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Celluloid Colonialism
Felipe Gálvez’s much-anticipated directorial debut, ‘The Settlers’, deals with a taboo topic in Chile’s official history - the genocide of the Selk’nam people in Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost part of South America, at the…
A Timeline of Greatness - Musical Anniversaries to Celebrate in 2024
Here at LatinoLife, whilst nurturing up-and-coming artists, we never forget on whose should we stand and who we have to thank for the rich tapestry of sounds that we’ve inherited. This year in particular we look forward to some…
Deconstructing Chile's Past
Up and coming Chilean writer/ director FELIPE CARMONA URRUTIA's 'Penal Cordillera’ (2023) was nominated for the Sutherland Award (Best First Feature) at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival. He talks to Corina J Poore…
Penal Cordillera (2023) by Felipe Carmona Urrutia
“Not only condors fly.” In 'Penal Cordillera' a group of five high-ranking military officers convicted of crimes against humanity during the Pinochet Military Dictatorship, find their privileges threatened at their…
Untangling to Reveal
Chilean-born Cecilia Vicuña is one of Latin America’s most celebrated artists. Her most ambitious work yet is currently being shown at the Tate Modern - a multi-part installation made up of sculpture, sound, music and video. At…
“The Horror Seeps Through the Cracks”
Set during the harshest period of the Pinochet Dictatorship, ‘1976’ (2022) is an intelligent and moving study of a well-to-do housewife, Carmen, who, after being asked to care for a wounded activist, finds her life changing and…
1976 (2022) Dir. Manuela Martelli
“Be careful in the future, you are not always that lucky!” Manuela Martelli's ‘1976’ (2022), winner of the ‘First Feature’ Category at the BFI London Film Festival 2022, studies how the pressures of a repressive regime…
‘MY IMAGINARY COUNTRY’ 2022, by Chilean director Patricio Guzmán
“When you want to film a fire, you have to be ready to be where the flames will first appear”. (Chris Marker) Chilean director Patricio Guzmán has created a moving documentary film, ‘My Imaginary Country’ in which he records the…
Odd One Out
Hailed as one of the most promising jazz musicians of her generation, Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana is somewhat of an anomoly. Amaranta Wright meets Blue Note’s latest signing and discovers an incredible journey from a…
Rebel Spirit
Ana Tijoux is well known for her strong lyrics that question the status quo, whether social, political, religious, cultural or economic. In the best tradition of Latin American cantaurores, the Chilean-French hip-hop singer…
Films to Watch Before You Die #5: 'Palomita Blanca' by Raúl Ruiz
CHILE IN VIEW - Palomita Blanca (Little White Dove) A teenage love affair in times of civil unrest and military dictatorship. Our fifth entry of “Latin American films you should watch before you die” is one of the most…
To Fight or Not To Fight
The English-language production of Chilean playwright Pablo Manzi's 'A Fight Against' debuts at London's Royal Court Theatre until 22 January 2022. 'Una lucha contra' portrays violence as a shared…
Inside Rome’s Operation Condor Trial: An Interview with Dr Francesca Lessa
On 8 July 2021 in Rome, Italy’s Supreme Court charged 14 former officials and military personnel with the murder of Italian citizens in South America during Operation Condor. Oxford academic, Dr Francesca Lessa, and MPhil student…
Neo Perreo: the Fusion of Reggaeton and a Dark Liberating Fantasy
Who’d have thought that a girl from a remote town in northern Chile, would put a new dance movement on the global map? As reggaetón continues to dominate the world with its catchy beat and sexualised imagery, every country has…
Que Vivan 'Los Turcos': Latin America's Arab connection
Last year, when the crisis in Colombia coincided with the Israeli incursion into Gaza, Colombian and Latino social media platforms were awash with calls for solidarity with Palestinians, after the distressing scenes of the…
AMAZONAS: The Beauty of Britain's Afro-Indigenous Latinas
Carina Costa Londono brings together some of Britain’s proud Afro-Indigenous to show their natural beauty in a pioneering photo shoot
Queer Films from Spain and Latin America
Celebrating LGBTQ+ History month, here are some films from Latin American and Spanish directors celebrating queerness that we love and we thought you would too.
Great Latin American film from 2021
2021 was a difficult year for film, especially cinema releases. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the 2021 Academy Awards event took place in April 2021, at the usual event venue, the spectacular Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los…
Black Heroines of Latin American History
Being an female activist meant putting your life at risk, being a black female activist was a probable death sentence, yet these courageous women took that risk, and gave their lives in some cases, in order to shape our history.…
THE MOLE AGENT (2020) Dir. Maite Alberdi
“I love the fact that everything I would like to invent already exists; the challenge is to find it!” With this attitude, Chilean director Maite Alberdi brings her highly original eye to her documentaries, not least THE MOLE…
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…
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
ELLA ES CRISTINA Dir. Gonzalo Maza
Life is in colour but sometimes we need to see it in black and white. In ‘Ella es Cristina’ (This is Cristina, 2020), award-winning Chilean writer/ director Gonzalo Maza explores the power of female friendship set against the…
Indigenous Heroes and Heroines of Colonial Latin America
In celebration of Indigenous Peoples' Day, a day which began as a counter-celebration to el Dia de la Raza or 'Columbus Day' (still shamefully celebrated in Spain and the US to celebrate the colonisation and…
Chile: The Right, Victor Jara and a Crucial Plebiscite
According to polls, the majority of the Chilean public favours changing the Pinochet constitution, yet as the Piñera government attempts to repair the economy by rapidly moving the country out of lock-down, the campaign to oppose…
Things You Should Know About...Chilean Cinema
Chilean cinema is on a high at the moment with directors such as Pablo Larrain and Sebatian Lelio creating some of the most original and critically acclaimed works of the day, but it has had a tumultuous past. Although Chilean…
'Britain and the Dictatorships of Argentina and Chile' by Grace Livingstone
Ask anyone active in the British left during the 1970s and 1980s and they are likely to remember stories about Chile: Hawker Hunter jets bombing the presidential palace, the murderous Pinochet regime (1973-1990), Chilean refugees…
Violeta Parra, Chilean Singer and Composer (1917-1967)
'The Mother of Latin American folk' left her mark not only on Chile but on all of Latin America. Her songs and her unyielding dedication to local musical traditions made her unique and her legacy eternal. Today, we take…
DANCING QUEEN
Charismatic, dynamic and sensual, Mariana di Girolamo has caused a stir as the protagonist of Pablo Larraín’s new film EMA alongside Gael Garcia Bernal. Corina Poore talks to the rising Chilean movie star about her role as an out…
Top 10 Contemporary Classic Fiction
We bring you masters of contemporary fiction, some are already becoming classics, all of which, once started you cannot put down, whether in Spanish or English.
"Critics in Chile Did Not Consider Me a Writer"
Isabel Allende is one of the Spanish-speaking world’s most widely read authors. The award-winning Chilean novelist has written over twenty books, which have gone on to sell over 74 million copies worldwide and be translated into…
Chronicle of a Repression Foretold
In 1975, one-year-old Carole Concha Bell and her family journeyed into exile. They fled Chile as refugees during the Pinochet dictatorship, after her grandfather, a government official for the democratically elected Socialist…
Chile: Why Didn't This Happen Before
Dear friends, our country received so much help from you in its struggle to regain democracy, that I decided to send you this mini-report. After all, what are friends for?
Chile's Artistic Renaissance Questions the Past
From decades of silence and a few lone voices such as documentary-maker Patricio Guzman, has come a flourishing arts industry in Chile, with film studios like Fabula, Oscar-winning directors like Sebastian Lelio, and artists like…
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