The Latin American Diaspora in London

This event explores the political, cultural and spatial ways Latin American shape and impact London.

Overview How has London been shaped by its Latin American diaspora, and how is that shaping still unfolding today?

This dialogue explores the political, cultural and spatial ways Latin American communities make, inhabit and transform the city. Bringing together perspectives from academics, community organisers and musicians, the event asks how diasporic practices, identities and forms of collective action are contributing to London's changing urban life and imaginaries.

During the event, participants will explore how resistance to regeneration has shaped community space and how this has been addressed through creative and musical practices.

The event will focus on the questions:

How has the relationship between music, place and identity evolved since the 1990s, and how has music helped create spaces of belonging for Latin Americans in London? What does music enable as a form of social infrastructure that formal planning or policy interventions cannot easily achieve?

About the speakers

Dr Patria Román Velázquez, Reader in Culture, Media & Creative Industries, King's College London. Author of The Making of Latin London: Salsa Music, Place and Identity (1999) and co-author of Narratives of Migration, Relocation and Belonging: Latin Americans in London (2020). Founder of Latin Elephant.

Callum Simpson (also known as Cal Jader), event promoter and music programmer. Co-founder and director of Movimientos, a not-for-profit promoter, agency and (formerly) record label championing Latin American, global bass and underground roots music in the UK for over 20 years.

Gregorio Merchán, Colombian-born drummer, musician and composer with a Latin Grammy Award. His performance credits include the groups Aterciopelados, Cumbe, Morfonia, and Odio a Botero, a well-known Bogotá punk band.

About the series

The Thinking Latin American Cities series aims to bring together the London- and UK-based academic community interested in researching Latin American cities. The series began as a collaboration among the UCL Urban Lab, the UCL Institute of the Americas and the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture. It is led by Prof Catalina Ortiz and Dr Fernando Gutiérrez.

Co-chairs: Professor Catalina Ortiz and Dr Veronica Posada