Ciro Guerra: "All My Films Have Been Misread'
Ciro Guerra, the Colombian director who brought’ WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS’ (2019), South African J.M. Coetzee’s novel to the screen, prefers films that are part of a living process. Films that invite debate and which slowly…
Art Therapy
Dairo Vargas started out in a village in Colombia, yet, thanks to the originality of his art, today his paintings and portraits figure in many private collections. Passionate about mental health, he dedicates a great deal of his…
THE LUKAS DANCE WINNERS 2019
From Tango and Salsa to Flamenco and Ballet, here are The LUKAS Winners For Outstanding Contribution To Dance
Top Ten Autumn Hits 2019
We really didn't want to accept it, but even we have to admit that summer is well and truly over. But although the days are getting colder and shorter, that just means the nights, and parties, get longer! These sizzling…
Reggaeton Soul
At the age of 19, Manuel Turizo is fast becoming the latest Colombian sensation to explode in the world of Reggaetón. His first hit 'Una Lady Como Tú' received over 1.3 billion YouTube views, while 'Vaina Loca…
MONOS (2019) DIR Alejandro Landes
In action thriller MONOS,which has just won the 'Best Film' Award at the 2019, 63rd BFI London Film Festival, Director Alejandro Landes takes us on a dramatic & vertiginous ride that rises to giddy heights, with no…
Manuel Turizo
A deep, authoritative voice, laced with the charm, typical of the Colombian costeño, Manuel Turizo is the new voice of the romantic, poetic Reggaeton coming out of Colombia that is storming the world. At a mere 17 years of age,…
WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (2019) Dir Ciro Guerra
In a sharp critique of the worst aspects of colonialism ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’, the feature film by Ciro Guerra (faithfully adapted from J M Coetzee’s 1980s novel of the same name) examines the wilful ignorance and…
Things You Should Know About...Colombian Reggaeton
Reggaeton may have been born in Panama and Puerto Rico, but lately it seems that the reggaeton everyone wants to hear is Colombian. Artists such as Carlos Vives, Kevin Roldan and Lalo Ebratt are storming the charts in what…
‘Cumbia was a means of liberation’ - An Interview with Sonora Dinamita
About to celebrate it’s 60th birthday, Sonora Dinamita was making Cumbia before the hipsters of Europe and Asia, who embraced the genre, were an apple in the eye of music marketeers. The Cartagena Cumbia group, who then moved to…
At the request of their fans, Jacob Forever and Nacho release the remix "Te liberé"
The Cuban Jacob Forever and the Venezuelan Nacho are premiere! After several days of promotion in social networks, Latin urban singers have just given the green light on YouTube to their new collaborative song.
Karol G has good results in the African continent singing in Spanish
The Colombian singer Karol G continues to go beyond with her music, and with her last presentation, she overcame cultural and language barriers, something that she herself did not believe. The artist participated this weekend at…
Colombia: The Peace Agreement Three Years On
Christian Aid's 'Ten Years' study documents the lives of marginalized people
Colombia’s struggle for sustainable development
The relationship between the natural environment and the armed conflict in Colombia is deeply interwoven and complex. Even following the Peace Accords, the issue of governance is at the root of the environmental challenges…
LATIN LONDONER #25 - Jamy - Singer-songwriter
Jamy is a Colombian singer, whose latest critically-acclaimed Tropical album "Cuentos de la Luna" (Moon tales), includnig Bachat and Kizomba - was produced in the Dominican Republic and is available on iTunes, Spotify…
J Balvin performs @ The Endz Festival June 2019
Colombian Reggaeton superstar lights up South London
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
Spirits, Birds, Omens, Dreams and Death.
Ciro Guerra & Cristina Gallego talk about their film ‘Birds Of Passage’, which relates the extraordinary narrative of how the incipient and often casual trade of Marijuana lead to the notorious drug’s trade in Colombia and…
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…
Colombia – Two Sisters, the FARC and the Peace Process
A tale of two sisters who grew up apart, their past shaped by the FARC, their future hopes for peace and social justice
Colombia: Stairway Storytellers in Medellín
In Medellin, Billie Melluish-Turner finds a project to replace ghoulish and superficial tourism with something real and sustainable
EXHALE AND RELEASE: The Story of Colombia’s Diaspora Women
Five years ago Diaspora Woman was founded under the name Truth, Memory and Reconciliation Commission of Colombian Women in the Diaspora. The idea was to bring together Colombian women, from all political and social backgrounds,…
Latin Elephant Cuisine - London's unlikely Tourist Destination
"So many people living in this wider area had no idea that this world existed – they felt like they were tourists in their own city." We talk to Doreta Linakis, founder of Elephant and Castle's successful Colombian…
LATIN LONDONER #23 Mike Kalle - Urban Latin Artist
Born in London to Colombian parents, Mike Kalle is the leading light of the young, creative Latino community. Referred to as the godfather of UK Latin Hip Hop, Mike won a LUKAS two years running as Urban Latin Act of the Year.…
Maluma
Recently making he big London splash at London's SSE Wembley arena, Maluma has joined an elite band of Latin artists such as Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, who can fill London arenas. He is the…
Creating Colombia’s Tennis Legacy
So you thought Latin American tennis players only came from Argentina? Think again. Enter Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, last year's doubles Wimbledon and US Open champions, the world’s #1 doubles pair. Amaranta…
Composing History
There are few bands in the world that can claim a life at the top for almost 40 years: the Rolling Stones, Cuba’s Van Van, Venezuela’s Guaco. And Grupo Niche is another one of them - a household name in Colombia and among Salsa…
Carlos Vives’ Fantasy Island Tracks
If you were stranded on a desert island, which tracks would you absolutely need, to get you through those times of despair? Man cannot live on sun and fish alone right? Our castaway, Carlos Vives, one of the most emblematic…
Chocolate, Politics and Peace-Building
An Ethnography of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, Colombia by Gwen Burnyeat
Paisa Prince
Since the last time we talked to J Balvin (cover of 2016 autumn edition), the Medellin born artist has soared to new heights and become one of a handful of urban Latin artists who have conquered the world. Hits such as 'Mi…
J Balvin's Fantasy Island Tracks
If you were stranded on a desert island, which tracks would you absolutely need, to get you through those times of despair? Man cannot live on sun and fish alone right? Our castaway, J Balvin, one of Latin America’s hottest urban…
Colombia/Venezuela: How Petrol is Fuelling Instability on the Border
The smuggling of petrol and other products from Venezuela is part of daily life in Cúcuta
COLOMBIA: Bogotá’s Recyclers Fight for Inclusion
As the city rises up the development index, Bogotá’s waste services are undergoing structural transformation. Rachel Simon learns how Colombia’s informal waste-picking recicladores are organizing and fighting to play their part…
Latin Pop's Feminine Side
Bomba Estéreo has paid its ‘derecho de piso’ and proved that it’s not just another ‘alternative’ Latin band adding funk beats to folklore. With a 20 year trajectory writing and producing innovative songs, founder and bassist of…
Ground Control to Major Juan
Elizabeth Mistry hears how the Colombian super-bard has put aside his Camisa Negra for a spaceman's helmet.