Art is flourishing in Latin America and has increasingly engaged with struggles for equality, group identity, justice, and memory. Music, graffiti, and memorial art provide alternative means of expression to those mandated by mainstream media, rescuing the past and helping people to construct identities for the future.
Culture also provides a space for thought and discussion of some of the most contentious social issues.
Louise Morris is a journalist, audio and TV producer. She specializes in women’s rights and the intersection between art and politics. Louise works producing for NPR.
She previously worked producing a daily TV magazine programme. She has written for The Wire, Delayed Gratification and BBC News Online, among others.
Iván Brasil (Los del Puente): interviewed in Villa Isla Maciel, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 27 May 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Manuel Carrasquilla, aka El Zorro (Casa Kolacho): interviewed in Medellín on 15 June 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Ana, Mauricio and Diego (Dexpierte street art collective): interviewed in Bogotá on 8 June 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Matthew Kingston.
DJLu (graffiti artist): interviewed in Bogotá on 10 June 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Daniel Hernández-Salazar (photographer): interviewed in Guatemala City on 25 June 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Juan Gabriel Gómez Alborello (Universidad Nacional de Colombia): interviewed in Bogotá on 12 June 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Stephanie Janaina (dancer and choreographer): interviewed in Mexico City on 5 July 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Rebeca Lane (hip hop artist): interviewed via email on 19 May 2014 and 4 June 2018 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Totó la Momposina (singer): interviewed in Norwich, UK, on 19 May 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Brian Sánchez (Pintó La Isla): interviewed in Villa Isla Maciel, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 27 May 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Urián Sarmiento (Sonidos Enraizados): interviewed in Bogotá on 9 June 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Clara Alicia Sen Sipac (Mujeres Ajchowen): interviewed in Sololá, Guatemala, on 26 June 2017 by Louise Morris. Translated by Louise Morris.
Bigda, L. (2015) ‘A military-backed comedian will be Guatemala’s next president. Activists aren’t laughing’, The Nation, 2 November
CEH (1999) ‘Guatemala: memory of silence’, Report of the Commission for Historical Clarification, Conclusions and Recommendations, (CEH), English summary
Cepeda, E. (2018) ‘Tu Pum Pum: as reggaeton goes pop, never forget the genre’s Black roots’, Remezcla
Delgado, M. (2013) ‘The museum is in the streets: the Itinerant Museum of Art for Memory’, Globality-gmu.net
Martínez, M. (2013) ‘Peru’s painful mirror’, ICTJ.org
Sanchez, F. (2017) ‘Amid tear gas, Venezuela violinist symbolizes hope for peace’, AP News, 5 June
Villegas, R. (2018) ‘This video from Costa Rican rapper Macha Kiddo is a powerful indictment of transphobia’, Remezcla
– Hierro, L. (2016) ‘Casa Kolacho: La violencia se cura con hip hop’, El País (in Spanish)
– Morris, L. (2017) ‘‘A way of healing’: Art and memory in Latin America’, BBC News
– Basciano, O. (2018) ‘Cuban artists fear crackdown after Tania Bruguera arrest’, The Guardian
– Bellucci, J. (2016) ‘Llena de arte y color la Isla Maciel para “romper estigmas”’, Clarín (in Spanish)
– DJLU (n.d.) DJLU (profile), Street Art & Graffiti
– Gonzalez, D. (2012) ‘Angels Watch Over Memories of War’, The New York Times
– Gonzalez, D. (2013) ‘A Quest for Justice in Guatemala’, The New York Times
– Higgins, C. (2018) ‘Detained, grilled, denounced: Tania Bruguera on life in Cuba – and her Turbine Hall show’, The Guardian
– Kellaway, V. (2011) ‘Banksy of Bogotá: Colombian Graffiti Artist DJLu’, Banana Skin Flip Flops
– Morrison, C. (2017) ‘Graffiti vs the ‘Beautiful City’: Urban Policy and Artistic Resistance in São Paulo’, LSE Latin America and Caribbean Centre
– Vargas, S. (2015) ‘Seizing public space’, Development and Cooperation
– Garsd, J. (2015) ‘Cumbia: The Musical Backbone of Latin America’, alt.Latino
– Guy, J. (2016) ‘Life as a Female Rapper in Guatemala, One of the Most Dangerous Places on Earth to be a Woman’, Noisey
– Haberman, C. (2018) ‘He Died Giving a Voice to Chile’s Poor. A Quest for Justice Took Decades.’, The New York Times
– Jessel, E. (2017) ‘Chocolate Remix: the lesbian reggaeton artist taking on the ‘supermachos’’, The Guardian
– Nelson, S. (2018) ‘Using Music to Fight for Women’s Rights, Meet Guatemalan Rapper Rebeca Lane’, Culture Trip
– Salpicón, S. (2017) ‘‘No voy a censurarme para no incomodarles’: Rebeca Lane is breaking boundaries with hip-hop’, Sounds and Colours
– Slater, R. (2018) ‘An introduction to cumbia in 20 essential records’, The Vinyl Factory
– Breukel, C. and Cader-Frech, M. (2016) ‘Performing El Salvador – Contemporary Art: A Social and Political Gauge’, ReVista
LAB is an independent charitable organisation based in London providing news, analysis and information on Latin America, its people, politics and society.
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