants arrived simultaneously from post-war Europe and the Latin Caribbean, sharing a common…
Top 10 Queer Latin Club Tracks
Continuing our celebration of LGBTQ+ History month, we invited El Tuma a London-based DJ and co-founder of the dance party MARICUMBIA, to gives us his list of classic tunes that still rock London’s the queer Latinx club scene.…
Reggaeton Legends: Tego Calderón
From Santurce, Puerto Rico, raised in Carolina and Miami, FL, rapper Tego Calderón got the courage to become a star in the genre-mixing world of reggaeton. He grew up in Río Grande and Carolina, areas that maintain some of the…
“The Birth of Latin Jazz was simultaneous to the Birth of Jazz”
Associate Professor of Music at Columbia University, Chris Washburne is one of the world’s leading academics on both jazz and Latin music and a respected musician in his own right, having played with many of the artists he writes…
Cano Estremera Tunes That Rock the Dancefloor
Cano Estremera, Puerto Rico's unique albino Salsa star, was one of those rare talents that probably deserved more recognition that he got. A controversial figure he was, still incredibly talented when it came to the dying…
Remembering, Mongo Santamaría, Cuban Percussionist (1917-2003)
Mongo Santamaria is arguably the best Conguero ever! Part of that generation of Cuban percussionists who emigrated to the States in the 40s and 50s, Mongo had a fantastic career, recording crossover hits, releasing critically…
Surrogate Latina #5: Sara Mc Guinness, Pianist and Bandleader
In 2018, Sara Mc Guinness was the first non-Latinx to win the LUKAS Musician of the Year. So respected and revered is Sara amongst Latin musicians in the UK that, will very little self-promotion, she garnered the most votes in…
Music City Guide: Medellin
Medellin, the Colombian city ringing with music and undeniably an epicentre of Reggaeton worldwide, with J Balvin, Maluma, Karol G, Camilo and many more Urban artists all born there, has always been a city of music lovers. Not…
Things That Matter to...La Chica
Uniting Paris Belleville and Merida, Sophie Fustec was born in Paris to a French father and Venezuelan mother. Between visits to Merida, Sophie studied violin and then piano, for 13 years in the conservatory and then sound…
Latin Londoner #35: Adriana Cavita, Chef and Food Entrepreneur
Adriana Cavita, the prodigious Mexican chef who previously worked at El Bulli and Pujol, is bringing the authentic flavours of Mexico to London at her debut restaurant, Cavita.
Apache: HipHop Sin Fronteras
The quality of Venezuelan Hip Hop has always been undeniable amongst fans of Latin HipHop, having produced international talent such as Canserbero, Lil Suppa, McKlopedia, Akapellah, along with the following artist. Larry Rada,…
Music City Guide: Bogotá
Over the years, LatinoLife has built up relationships with amazing DJs worldwide, whose passion, knowledge and dedication to music we admire. In the second part of our new series MUSIC CITY GUIDES, where we ask DJs from around…
Remembering Amalia Rodrigues, Fado singer (1939-1999)
One of Portugal’s most beloved music stars, Amalia Rodrigues held the heart of a nation for more than 50 years, singing in the style of one of her country’s most enduring folk music traditions, fado.
Things That Matter to...Arya
The second profile in our series on Venezuelan Diaspora Music, we are delighted to present a true rising star; Italo-Venezuelan singer/songwriter Arya. Daughter of Orlando Watussi, a well-known Venezuelan salsa singer, Arya grew…
Things You Should Know About...Latin Jazz pioneers
Latin Jazz or Jazz Latino…the Latino “tinge” was part of American Jazz DNA from day one but somehow has been, at best, perceived as a sub-genre or, at worst, erased from history books. When Cuban musicians arrived in Harlem in…
City Music Guide: Cali
Over the years LatinoLife has built up relationships with amazing DJs around the world; their passion, knowledge and dedication to the music they love we admire. As part of a new series, we decided to ask our friends for the…
The Queen of Quechua Pop Grows Up
Back in 2018, Renata Flores Rivera burst onto the international music map with her cover of Michael Jackson’s ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’ in Quechua, the indigenous language of the Incas. The video received almost two million…
Tito Rojas Dies at 65
There are very few salsa artists who had the level of success that Tito Rojas had during the 90s. One of the best selling Latino artists of that decade, he managed to stay relevant until pretty much he passed away a few weeks ago…
ARMANDO MANZANERO : LIGHTS GO OUT FOR MEXICO'S SMOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN
Armando Manzanero was one of Mexico’s greatest romantic composers, whose ballads were performed by the likes of Elvis Presley and Christina Aguilera and, most famously, provided the tunes for Luis Miguel's best selling…
Latin Londoner #33: Natalia Luisbassa, Conductor
Coming up through Venezuela's world famous El Sistema, Natalia became the first person to obtain a degree in Orchestral Conducting in Venezuela. She completed her postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music (RCM) in…
Remembering José José, Mexican Singer (1948-2019)
Mexico is a land blessed with many things, including a huge amount of phenomenal singers and one of the most populars ever is who they call “El Principe”, the Prince of Song, José José. A hugely popular figure in his native…
Top 10 Music Docs on Netflix
At LatinoLife we love our music and there are some great documentaries we've discovered on Netflix that we want to share...from a panoramic view into the electrifying world of Latin Rock to the fascinating lives of music…
Pao Pestana
Pao Pestana’s feisty cocktail of seductive beats and gritty sensuality packs a contagious punch. The Venezuelan-born, London-based singer-songwriter and Producer self-released ‘Quiero Verte’ in October, attracting the attention…
Do Bad Bunny Music Videos Spell the Future?
Officially the world’s most popular artist: 26-year-old Puerto Rican vocalist Bad Bunny, streamed more than 8.3bn times this year on Spotify alone. With 3 chart-topping, history-making albums in 2020 alone, Bad Bunny is on track…
Remembering Daniel Santos, Puerto Rican Singer (1916-1992)
Very few singers have been able to combine Puerto Rican and Cuban music to create one single style like Puerto Rican Daniel Santos did. His long connection with the best Cuban music of the 1940s and 50s provided his musical work…
OUR TIME TO SHINE
Sons and daughters of immigrants, the UK’s first-generation Spanglish-singing Latino-Brits have been busy creating in the shadows of a bustling UK urban music scene. But with music in Spanish now making the global hits, they…
Clementina, Where Are You?
In Brazil, Cinderella has a different name - Clementina. Clementina de Jesus worked for decades as a maid before being discovered, at the age of 62, by a record producer and composer named Herminio Bello de Carvalho. With the…
Victor Jara, Singer-songwriter (1932-1973)
Victor Jara was a popular folk singer in Chile, who was tortured and murdered in 1973 by the military coup led by Augusto PInochet. Ever since, the man and his music has been an inspiration for millions across the world. Almost…
Victor Jara presente – Across the World
'The Right to Live in Peace' and 'Manifesto': the two Victor Jara Songs of hope of the 1970s that became anthems for today's young protesters
Latin Londoner no.31: Angelo Flow, Reggaeton Artist
22-year old Angelo Quesini, known as 'Angelo Flow’, is a reggaetón artist born in Valencia, Venezuela. After living in Italy for three years, he came to London, and decided to stay. And the luck might be ours for the word on…
Strength in Music
And the music must go on. We brought together eight of London’s finest Latin bands and artists to record together, some of them for the very first time since lockdown in March, in what proved to be an emotional encounter. All…
Mariza Canta Amália
Mariza, the singer that helped bring Fado into the 21st century pays tribute to the late Amália Rodrigues, the Queen of Fado, up there with the great voices of 20th century, in her latest album. Dr. Vinicius Mariano de Carvalho,…
Orchesta Guayacán Tunes That Rock The Dance Floor
Orquesta Guayacan is without a doubt one of Colombia's greatest musical institutions. For over 35 years they have been one of the most prolific, consistent and best bands to come out of Cali, not an easy task considering…
Alejo Durán (1919-1989) - Colombia’s first king of Vallenato
Alejo Durán was the first accordion player to win the Leyendas de Vallenato Festival, an event that creates superstars in Colombia. Labourer by day and one of the country's most prolific Vallenato composers and performers by…
Roberto Roena Tunes That Rock the Dance Floor
What can we say about Roberto Roena and his Apollo Sound? Well, he went from dancer to Bongocero to bandleader and mastered all three tasks, becoming one of the most recognised salsa musicians ever. Apart from being the leading…
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