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04 GALERIA
Welcome to
LatinoLife Incubators
06 WHAT MEXICO IS
An Interview with Los Tigres del Norte
14 CELLULOID
COLONIALISM Interview with ‘The Settlers’ director Felipe Galvéz
20 TIME LINE
OF MUSICAL GREATNESS Album Anniversaries to celebrate in 2024
30 THE MARADONA OF ROCK The Enigma of Luca Prodan
38 WHAT’S ON
Latin Things to do in London
We are beyond excited about Latin Music and culture in the UK this year. Finally the big hitters of Latin Music will be filling our stadiums… with Balvin. Karol G and Manå already announced and we know that some even bigger names will be making their London debuts later in the year. Meanwhile, the UK Latin music scene has never been healthier, with London’s two big park festivals, LatinoLife @ Lambeth Country Show (Brixton) and LatinoLife in the Park – the UK’s largest Latin Music festival (West London), showcasing the homegrown Class of 2024. It’s also important to remind ourselves on whose shoulder we stand, which is why we’re reminding you of the important anniversaries to celebrate this year.
45 THINGS THAT
MATTER TO… Sara Correia
Editor Amaranta Wright • Music Editor Jose Luis Seijas • Designer Antonella Perreca
Amaranta Wright, editor amaranta@latinolife.co.uk
www.latinolife.co.uk • issuu.com/latinolife • FIT @latinolifeuk
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The LatinoLife Incubators Three LatinoLife Incubators brought those of us with a professional interest in Latin Music together, to rub shoulders, get inspired, share ideas and experiences and make big plans. Look out for our next Incubator at www. latinolife.co.uk/incubators
Women in Latin Music panel: Jules Kammann (Beatport) Kim Macari (ArtsCouncil) Pelin Opcin (Serious) Isadora Fenlon (Brockwell Live) María Angel (Mediatracks) Edith Lalwan (Because London Records) Teresa Guanique (Flawa) and artists Desta French, Reis Guerrero and Oopsy Daisy.
LA GALERIA
Managers panel: Kevin Simpson (Long Lost Brother) Shaurav D’Silva (Stellar Songs Ltd) Luciano Pinto (LP Management), Annika Craine (Music Managers Forum), Richard Engler (Autonomy Music Group). Producers Panel: Steve Lewinson, Lennyn Sampedro, Juan Contento, Troy Antunes and Jack Freegard (TYX). Showcase performances by: Ana Santos, Julietta Kings, Mia Maria, Adriana Blu, Jari Castillo, Nono, Jeanine Bella, Mr Cantor,Jordana Mba, Chriss Ross, The Indios, XMill, Latyno Bbi, Emeka.
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WHAT MEXICO IS Often accused of glorifying violence, Norteño legends Los Tigres del Norte have caused controversy and divided opinion with their musical “story-telling”. Yet there is no denying the huge impact that this highly influential collective, who see themselves merely as “interpreters” of folk culture, has had on the public consciousness in Mexico, Latin America, the United States and beyond. Adrian Peel gets to the heart of Mexico’s most popular band with lead vocalist Luis Hernández.
LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE INTERVIEW
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phenomenally successful “family business” for more than 50 years, the currency of Los Tigres del Norte has been to detail the struggles and triumphs, romances and heartbreak of working people, families, immigrants, outlaws and farmers. Inevitably, singing about those who seek a better life, sometimes through illegal means, would attract accusations of being ‘Mexico’s gangsta rap.’ And yet the accolades speak for themselves: Los Tigres is the only Mexican band to win 7 Grammy awards and 12 Latin Grammys. Songs that tackle pressing, real-life issues such as violence along the Mexico/ US border (Las Mujeres de Juárez), heartbreak (Golpes en el Corazón), drug dealing (La Reina del Sur), the migrant experience (Somos Mas Americanos) and even lesbian love (Era Diferente) have kept Los Tigres del Norte relevant and widely listened to well into the 21st century. As the biggest modern-day exponents of corridos (folk songs that began over a century ago as a way of sharing news about the events of the Mexican Revolution), the close-knit quintet have helped spread their country’s regional music all over the world, collaborating with some of the biggest names in Mexican music, including Alejandro Fernandez, Paulina Rubio and Marco Antonio Solis, along the way. Walking seamlessly amidst billionaires, celebrities and paupers, in 2019, Los Tigres became the first musical act since Johnny Cash to film a concert at Folsom Prison. Both beloved and scorned, the sleek image of the four Hernández brothers (plus cousin) in suits is as recognisable as their music. And literally being a ‘band of brothers’ has meant that the boys, whose roots lie in the western Mexican state of Sinaloa, have always had each other to fall back on. Most of us are familiar with bands that contain siblings - Oasis, The Bee Gees, The Carpenters, Alvin and the Chipmunks etc - but Los Tigres del Norte are surely the outright winners when it comes to
the sheer number of family members involved, beating even The Jacksons. For, at one time or another, all 11 Hernández brothers have helped keep the name alive and kicking, whether it be performing on stage or working ‘behind the scenes’. Looking smart in a burgundy suit jacket, white shirt and colourful pocket square, Luis Hernández, who at 49 is the youngest of the clan, appears via Zoom from San Jose, California, where he has lived since 1989, along with all of his brothers. “My brother Jorge, is the founder, together with my brother Hernan and my brother Raul, whose place I took in 1996,” he explains. “Now, my brother Eduardo is in the group and my brother Freddy (who sadly passed away in 1993) also participated, playing percussion. Each of us has been active in some way with the group - I have another brother called Artemio, he also worked with us but doing other things. It’s a family business completely - those that aren’t brothers are very close to us. My cousin Oscar [Lara] who plays drums, he’s my cousin but we’ve always considered him as our brother.”
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LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE INTERVIEW
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“There is a wave
Luis was born in Mexi“We have always tried to of younger artists who cali in northern Mexico show, on and off stage, talk about what people and moved to San Jose what Mexico is and go through, but who in the US when he was what Mexico represents, also want to copy and young. His parents in spite of the fact that were poor campesinos behave like the characters our music tackles a lot of and, in the early days, social themes and things in these stories that he and his brothers sent that happen in Mexico they’re telling,” money back to Sinaloa - our harsh reality,” he exto pay their father’s mediplains. “We always try and cal bills following a back injury. send a positive message in our songs and act solely as interpreters.” “Everyone can feel a connection with what we sing about, not only Latin Americans Without being explicit, Luis is referring to but people from other countries, who the blame that the Mexican elites started know what we sing about,” he observes. to lay on corrido groups and particularly “What we’ve also noticed when we’ve the new generation of narcocorrido musiworked in Europe is that our music caus- cians that emerged in the noughties, ales, let’s say, curiosity, for the puns and legedly linked to the drugs lords, with lyrfor the themes that we address - social ics arguably glorifying their reign of terror. problems, problems related to immigra- In some cases, the narcocorrido singer tion that you in Europe experience every is given a list of characteristics, events, day, same as here in the United States.” favourite cars and weapons to include in the song for which they are later rewarded Sadly, much of what we hear about royally with cash, or gifts such as diamond Mexico in the news tends to be nega- inset pistols and expensive watches. Luis tive and Luis admits that Los Tigres feel is quick to distance himself from such a responsibility to present a positive im- groups, who are also hugely popular. age of the country when travelling abroad (they also have their Los Tigres del Norte “There is a wave of younger artists who Foundation, which is committed to fos- want to send a message, to talk about tering appreciation and preservation of what people go through in their everyday Mexican and Mexican American folklore). lives within their society, but who also want
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LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE INTERVIEW
2 to copy and behave like the characters in these stories that they’re telling,” he says. “In our case, I think we have managed to put this to one side and maintain the role of narrators of stories of everyday life, and to try to relate to people, outside of Mexico and outside of the United States too, because here there is a large Mexican and Latin American community who are struggling with problems every day. “We always try to send a positive message, through our songs, our authenticity, our lyrics, our image, our story.” He insists. “Everything that’s happened over the course of our career makes me think that we’re sending a positive message and I think that’s why we’ve broadened our appeal to other countries too.”
with oboleros, cumbias, rock, waltzes and even country (they covered Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues, for example, when they played the famous Californian prison in 2018, 50 years after Cash). At their imminent concert in London in April, the audience can expect to hear songs from throughout the group’s long career, which went up a gear in 1974 thanks to their breakthrough single, Contrabando y Traición (Camelia La Texana), about a drug deal and love story gone wrong. In 1984 Los Tigres had their first chart-topper, Jaula de Oro and 1985’s A Ti Madrecita marked their first million-seller - while 1989’s Corridos Prohibidos kicked off the modern narcocorrido movement, paving the way for the 21st century’s ‘alterna-movimiento’.
Los Tigres del Norte weren’t the first act to popularise Mexican regional muIn 2014, the band released the album Resic - bands like Los Donneños alidades, which contains the song and Los Alegres de Terán Era Diferente about a lesbian came out before them teenager who falls in love but they are now its most with her best friend. Ac“We always well-known exponents, cording to founding memtry to send a having successfully inber Jorge Hernández, this positive message, fused norteño, a popumarked the first time a lar accordion-based norteño group had ever through our songs, our polka music indigenous written a gay love song. authenticity, our lyrics, to Northern Mexico,
our image, our story.”
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LOS TIGRES DEL NORTE INTERVIEW
2 song that always gets a good reception. Somos Mas Americanos is also very well known... Golpes en el Corazón is a completely different style, it’s a ballad, it’s a song about spite and love but one that gets the crowd excited when they hear it. We have so many songs that I may have forgotten one... Tres Veces Mojado, these songs have to be in the setlist. Ni Parientes Somos, for example, men and women react very excitedly to that song, and one song that is being requested a great deal at all of our events is one called El Avión de la Muerte. It’s a corrido and wherever we go, it’s one that’s really in demand.”
On which tunes tend to get the biggest reaction, Luis says: “Well for example the first Tigres del Norte hit that we can never leave out in a concert is Contrabando y Traición (Camelia La Texana). It’s the first corrido that Los Tigres del Norte recorded and it’s the one that catapulted the career of Los Tigres del Norte - people always ask for it, children and adults. The song causes lots of joy; children sing it, adults sing it, women identify with it because here the main character in the song is a woman...” “There’s also one called La Banda del Carro Rojo - it’s one of the corridos too, and it was turned into a very well-known film. We also sing another one which we can’t leave out, Jefe de Jefes. That album was also very successful - an album made up of corridos that that song appears on. Everyone identifies with him...Another story that isn’t a corrido but one that people always ask for, La Puerta Negra, for example, La Mesa del Rincon - they are more upbeat songs, ones that make audiences go crazy when they hear them.” “In the last show we did, we played around 63 songs,” notes Luis. Clearly not bored of dipping into the songs he loves playing, and the band’s impressive back catalogue, he continues… “La Camioneta Gris, La Jaula de Oro, which no matter where we sing it, is a
Despite their outstanding success 70 albums since the late 60s and 40 films - their upcoming gig in London will be the first time this revered fivesome have brought their distinctive sound to the English capital, which Luis says he is feeling “very excited” about: “There’s now something of a trend, for Mexican regional music in Europe, which is bringing us to the UK in April.” Why has it taken Los Tigres so long to add London to the tour itinerary? “We have been in Europe before, in Spain and Germany, but it wasn’t the right time for the UK. Now Latin community in the UK is growing and there is a lot more awareness of and access to our music, now that streaming services are more dominant than mainstream media. We know that our music is listened to over there through platforms like Spotify. Plus, it seems like a good opportunity to play our music for people who haven’t heard it but just know the name Los Tigres del Norte.” Get ready to get your money’s worth, London! Los Tigres del Norte will be appearing at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, on Sunday, April 14, as part of the La Linea Festival. For more information, visit https:// www.comono.co.uk/la-linea/. For more on Los Tigres del Norte, go to http:// lostigresdelnorte.com/main/.
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CELLULOID COLONIALISM ‘The Settlers’, Felipe Gálvez’s much-anticipated directorial debut, 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 turn of the 20th century. Selected as Chile’s official entry for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars, Gálvez’s film draws attention to an oft-forgotten part of Chilean history that is relevant in today’s global geo-politics. Lucas Rodd talks to Felipe Gálvez ahead of the film’s UK release.
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he Settlers’ begins in 1901 in Chilean Patagonia when the wealthy Spanish landowner José Menéndez (Alfredo Castro) hires Scottish Lieutenant MacLennan (Mark Stanley) and an American mercenary, Bill (Benjamin Westfall), to clear a route to the Atlantic for the
burgeoning sheep industry. They employ Segundo (Camilo Arancibia), a Chilean mestizo of Spanish and indigenous heritage as their guide, who involuntarily becomes complicit in the genocide of the indigenous Selk’nam people.
THE SETTLERS INTERVIEW
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‘The Settlers’ examines the violence inherent in the creation of a white-settler nation state and the lawlessness required to draw frontiers and borders. Chilean director Felipe Gálvez, who before his directorial debut worked as an editor on various Latin American films, sat down with Latino Life overlooking the River Thames to talk about his provocative and visually stunning new film that has been touring film festivals worldwide. Latino Life: How do you feel about your film being selected to represent Chile at the Oscars, considering it deals with such an uncomfortable matter in its history?
Pacific Ocean. Many people had to pass through southern Chile on their way to the United States and the language that was spoken at the beginning of the nineteenth century in Punta Arenas was English, not Spanish. The Menéndez family spoke English at home. On the islands English was spoken more than Spanish.
Felipe Gálvez: In terms of the film’s selection, it was more a filmmakers’ and technicians’ decision rather than political; 500 people from the Chilean film industry voted in total. I don’t believe the Chilean State had much to MacLennan existed in real do with it. There’s no team “Segundo is a life, one of many foreignof designated ministries mestizo in between ers who arrived in Chile. involved in the deciBut more than wanting to two visions - that of the sion-making, so it was make a film that showed chosen for other moAmerican, the cowboy, participattives. This year there who represents capitalism and foreigners ing in these crimes, the were three films that the New World, and that of this most important thing to aspired to represent soldier who represents the Old me was to show how Chile at the Oscars, all three dealt with World. So, it’s a way of looking the Chilean state did nothing, despite knowvery important topics, at these two worlds that ing what was happening. so I think it was more have influenced our José Menéndez was lookbecause the Chilean film ing for someone who had nation-building.” academy liked The Seta hand in the sheep industry tlers as a film. I do think that and who knew how to use weapthere was an awareness of the ons, so he imported MacLennan, he’s not importance of bringing to light these issues when they voted for it, but it wasn’t someone who just came to Chile, he was a decision related to the Chilean state. I a mercenary. For me, it matters less what also think that there won’t be many more nationality the characters are or who has films about this issue in Chile. It took me committed these crimes. What’s signifi10 years to make this film, it’s a film with cant is how the Chilean state was an aca huge budget for Chilean standards, es- complice - in fact they gave those lands pecially for a debut film and it was very to the same families who still own them difficult to make it on location in Tierra del today. I chose the character of MacLenFuego. nan because he was a soldier. I was influenced by “The Man Who Would be King” LL: My impression from the film was that by John Huston, Segundo is a mestizo in a lot of the perpetrators of the genocide between two visions - that of the Ameriwere foreigners, more than white Chil- can, the cowboy, who represents capitaleans, and even Menéndez is Spanish… ism and the New World, and that of this soldier who represents the Old World. So, FG: The film takes place in Tierra del Fue- it’s a way of looking at these two worlds go where, at the time, the Strait of Ma- that have influenced our nation-building. gellan, provided the only way to reach the
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16 Dance Consortium presents
São Paulo Dance Company 1
9 - 10 February
Photo: Iari Davies
Brazil’s finest dance company is ‘sleek, sexy and highly technical’ (The New Yorker)
THE SETTLERS INTERVIEW
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LL: What was it like writing and filming in two languages, Spanish and English, with this improvisation?
Felipe Gálvez LL: For a UK audience, a lot of people will recognise Mark Stanley from Happy Valley on the BBC and Game of Thrones, could tell me more about the casting process?
FG: It was crazy. I think it’s what gives a certain life to the film - because it lets things of the moment become part of the film. I tried to make the film feel alive. For example, in that scene that Mark improvised, I was going to film another scene that was in the script that I didn’t really think was going to work. I asked Mark to invent another scene with me and that’s how we came up with the one where Don Segundo breaks down, well Mark did all that. It was great. LL: What are your hopes for how English audiences receive the film, and have you noticed an interesting difference in the reception of the film from audiences in Chile, in Europe and around the world?
FG: Well as the film was a co-production with England, we did a casting here. Mark FG: In every country there’s different reactions. In Canada and the US the audience really wanted to participate in the laughed more, whereas in France film, with full understanding of there was a huge silence, as how complicated it was goif it was all very serious. In ing to be and that the shoot “In countries countries that were colonwas going to be very difthat were colonisers, isers, such as France and ficult to execute. Mark such as France and England, audiences inis a very physical and terpret and read the film England, audiences energetic actor, and he differently to audiences was willing to do many interpret and read the of the things that had film differently to audiences in countries that were colonised. I think that’s to be done. Horse ridin countries that the main distinction. In ing, filming at night in Asian countries you notice were colonised.” the extreme cold, jumping there’s a lot of feeling when into the sea almost naked, they watch the film. The audiwhere the water and the wind ence in Taiwan for example felt completely freeze you, shootthat their history was very similar to ing guns on horseback - it was a shoot that really required a lot of commitment that of Chile. The story of ‘The Settlers’ and confidence. I’m extremely grateful for is really the story of the whole American having worked with Mark, because I don’t continent, and it has a lot of resonance know of many other actors who would be with things that happened in Asia and Afwilling to face everything Mark dared to rica too. Anyway, I’m not a psychologist do. Our work was pretty collaborative and the film is more of a provocation, to move there was quite a lot of improvisation in the water about to see what questions many of the scenes. In the scene where come out of it, what dialogues it can genhe breaks Segundo’s morale, when Seg- erate. I feel like the English have a long undo wants to kill the woman, that was tradition of these types of films, not so one of Mark’s improvisations. I told Mark much as a Western but as an adventure to do what he thought was best and well, film, like The Man Who Would be King. that’s what happened.
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FG: My first idea was to make the film in black and white, because the only images of the Selk’nam were in black and white, but I soon realised that it would be too realistic and I wanted to move away from reality, to be as far away from reality as possible, and for that reason the costumes had strong and strange colours. The idea was to construct an unrealistic-looking image. Visually, it’s a mix of the adventure genre, Mexican mu“The story of ralism and twentieth century ‘The Settlers’ is really painting. In my opinion, it’s the film’s image qualthe story of the whole ity, as well as the music, American continent, that lets you enter the ficand it has a lot of tional dimension. I didn’t want the film to look like resonance with things a documentary, I wanted that happened LL: Did you want audiit to be more like a thought ences in the UK to have in Asia and process. In fact, the image more awareness of the Africa too.” gets increasingly destroyed; UK’s colonial involvement when you get to the last scene, in South America, which isn’t the film is full of chromatic errors. It’s that widely talked about here? subtle, but the images are increasingly FG: I feel like it’s a part of British history manipulated, and more and more reflecthat isn’t studied or analysed much here, tions begin to appear, and each time it but for that reason I feel like a British gives you the impression that they’re inaudience can follow the story with inter- creasingly manipulated. est, whilst already knowing the storyline, which isn’t that unique. You can recognise LL: Almost like the manipulation of hisin MacLennan an archetype from English tory itself… twentieth century adventure films, which I’m influenced by, and I feel like here The Settlers will be in cinemas February 9 and streaming on MUBI from there’s a tradition of those types of films. March 29 LL: …which you think will help connect with the UK public? FG: Well, the reception of the UK public has been good, though I don’t know if everyone laughed at the Scottish joke! I think it will have a good reception, partly because the film has a black humour which I think people like here. In fact I think it works better here than in many other places. LL: Moving to the visual side of the film, what was your intention behind the early colour photography aesthetic, which gives it both a dreamlike and an archive-historical look?
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THE TIMELINE OF MUSICAL GREATNESS Here at LatinoLife, it’s not just new music we love. In the office we are always playing the old classics of all music genres. Whilst nurturing up-and-coming artists we never forget on whose shoulders we stand and who we have to thank for the rich tapestry of sounds that we’ve inherited. This year we look forward to anniversaries of the most significant albums in our history – albums that appeared out of nowhere and changed our collective lives.
60 YEARS OF GETZ/GILBERTO The album that made Brazilian music a worldwide phenomenon. When American saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist Joao Gilberto got together to sing the songs of composer Tom Jobim, it was a musical love triangle made in heaven. Released in March 1964 by Verve Records, the album featured the vocals of Astrud Gilberto on The Girl from Ipanema and Corcovado, engraving those songs onto the global consciousness forever more. It received a Grammy Award for Records of the Year, launched Astrud Gilberto’s career and saw the worldwide birth of a new musical genre: bossanova.
50 YEARS OF ISMAEL RIVERA’S TRAIGO DE TODO Traigo de Todo, is still considered a music masterpiece half a century after it was released in 1974. After a 4 year hiatus, Maelo, as Rivera was affectionately known, delivered an album had a deep impact on the salsa genre, showcasing a more “cuban” sound, away from the trombones that were all the rage at the time. With his indistinguishable smokey voice, with a slurry, unpolished quality, but immaculate timing Maelo was a kind of vocal Theolonius Monk. With words and a delivery that pulled heart strings, the album delivered a string of hits inclusing El Nazareno, reflecting on his religious beliefs, Traigo de Todo, and Yo No Quiero Piedra En Mi camino. This album became a classic that eventually would make Maelo one of the greatest salsa icons, the canon when it came to soneo (salsa singing improvising).
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50 YEARS OF CELIA CRUZ AND JOHNNY PACHECO’S CELIA & JOHNNY This seminal album brought together the Queen of Salsa and the Dominican maestro for the first time on record. Released in 1974, it featured hits like Quimbara, which still is one of the salsa’s defining songs and Celia’s most enduring hit. Its significance was further recognized when the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry, honouring it as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” emphasizing the album’s lasting impact on music and culture.
50 YEARS OF DIMENSIÓN LATINA’S DIMENSIÓN 75 FEAT. OSCAR D’ LEON Venezuela’s most iconic and successful salsa band for many years. Dimensión Latina’s album Dimensión 75 featuring the legendary Oscar D’ León on vocal and bass, gave us the hit Llorarás. So no more: if it was only for that reason, it would be a defining salsa anthem. It also made a superstar of Oscar D’Leon, the dancing showman on the bass, whose dynamic vocals, would make him Venezuela’s most successful touring artist for decades to come, still touring the world today. The band’s vibrant two-trombone based sound, which was championed by Palmiero, Mon Rivera and later copied by Willie Colon, made this album a cornerstone in salsa history, influencing generations of musicians and dancers worldwide.
40 YEARS OF LOS PRISIONEROS LA VOZ DE LOS 80 An emblematic work that revolutionized Chilean rock. This seminal album challenged the status quo with its direct lyrics and raw sound, reflecting the socio-political unrest of the era, with Chile still under Pinochet’s regime. Songs like La Voz de los ‘80 and ¿Quién mató a Marilyn? became anthems of a generation of Chile and Latin Americans, voicing the struggles and dreams of youth. The band’s fearless approach and undeniable talent left a lasting impact, making this album a cornerstone in Latino rock history and a symbol of resilience and artistic expression.
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40 YEARS OF SODA STEREO’S SODA STEREO Launched in the basement of a Buenos Aires fast-food restaurant Pumper Nic, the legendary Argentine rock band’s debut album caused shock waves throughout the continent and revolutionized Latin American rock. Heavily influenced by British new wave and postpunk and Argentina’s own distinctive brand of rock, it’s fresh sound reshaped the creative landscape. The songs, such as Dietetico. Te Hacen Falta Vitaminas, Por que no puedo ser el Jet-Set, Tele-Ka, Sobredosis de Tv and Trátame suavamente, all written by charismatic frontman Gustavo Cerati, went on to become hits all over Latin and continue to resonate, influencing new generations. The band’s ability to fuse diverse styles into a cohesive and dynamic sound marked a turning point, establishing a legacy that transcends time and geography. #SodaStereo40 celebrates not just an album but a pivotal moment in music history. Sadly, 2024 also marks 10 years since the tragic death of lead singer Cerati.
40 YEARS OF RUBÉN BLADES AND SEIS DEL SOLAR’S BUSCANDO AMERICA Another child of Latin America’s turbulent political and social times, this album redefined salsa through a potent mix of dancefloor hit-making with poetry and political and social commentary. Released to critical acclaim, it was the album that relaunched the Panamanian singer-songwriter’s career after he left Fania records. But more than that, Blades’ compelling storytelling, innovative New York sound and themes of injustice and inequality, brought social consciousness to the dance floor. Songs like El Padre Antonio, about the murder of El Salvador’s people’s priest, Desapariciones about the disappeared of Argentina, showed Latin America that Latinos in New York saw its pain. Songs like Decisiones, about every day decision-making, related to ordinary lives while, the final song Buscando America, was a call to action that united the whole continent. This album made salsa popular all over Latin America for the first time, solidifying the idea of a Latin Nation. Blades’ lyrical prowess combined with dance floor rhythms, brought by the all-star ensemble, turned “Buscando America” into one of the most iconic salsa albums to date. Decades later, it remains a testament to the power of music as a catalyst for change and a timeless classic in Latin music.
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40 YEARS OF GRUPO NICHE’S NO HAY QUINTO MALO A landmark in salsa music and culture, No Hay Quinto Malo by Grupo Niche injected a unique “swing” and vitality into Colombian Salsa. Renowned for its enduring popularity, the album boasts classics like Cali Pachanguero, Cali’s beloved anthem, and other hits like La Negra No Quiere, El Coco, and Serenata. This collection is synonymous with dancefloor celebration, providing relentless sabor. Its continued relevance and originality echo the group’s profound connection with Cali’s rich salsa heritage.
30 YEARS OF SELENA’S AMOR PROHIBIDO The fourth studio album by the Tejana singer, released on March 13, 1994, was arguably responsible for making Tejano music one of the most popular Latin music subgenres at the time. Finding it challenging to write a follow-up hit after Como la Flor (1992), Selena’s brother A.B Quintanilla enlisted the assistance from band members Ricky Vela and Pete Astudillo with writing the album’s songs. The resulting album blending ranchera, hiphop, and tejana cumbia, modernized with a synthesizer-rich delivery, became the first Tejano record to peak at number one on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, remaining in the top five for 98 consecutive weeks. The album holds the record for most weeks at number one on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Album chart at 97 nonconsecutive weeks, as well as crowning the chart in four different calendar years. Tragically, a year later, the young beautiful Tejana was dead.
30 YEAR’S OF DJ PLAYERO’S PLAYERO 37 DJ Playero’s groundbreaking album ignited the Reggaeton movement and pretty much marked the before and after for the now global genre. This influential mixtape, released in early 1994, blended hip-hop, reggae, and Panamanian reggae and much more, creating a new sound that resonated with youth across Puerto Rico and later worldwide. Tracks from “Playero 37” became the foundation of Reggaeton, showcasing the genre’s potential and paving the way for future artists. 30 years later, its raw beats and urban lyrics continue to influence, marking its place as a key moment in the evolution of Latin urban music. It also gave a recording debut to a young kid named Ramon Ayala…aka as Daddy Yankee.
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30 YEARS OF DJ NEGRO’S “THE NOISE” Alongside Playero’s’ 37, the first The Noise mark the year zero of what is considered reggaeton these days (before them the sound of Panama was closer to jamaica than to latin sounds). DJ Negro, a veteran DJ by then who had already championed Vico C years previous, did not have Playero’s music making abilities, but what he lacked there, he made it up in business acumen, taking The Noise internationally as a love collective of artist and presenting artists such as Baby Rasta and Gringo, Don Chezina and Polaco and paving the way for reggaetón to become the juggernaut that would take over the world later on.
20 YEARS OF DADDY YANKEE’S BARRIO FINO Daddy Yankee’s ground-breaking album, released in 2004, marked a significant chapter in reggaeton history. It launched the Puerto Rican artist to fame and spotlighted reggaetón on a worldwide scale. The album’s standout track Gasolina became a global sensation, epitomizing the genre’s mainstream appeal. In hindsight, Barrio Fino represented a cultural landmark, encapsulating the life of the streets of the Hispanic Caribbean and the exuberant spirit of reggaetón. Twenty years on, its legacy endures, solidifying Daddy Yankee’s status as a pioneer in Latin urban music. Notably, Gasolina was honoured as the number 50 best song of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, emphasizing the song’s and the album’s lasting impact.
20 YEARS OF DJ NELSON’S FLOW LA DISCOTECA When legendary reggaetón producer released “Flow La Discoteca” 20 years ago, the island of Puerto Rico went crazy. The energetic dance-centric album, featuring icons like Daddy Yankee and Ivy Queen, producers like Luny Tunes and Rafi Mercenario, dropped just as Reggaeton began its global ascent. It not only showcased Nelson’s ear for hits but also solidified his status as a tastemaker in a genre ready to revolutionize the music market. The album’s energetic beats became a blueprint for reggaetón, underscoring Nelson’s role in shaping the genre’s worldwide impact.
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MARADONA OF ROCK: THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF LUCA PRODAN
A rebel creative, Luca Prodan was an Italian-Scot who became one of the most unlikely founding pillars of the Argentine rock scene. Born in Italy, educated alongside King Charles at Scotland’s Gordonstoun boarding school, the musician ended up in Buenos Aires where he founded Sumo, a band whose combination of Joy Division-style rock, post-punk funk and reggae-ska took Argentina by storm during the dictatorship, inspiring a generation to come. Heading a campaign to get a Blue Plaque mounted on the London house where Luca Prodan spent his formative years, Andres Di Fiore remembers the icon who transformed Argentine rock.
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If there is some truth to the old adage that “Argentines are Italians who speak Spanish and would like to be English,” Luca Prodan turned it on its head. Born in Italy, this product of Britain’s boarding school system, became the epitomy of Argentine rebel culture. He lived life to the extreme, to the point that he survived various drug-induced neardeaths, before running out of lives in 1987 at the age of 34. But before that tragic event, Luca Prodan became so influential
that he has since acquired mythical status - a sort of Diego Armando Maradona of Argentina’s rock scene. Prodan’s years at 30b Thames Road in Chiswick were instrumental in building this myth, hence the campaign to get a blue plaque mounted at the address. But before we get there, let’s start at the beginning of this curious story…
THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF LUCA PRODAN
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from the warehouse: one in 10 records he sold ended up in his house. He was fired, but recovered his job at the insistence of clients and colleagues who claimed “the Italian who could tell you the song just by listening to an out of tune whistle.” Indeed, Luca was extremely popular, cultivating great relationships with musicians who used to come and see how their records were selling and to spend time with Luca chatting, drinking cups of tea either in his house or in the megastore on Marble Arch. Nonetheless, this second chance at Virgin was short-lived as his theft, now on behalf of his friends, reached absurd levels. The next dismissal was final. Living in London, Prodan struggled with a heroin addiction. In 1979, his sister Claudia committed suicide alongside her boyfriend, which had a profound effect on him, culmiLuca George Prodan was born nating in a heroin-induced “It was still in Rome on 17 May 1953, coma where, for an instant the son of Mario Prodan, a dictatorship, and the he was presumed dead. an Italian citizen born in fact that a Scottish the Austro-Hungarian Searching for a way Italian chap appeared Empire, and Cecilia Polout of his addiction singing in English right in — which had already lock, born in China to Scottish parents who the middle of the Malvinas ended his sister’s life, lived in Shangai and BeiWar and not being worried and almost his own — jing before World War II. Prodan travelled to ArThe third of four siblings, about that in the slightest gentina in March 1980, was really something Luca was sent to Gordonwithout knowing practistoun, one of the poshest quite bonkers.” cally anything about the boarding schools in the UK. country. His only glimpse was In 1970, at seventeen, Luca fled a bucolic photo of the mounthe school and disappeared. While tains of Córdoba, shown to him by his family requested his search from In- Timmy McKern, the Argentine-Scottish terpol, Prodan travelled Europe alone friend whom he had shared school years back to Rome, where he was arrested by at Gordonstoun. Timmy went to meet the police, and retrieved by his mother. him at Ezeiza airport and put him up at his home in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires. Luca ended up in London where he got a job at the Virgin Record store in Marble Arch. By day in charge of the singles section, after work Luca formed his first band, The New Clear Heads, influenced by Joy Division (who later inspiring the title of the first Sumo album: Divididos por la Felicidad, Spanish for “Divided By Joy”) and Wire. Meanwhile at Virgin, he began to accumulate musical treasures–most of them stolen
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THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF LUCA PRODAN
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“Luca changed the sound of the Argentinian rock forever, he reset the scene after the dark dictatorship years”
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Argentina in the early birth to Sumo, with Daffun80s was still under a dicchio on guitar and Sokol tatorship that had spread on bass. In the absence fear among the student of heroin, Luca calmed the Andres Calamaro community as many were nerves and anxiety with mariamong the 30,000 ‘disapjuana and gin, a bottle of it a peared.’ When he arrived, day. When he returned to Buenos Luca broke into a rock scene Aires with Sumo, Luca took these that was dominated by formally-educated new excesses with him but, unlike other musicians singing in Spanish. Whilst their members of Sumo, Luca became adlyrics could get them tortured and killed, dicted. Luca’s naiveté gave him an enviable freedom that added to his appeal and influ- Highly cultured, Prodan was a gentleman ence, says Andrea, Luca’s brother. with flashes of punkish aggro on stage, which confused and captivated fellow “It was still a dictatorship, and the fact musicians, critics and audiences alike. that a Scottish Italian chap appeared On a brief return to the UK in 1981 to buy singing in English right in the middle of the instruments, Prodan recruited Stephanie Malvinas War and not being worried about Nuttal to be the drummer for his new that in the slightest was really something band. The presence of the English girl quite bonkers, and I guess admirable, and in the line-up was unusual, especially in which nowadays has a special value.” Latin America, but when the Falkland War broke out she had to return. The formaAt one dinner, Timmy introduced Luca to tion of Sumo would reach its maturity with his brother-in-law Germán Daffunchio, the entry of saxophonist Roberto Pettiwho began to play the guitar while Luca nato in mid-1983. With Sokol leaving in sang, and the idea of forming a band was 1984, Prodan, Daffunchio, Arnedo, Mollo, born. They moved to the McKern family’s Troglio, and Pettinato, would remain until in Cordoba with Daffunchio and his friend Prodan’s death and the subsequent disAlejandro Sokol, and there the jams gave solution of the group.
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THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF LUCA PRODAN
MAY - JUN
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“Luca was like a lighthouse shining in the Argentine musical scene. He was unique and strange, there was no one like him. He was wild and exploded with energy, he transmitted a mysterious, In addition, Jorge different, hypnotic and Serrano from Los Autenticos Decadentes climatic aura.”
Sumo only lasted six years and recorded five albums, but that was enough to becredits Prodan with come one of the most bringing “humour, irony Juanchi Baleiron, influential bands in Latin and laughter” to Argentine Los Pericos America. In 2013, Rolling rock. “He would sing an adStone magazine put three of vertising jingle in the middle of Sumo’s five albums among the top a song. He included a lot of reggae 25 Latin rock albums: #5 Divididos por la in an unorthodox way, and that helped felicidad (1985), #23 Llegando los monos reggae to become more popular in Argen(1986) and #42, After Chabon (1987). tina”. When composing, Luca pushed his band members to mix genres. He introduced the sounds of London and Manchester to Argentine rock: ska in songs like Kaya or “Telephones/White Trash”; punk in songs like Noche de Paz; reggae in the iconic song el Reggae de paz y amor or “Regtest”. Divididos por la Felicidad (Divided by Joy) was a direct homage to Joy Division.
After Prodan’s death in 1997, a solo album Perdedores Hermosos [Beautiful Losers], which he recorded in 1981, was released - an album of great beauty both musically and poetically. The title song – a love song to all those who feel outsiders – still resonates today with those struggling to fit into traditional moulds of success and happiness.
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THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF LUCA PRODAN
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“Luca was like a lighthouse shining in the Argentine musical scene. He was unique and strange, there was no one like him,” says Juanchi Baleiron, leader of the multiPlatinum and Gold-selling band Los Pericos. “He was wild and exploded with energy, but had some darkness at the same time; he transmitted a mysterious, different, hypnotic and climatic aura.”
Asked on his thoughts about installing a Blue Plaque in London, Andrea Prodan said: “I believe Luca’s impact in Argentina and his roots in Great Britain, especially in Scotland, are fundamental for the building of good relationships between these two countries. After all, so much harm was done by the war, that I think bringing the figure of Luca Prodan into the British culture would be really worthwhile.”
Brave and fearless in a time of fear, as bandleader and artist, Prodan helped a And so, a petition has been submitted to new generation of artists emerge from London Heritage to install a Blue Plaque at under the rock of repression. Andres Luca Prodan’s former house in Chiswick. Calamaro, one of Argentina’s In addition to the above legends of most successful musical exArgentine rock who have given ports, said: “Luca changed their support, Javier Figueroa, “Luca was the sound of the Argentinian Argentine Ambassador to the revolutionary rock forever, he reset the UK, concluded: and disruptive, scene after the dark dictatorship years.” Humphrey “This is a way of paying in just 5 years he Inzillo, the editor of Rollhomage not only to Luca left a huge legacy ing Stone magazine and Prodan and the influence he behind.” founder of Redpemib (the had on Argentinian rock, but Association of Iberoamerican also to highlight a contribution music journalists), claims “he to the cultural exchange between was revolutionary and disruptive, Argentina and the United Kingdom”. in just 5 years he left a huge legacy behind.” If you would like to support the Prodan tapped into the Argentine spirit Blue Plaque for Luca campaign visit of rebellion. To this day, 35 years after @unaplacaparaluca Prodan’s death, millions of Argentine still jump and sing to the rhythm of Cruachan, a widely popular song about the Battle of Culloden, (the final battle in the 1745 Scottish uprising against the Crown) “It was seven hundred and forty-five, the highland spirit had revived. Mac Dougall and Mac Donald there, the clans had come from everywhere (...)” In his British years, Luca’s home in Chiswick was where he brewed everything he absorbed from the British music scene. It was also in Thames Road where Prodan hosted various rock personalities such as Andy Partridge, frontman of XTC; members of The Police; Lemmy, founder of Motörhead; and his good friend Elvis Costello. Years later, the house in Chiswick would take on a symbolic value for Argentine rock history, when Luca sold it and used the money to buy a portastudio, musical instruments and a one-way ticket to Argentina.
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FEB-MAR 7 February – 2 March
24 February
Theatre
Art & Literature
When You Pass Over My Tomb Sergio Blanco and Daniel Goldman return to the Arcola Theatre, after the success of their critically acclaimed OFFIE award winning productions of Thebes Land and The Rage of Narcissus, to tell a mesmerising story of love and lust beyond the grave. This production from one of the world’s most performed living Spanish-language playwrights is a darkly comic meditation on how we live and how we die; the story of a writer who makes the incredible decision to give his body another life after death. Location: Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, London E8 3DL From 9 February
The Settlers Film
At the turn of the 20th century, three horsemen set out across the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, tasked with securing a wealthy landowner’s vast property. Accompanying a reckless British lieutenant and an American mercenary is mestizo marksman Segundo, who comes to realize their true mission is to murderously “remove” the indigenous population. Painterly yet piercing, this acclaimed frontier epic turns a bold eye to the past, daring to reimagine its depiction in the present and for the future. Chile’s Best International Feature Film entry to the 96th Academy Awards. Winner of the Cannes Un Certain Regard FIPRESCI Prize. Location: Check nearest cinema www.mubi.com 3DL
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Saborami with Cecilia Vicuña
9-10 February
São Paulo Dance Company Dance Show
Brazil’s finest dance company fuse the elegance of classical ballet with the sensuality of Latin American dance” Sadler’s Wells presents the UK debut of this multi-talented, explosive dance company. Location: Sadlers Wells, Rosebery Ave, EC1R 4TN Saturday 17 February
Sara Correia Live Music
One of Fado music’s fastest rising stars, Sara Correia’s smoky and passionate voice captures love and power, sadness and joy, the city of Lisbon and the Portuguese soul. Her profile has continued to rise sharply this year following the release of her acclaimed third studio album Liberdade along with her appearances as a judge on the hugely popular Portuguese version of reality singing competition The Voice. Location: Cadogan Hall 5 Sloane Terrace, SW1X 9DQ Every Sunday
The Sunday Xperience Film
London’s favourite Latino Sunday Clubnight, in the heart of London, with DJ Jose Luis playing a fiery mix of Reggaeton, RnB, AfroBeats, Baile Funk and Salsa. Classes with celebrity choreographer Richard Marcel start at 7pm with our famous FREE LATIN WARM UP EXTRAVAGANCIA! Location: Bar Salsa, Charing Cross Road
Cecilia Vicuña created Saborami in the aftermath of the September 1973 military coup in Chile. She combines poetry, journal entries, documentation of artworks including assemblages and paintings, and will be accompanied by Amy Tobin, Luke Roberts and special guests for a discussion, performance and readings. Location: Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG Sunday 10 March
Jards Macalé Live Music
Having worked with some of the biggest names in Brazilian music, including Joao Donato, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso and more, Macalé has garnered status as one of the most influential samba and tropicalia artists. His live performances embody the untamed spirit and boundless musical freedom that define him, where the past intertwines with the present in a breath-taking display of artistic prowess. Location: The Jazz Café 5 Parkway, London NW1 7PG From 22 March
The Delinquents Film
Bank employee Morán steals enough money to never work again, then offers his colleague a cut if he hides the cash while Morán confesses and does what he calculates will be a short jail sentence. Soon under investigative pressure, accomplice Román meets a woman who transforms him forever. Location: Check nearest cinema www.mubi.com
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JUL
MAR-APR 39 Sunday 10 March
From 22 March
Live Music
Film
Jards Macalé Having worked with some of the biggest names in Brazilian music, including Joao Donato, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso and more, Macalé has garnered status as one of the most influential samba and tropicalia artists. His live performances embody the untamed spirit and boundless musical freedom that define him, where the past intertwines with the present in a breath-taking display of artistic prowess.
The Delinquents Bank employee Morán steals enough money to never work again, then offers his colleague a cut if he hides the cash while Morán confesses and does what he calculates will be a short jail sentence. Soon under investigative pressure, accomplice Román meets a woman who transforms him forever. Location: Check nearest cinema www.mubi.com
The UK industry event for all those with a professional interest in the creation, promotion and distribution of Latin Music. This edition focuses on production and output with 3 days hands-on music-making with professionals in one of London’s best studio facilities. Sat 30 March
Reggaeton Revolution: 20 Years of UK Urban Latin Culture Clubbing
VIVA REGGAETON Clubbing
The UK’s biggest weekly reggaeton party, bringing a new wave of Latinx clubbing to London. Fresh and welcoming with a great changing cast of DJs and 4 rooms - reggaeton, house, Brazilian and pop - plus weekly themes, great performers and the latest in cutting edge sound, lighting effects and production. Location: Lightbox, Vauxhall, SW8 1SP
LatinoLife Incubator – Writers and Producers Camp Around Town
Location: The Jazz Café 5 Parkway, London NW1 7PG
Every Saturday
25-26-27 April
In 2004, LatinoLife produced the UK’s first ever reggaetón and Latin hiphop festival, before launching in 2005 London’s first ever reggaetón clubnight, La Bomba @ Ministry of Sound. Fast forewrad to 2024, and reggaetón. We celebrate the revolution we created - 20 years of underground urban latin club culture, pioneering what was to become the world’s most listened to music. They say it takes 20 years to become an overnight sensation. That sounds about right…join us as we take over central London’s most exciting new venue with the best from old skool to new global hits. Location: Lightbox, Vauxhall, SW8 1SP
To apply go to www.latinolife. co.uk/incubators Location: TileYard Stdios, 5 Tileyard Rd, London N7 9AH Friday 12 April
Lila Downs
Live Music - La Linea 24 The Grammy award winning Mexican-American singersongwriter brings her unforgettable live show to the Barbican for a performance across Latin American and wider popular music traditions. Lila’s compositions combine genres and rhythms as diverse as Mexican rancheras and corridos, boleros, jazz, hip-hop, cumbia, and North American folk music, to create a distinctive sound that has earned her international recognition on the world stage. Location: Barbican Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS
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APR Saturday 13 April
Tuesday 16 April
Live Music - La Linea 24
Live Music - La Linea 24
Ana Tijoux
Rare London show for the Chilean rapper Tijoux – MC, singer, poet and lyricist – who is known for her willingness to confront social injustice and her commitment to nonviolence. Ana has become the voice of a generation, not only in Chile but for Latinos worldwide. She and her band are playing tracks from her new album Vida. Location: Village Underground 54 Holywell Lane, London EC2A 3PQ
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La Yegros
La Yegros returns to La Linea with a brand new show and album released in early 2024. She brings pyrotechnics, breathtaking energy and her exuberant personality, inventing her own folklore by knitting together new rhythms and integrating original sounds (bassoon, transverse flute, flamenco guitar) with echoes of reggae and funk. Location: The Jazz Café 5 Parkway, London NW1 7PG
17- 20 April
Paco Peña’s Solera Dance Show
Paco Peña creates the perfect blend using flawless flamenco and fine aging in his show Solera - an exploration of artistic wisdom and the fearlessness of youth in the search for new expression. Enter their rehearsal room as they explore the genre together and then take to the stage with a unique performance that is both quiet and celebratory, soulful and full of life. Location: Sadlers Wells, Rosebery Avenue, London, EC1R 4TN
Every Sunday
SABOR
Around Town
Sunday 14 April
Los Tigres del Norte
Live Music - La Linea 24 Long-awaited UK debut for Los Tigres, from Mexico and based in California. Over more than 70 albums, they have infused Norteño, an accordionbased polka music indigenous to Northern Mexico, with boleros, cumbias, rock, and waltzes. In 2019, Los Tigres were the first musical act since Johny Cash to film a concert at Folsom Prison. Location: Eventim Apollo 45 Queen Caroline St, London W6 9QH
London’s authentic Latin Family Day Out: let the rhythm of Latin music transport you to the streets of Latin America. Feast on the mouth-watering flavours of empanadas, arepas, paella, and churros, paired with refreshing cocktails and icy cold beers, while enjoying live performances and DJs playing the best salsa, bachata, reggaeton, and more! Kids are welcome and have their own area with bouncy castle, different arcade games and more. So gather your friends and family, put on your dancing shoes, and come join us for a day of Latin music, Latin food, and Latin cultura that you won’t soon forget! Location: Vauxhall Beer Garden, SW8 1SP
Sat 8 - Sun 9 June
LatinoLife @ Lambeth Country Show FREE Festival
After a successful first year and due to popular demand LatinoLife returns to Brixton for its annual Latin takeover at the Lambeth Country Show. Over two days, expect the unique programme of high quality and diverse Latin artists that LatinoLife is known for, culminating in a sizzling party you won’t want to leave. For updates on this years programming subscribe to our newsletter www.latinolife. co.uk/newsletter Location: Brockwell Park, Brixton
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JUN-JUL 43
18 & 19 June
Karol G
Live Music 5 June
J Balvin
Live Music Global superstar and multiLatin GRAMMY Award winner J Balvin, hits London as part of his highly-anticipated 2024 headlining “Que Bueno Volver a Verte” International Tour. Colombia’s super-popular reggaeton artist and entrepreneur has multiple wins across Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, Latin GRAMMY’s and many others and is one of the best-selling Latin music artists with sales of more than 35 million records worldwide. Location: 02 Arena
13 July
Maná
Live Music For the first time ever in London, Mexico’s most influential rock band...comes to London. By far Mexico’s most influential rock band, MANÁ have produced some of the most beloved anthems of our era. ‘Vivir sin aire’, “Oye Mi Amor., Rayando el Sol’ ‘Clavado en Un Bar’ ‘¿Dónde Jugarán los Niños?’ And many many more. It’s gonna be a night to remember ¡Viva Mexico! Location: Ovo Arena Wembley
Multi-platinum global recording artist, an international pop culture icon, and a leading Latin Music powerhouse, Karol G hits London for the first time. Known for her ability to shatter records, Karol became the first female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 with a Spanish-language album, broke the all-time record for the biggest female Latin album by firstday streams on Apple Music, and had the biggest debut ever for a Spanish Album by a Female Latin Artist on Spotify. She is the most watched Artist of 2023 on YouTube excluding features with over 990 Million Views this year alone. Location: 02 Arena
Saturday 20 July
LatinoLife in the Park Music Festival
The UK’s largest Latin music festival returns for its 7th year, this time showering its Latin love over West London. ‘LatinoLife in the Park’ Goes West! The Experience you Love…in a new venue you’ll Love. The only British festival to be selected for the European ‘inclusive festival guide’, Latinolife has developed a reputation for creating unique experiences with quality and diverse artists, It’s fantastic stages showcase the best UK-born, bred and based Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese (Latin) artists expressing diverse genres, as well as exciting international guests... Location: Walpole Park, Ealing W5 Register for Free Tickets & Early Birds at www.latinolifeinthepark.com
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THE UK’S FIRST LABEL DEDICATED TO URBAN LATIN MUSIC www.candelarecords.co.uk
Things That Matter to…
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Things That Matter to… Sara Correia Widely regarded around the world as one of Fado music’s fastest rising stars, Portuguese singer Sara Correia’s profile has continued to rise sharply this year following the release of her acclaimed third studio album Liberdade along with her appearances as a judge on the hugely popular Portuguese version of reality singing competition The Voice. Latin Grammy nominee’s smoky and passionate voice captures love and power, sadness and joy, the city of Lisbon and the Portuguese soul. Inhabiting the space between traditional, dark fado and its modern, lighter incarnation, her mellifluous toplines are influenced by French chanson. Here are the Things That Matter to… Sara Correia
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46 mother. Two of the strongest women I’ve ever known. Without them I wouldn’t be who I am today. The last thing I celebrated was having sold out the most iconic venue in Lisbon, Coliseu dos Recreios, three months before and, of course opening two more dates in that venue. If you’re visiting Lisbon during march make sure we meet! It’s 9, 10 and 11th of march. I get emotional every time something amazing happens in my life. After laughing a lot, I sobbed after realizing I had sold out Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon. I get most pleasure when I look at the ocean, without looking at the time or any commitments whatsoever. A virtue that is under-valued is having a sense of humor. The ability of self-laugh. A vice that is overrated Social media. I feel stringly about having time for everything I need and want to do in my dily life. Time is a rare commodity.
The hardest thing I’ve had to overcome is the stigma associated with coming from a poor neighbourhood, which makes everyone look with prejudice. It was hard to travel the road to value my roots but here I am. As a kid I was most inspired by “Poetas de Karaoke” by one of the most recognised portuguese rappers, Sam The Kid. He lives next door in Chelas and has shaped my idea of music that emphasises the significance of the lyrics. Additionally, “Com Que Voz” by Amália Rodrigues, the greatest Fado Diva of all time and the most accomplished artist and fado singer Portugal has ever had, also. She had a profound influence on both my vocal style and my complete devotion to Fado. The most influential figures in my life have been my mother and my grand-
I feel most optimistic about watching my career steer in the direction I once wanted it to go. I strive to conquer laziness. Later in life I’ve discovered the importance of family and rest. I would tell my younger self: “surround yourself with the right people and follow your gut to choose wisely.” I’d like to say thank you to Mr. Armando, the owner of my fado school, for opening the door and for valuing my dream of being a fadista. My favourite word is verdade (“truth” in Portuguese) I believe in each person’s essence. Sara Correia will perform on Saturday 17 February at Cadogan Hall
“A MASTERFUL DEBUT”
“A REAL DISCOVERY”
INDIEWIRE
ROGEREBERT.COM
OFFICIAL ENTRY: CHILE BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM 96TH ACADEMY AWARDS®
“A SCORCHING WESTERN ON CHILE’S BLOOD-SOAKED NATIONAL MYTH” THE PLAYLIST
A FILM BY
FELIPE GÁLVEZ
IN CINEMAS
FEBRUARY 9
15
Strong violence, injury detail, sexual violence, very strong language.
mubi.com/settlers
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