La Clave Fest 2018: Extravaganza of Latin culture returns to the capital

Salsa music sounds better in the sun and, preferably, accompanied by a 10-piece band. Merrily, a fiesta where you can show off your best merengue on the banks of the Thames is returning to London this month.

Opening on June 9, La Clave Fest is a festival of Latin music and dance taking over the Scoop by London Bridge from noon to 10pm. It’s a celebration of Latino Londres: bands from Mexico and Colombia will join an lively mix of UK-Latin musicians, dancers and DJs for a full-day journey through live Latin jazz, fusion, folk, boleros, samba and hip-hop.

Elpidio & Su Alegria Latina is headlining, a 10-piece orchestra of musicians from across the capital and South America, and Cuban-born Omar Puente – one of the world’s most respected jazz violinists – will lead an energetic Latin-Funk quintet.

There’s a strong international line-up: teenage sibling duo Las Hermanas Garcia, currently number one in Spotify’s Bolero Pop playlist, will be over from Mexico to perform, Colombian brothers Nazari Sound will showcase Latin hip hop and Ernesto Marichales will combine traditional Venezuelan folk music with London electronica. Expect hypnotising sounds.

The best new boutique music festivals

1/12

The program is extensive but it’s not just for spectators: next door at Hays Galleria, there’ll be free Latin dance classes for Shakira hopefuls hosted by the Latin Combination group, and after dark there’ll South American dancefloor hits from some of the country’s top Latin DJs.

The festival is now in its fourth year and founder Amaranta Wright says it’s a popular way for celebrating the music and dances that are “dominating the stages, nightclubs and arenas globally.”

London is a salsa hotspot, she explains: the capital’s Latin community is “well into its second generation” so she hopes La Clave will “shine a light on the new sound of Latin London”. Tower Bridge is the perfect British backdrop. Vamos.

For more information, visit laclavefest.co.uk

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in