Buena Vista Social Club star joins London’s Latin Music Festival line-up
London Latin Music festival will mark its milestone 25th anniversary this year with its most ambitious line-up to date.
Hailed as a thriving celebration of the city’s Latin Music scene, La Linea will return to venues across South London and beyond from April 22 to May 5.
Latin icons will join the very best emerging musicians in bustling venues including the O2 in Greenwich, the Southbank Centre, Hootananny Brixton, Electric Brixton and Peckham’s AMP Studios.
Highlights for La Linea 2025 include Grammy-winning renowned Cuban artists Eliades Ochoa.
Mr Ochoa will always be best known for his role with the Buena Vista Social Club, whose lovelorn ballads, patriotic hymns and gentle dance numbers take you back in time to the Havana lounges of the 1920s.
On April 22, Mr Ochoa will take to the stage at the Barbican to perform tracks from his new album, Guajiro, as well as back catalogue classics including ‘Chan Chan’ and ‘Candela’.
Elsewhere in the set list, La Linea will welcome 23-year-old Mexican Latin Grammy winner Ed Maverick on May 1.
The folk singer-songwriter will present a premiere of his new album La Nube en el Jardín.
Having gained international attention for his hit single ‘Párteme la Cara’, which reached the top five in the Spanish Single Charts, Mr Maverick has sold nearly one million copies worldwide.
This exclusive show at Union Chapel in Islington will be one of only three European dates in 2025, and Mr Maverick’s only UK show of the year.
Heading over to The Jazz Café in Camden, Puerto Rican rap sensation Villano Antillano will take to the stage.
Ms Antillano’s blend of Latin rhythms with sharp social commentary have seen her emerge as a prominent voice for the trans community.
Making her UK debut at Hootananny Brixton on May 1, is Portuguese singer-songwriter and producer Ana Lua Caiano.
Ms Lua Caiano creates a unique sound by blending traditional Portuguese music with electronic music, creating melodies that evoke tradition wrapped in synthesizers, beat machines, and sounds taken from everyday life.
She will be joined by special guest Guatemalan-Swiss singer Baby Volcano.
The pair will combine electronic sounds with Latin rhythms and hip-hop alongside a fusion of Spanish, Portuguese and French lyrics.
To close the festival, on May 3, Moth Club in Hackney will welcome Buenos Aires based singer-songwriter Juana Aguirre.
Crossing between Latin American folklore and alternative genres, Ms Aguirre’s unique sound has seen her recently open for artists including BadBadNotGood and Alice Phoebe Lou.
From mariachi music to manguebeat, bossa nova, electronica, rap and classically influenced tango, this annual celebration of Latin music is not one to miss.
Additional names will be announced in due course. Tickets are on sale now at www.lalineafestival.com.
Pictured top: Eliades Ochoa (Picture: Massi Giorgeschi)
