
THE EYES OF THE NIGHT at the Cervantes Theatre.
Directed by the Australian director and movement specialist Simone Coxall, the art production and mise- en- scène on the Cervantes stage of “The Eyes of the Night”, sets the tone of the production at a glance, having it…
Caballerango (Dir Juan Pablo González)
‘CABALLERANGO’, by Mexican film maker Juan Pablo González, is a feature-length documentary examining the effects of a suicide on a family and the people of a village afflicted by more than one such death, some by consuming…
Djon África ( 2018) Directed by Filipa Reis and João Miller Guerra
Terratreme Films is a production company based in Lisbon, Portugal. Their aim acknowledges that only the direct intervention of the directors in the concept, pre-production and budget can lead to a successful outcome that…
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…
ROJO (2018) Dir Benjamin Naishtat
“Sometime people participate by taking action but sometimes they act through omission.” Set in Argentina during the 1970s and early 1980s, this psychological thriller questions another dark side of the period of military…
‘WE MUST THROW THE COWS DOWN THE RAVINE’ Dir Orlando Arocha
The Teatro Cervantes is opening up to international artists and playwrights and attracting more interesting talent every year. This year ‘La Caja de Fósforos’ Theatre group from Venezuela brings us the moving play: “We must Throw…
THE CHAMBERMAID Dir. Lila Avilés
Filmed in an astonishing 17 days, the multi- award-winning film, THE CHAMBERMAID, follows the daily routine of a 20-something chambermaid who is responsible for the 21st floor of a 5-star luxury hotel. Endless corridors…
Batida Lisboa (Dir. Rita Maia, Vasco Viana)
Rita Maia and Vasco Viana’s charming musical documentary takes us on a journey around the tough Lisbon ghettos and suburbs where we experience the lives of a number of Portuguese-speaking African musicians who are searching to…
Sara Baras @ Sadlers Wells
Challenging the traditionalists, Sara Baras synchronises music, lighting and design with dance to astonish and inspire.
Daddy Yankee performs @ 02 Arena
London provided an electric atmosphere at The 02 but the performance by the King of Reggaetón didn't do it justice, says Abhijit Kapadia
ORDINARY TIME (Tempo Común) Dir. Susana Nobre
A contemplative and minimalist film that reveals a moving life cycle as it delves into the lives of a young couple and their daughter during her first year of life. A quiet study of parenthood with a gentle intimacy and subtle…
Indigenous Brazilian electronic art comes to London’s British Academy
A fishing net that recreates the sound of the ocean. An earthenware pot that emits traditional stories and songs. A cocoon-like structure that pulses with light to the rhythm of your beating heart. These are some of the results…
Diego Maradona (Dir. Asif Kapadia)
In the Shakespearean tragedy that is the movie 'Diego Maradona', master documentary story-teller Asif Kapadia offers football's most revered and loathed protagonist a chance for redemption
OUR TIME (Dir. Carlos Reygadas)
‘Our Time’ (Nuestro Tiempo) 2018 challenges our ideas of man’s condition in life. Juan Díaz and his beautiful wife Esther run a ranch in Mexico rearing fighting bulls. They have a perfect relationship in an open marriage, or so…
Ayahuasca, Colonialist Mysticism and Exploitation of Indigenous People
A Review of 'The Cull of Personality - Ayahuasca, Colonialism, and the Death of a Healer' by Kevin Tucker
MARCOS VALLE- SEMPRE- Far Out (FARO 211 LP)
For several decades, Marcos Valle’s winning formula of well-produced bossa/boogie/beach vibes has been a shoo-in for non-Brazilian MPB fans and Sempre, his 28th album, is no different.
Afro-Cuba returns to Africa via London
A triumphant reunion for Boncana Maïga’s transatlantic charanga orchestra Las Maravillas De Mali...not so much a reunion as a reformation. Octogenarian master flautist, composer and arranger Boncana Maïga was the only original…
‘She’s Not There, You see Another Person’
The Cervantes Theatre has just opened its third Season of New Spanish Playwriting with the inventive and award-winning ‘La Realidad’ (The Reality) by Uruguayan playwright, Denise Despeyroux - the story of two identical twin…
Birds of Passage (Dir. Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra)
Through a series of five ‘songs’ or ‘cantos’, ‘Birds of Passage’ tells the painful story of how the drugs trade began in Colombia in the 1960s. From modest beginning, the Wayuu tribe found themselves involved as it began. The…
Peru Pop
Ella Windsor reports on a vibrant new resort wear brand from Peru, specialising in culottes, kimonos and beach dresses. All printed with vibrant symbols of Peru and other places from the travels of brand owner Camille Defago,…
West Side Story @ Manchester Royal Exchange
Mexican actress Gabriela Garcia's performance is worth a trip to Manchester, says Elizabeth Mistry
A Boy Called Sailboat (Dir. Cameron Nugent)
Once upon a time, a sick grandmother asked her grandson to write her a song on his little guitar. When he did, his song set a series of transformations in motion in this heart-warming fable.
Division Ave (2019)
This aptly named short film, ‘Division Ave’, illustrates the divide between immigrant workers and locals, and the struggle that these workers face, usually without work visas, to try to provide for their loved ones back home.
Messenger on a White horse (2019) El Mensajero
‘Messenger on a White Horse’ is a moving documentary that portrays the courage of Robert (Bob) Cox, Editor in Chief of THE BUENOS AIRES HERALD who dared to publish information exposing the human rights abuses carried out by the…
'Tu Casa Mi Casa' by Enrique Olvera
Enrique Olvera, the world-renowned chef behind Mexico City’s Pujol and New York’s Cosme, has collaborated with three Mexican chefs for his first home cooking book “Tu Casa Mi Casa”. Marketed as “Mexican recipes for the home cook…
‘Duologue’ by Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez
What happens when two titans of contemporary Cuban music collide? A rare work of art that sends shivers down the body to its very soul...
YULI (2018) – Born to Dance
YULI is a skilful adaptation by Paul Laverty (I, Daniel Blake) of the dancer Carlos Acosta’s life story as revealed in his autobiography 'No Way Home' Directed by Icíar Bollaín, the film conveys a sensitive intimacy…
EVERYBODY KNOWS - When a Secret is not a Secret
When a young teenager is kidnapped at a family wedding in a small Spanish town, layer-by-layer, dark secrets, unsatisfied revenge and rivalries are revealed. Unable to contact the police, the whole family is trapped in a fraught…
Paladar, SE1
Paladar offers an up-market experience without being pretentious or losing its Latin soul and strikes the right balance between quality, authenticity and atmosphere.
Louie Vega’s E.O.L. Soulfrito @ Royal Festival Hall
Little Louie Vega's Nuyorican soul turns the South bank concert hall into a club night. Latinolife's review with special video reportage
Two New Brazilian films revel in gore
Aficionados of fantasy and horror had a few treats in the 2018 London Film Festival, notably emerging from Brazil, The Cannibal Club 2018 (Guto Parente) and Morto não Fala (The Nightshifter 2018): one a minimalistic horror film (…
Tango Fire @ the Peacock
This phenomenal show - now in its 7th year - demonstrates new energy and drama every time it returns - a testament to German Cornejo's drive and love of his art, the reason Tango Fire is still as fresh as ever.
Escocesa
A marriage made in heaven as Spain 'a la Escocesa' finds its niche in Stoke Newington
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…