Samba Rhythms Breaking Out All Over The Stadium

Carnival falls in love with Latin Flavours

August Bank Holiday and Notting Hill Carnival have been and gone once again. Just like every year a gang of friends and I wandered the streets of West London, danced by this sound system and that, wolfed down platefuls of jerk chicken and sunk interminable pints of Red Stripe. Yes, Carnival was its usual Caribbean self but this year I smelt a whiff of something new. And, no, it wasn’t the curried goat. That infectious Latin flavour, which has been inexorably creeping into Carnival over the last few years, just got piquant.

I stepped off the bus and headed north from Notting Hill Gate. The streets were only littered with a smattering of revellers. The first real crowd I came across was grouped around a demonstration of the Brazilian non-contact martial art, Capoeira. Everyone who walked past stopped to watch the mesmeric, measured, lingering twists, kicks and flips accompanied by chanting and traditional music twanged out on what looked like a dilapidated bow (actually called a Berimbau).

That was just the start; as I moved from stage to stage amongst all the typical sounds of Carnival there was a distinctive beat which stuck out, and not just on a few isolated sound systems; it was all over the place. It seems Reggaeton is finally catching on. You couldn’t move for the dirty, gyrating sounds of the latest Latin craze. Well, I say ‘latest’ but it’s been going on for years on the other side of the Atlantic. The fluid mixture of dancehall beats and Latin melodies grew up on the streets of Puerto Rico influenced by Jamaican dancehall (perhaps its closest relative), many types of Latin American music and the American Hip Hop scene.

We shouldn’t be too surprised though, the Latin influence in London has been quietly but steadily expanding. A decade ago there was next to no Latin influence in the city at all. Now, not only are more immigrants arriving every year – have a wander around Elephant and Castle these days, you can’t move for Colombians, 75,000 at the last count – but what was once very much a minority is now breaking firmly into the mainstream. Look at all the people sporting T-shirts with ‘Cuba’, ‘Brazil’ or ‘Argentina’ emblazoned across the front, hear the flip flop of the ubiquitous Havaianas all summer long or listen to the tunes floating out of the clubs.

Back at Notting Hill it struck me that London’s Caribbean Carnival has previously paid little heed to the Latin component of the region. Perhaps it’s because their culture has more in common with South America proper and this is backed up by the fact that Latin-Caribbean and South American music have infiltrated the event together organically. But there’s plenty more to look forward to. So far we’ve little more than scratched the surface of a colossal, diverse, musically plentiful region. Salsa and merengue reached these shores years ago but it was for your mother’s dance classes. Bring on the bootyshakin Reggaeton, the Afro-Hispano-indigenous medley of Cumbia, the rhythmical Samba, the laid back Rancheras, the accordions of Vallenato or the lilting sounds of Cuban Son. Forget the pop crooning of Ricky Martin and Juanes, and the novelty hits like the bothersome Macarena. Reggaeton heavy weight, Daddee Yankee, charted at number five with his anthem Gasolina sung entirely in Spanish. Could this be the sign of things to come?

Stroke of Genius

Britain’s masterpieces have been whittled down to just ten in a quest to find our country’s greatest artwork. Radio 4’s Today programme have shortlisted a spectacular sprinkling of talent. The paintings span more than five centuries of European art and include works by British, Italian, Dutch, Belgian and French artists. While pieces by Hogarth, Manet, Hockney and Turner are in the running, Sunflowers by Van Gogh and The Hay Wain by Constable are the major players. One of these prominent painters will be propelled into first place by public vote. Presented in association with the National Gallery, this particular survey is the first of its kind but follows in the wake of the BBC’s ‘Big Read’, when the public were called upon to select their favourite book.

Happy Snapper

Over 33,000 British smiles beamed out across the hallowed halls of the Royal College of Art over Bank Holiday weekend. Setting a new Guinness World Record, the exhibition clinched the title for the world’s largest photo display. With 33,401 images of gleeful grins, the show beats the previous record of 32,169, held by Unilever for another exhibition on smiles in Sri Lanka. Smiley Britons across the country submitted photo’s of themselves, friends and family all bearing their pearly whites. Ken Livingstone, Martin Johnson and Brian Conley are just a few of a raft of celebrities who also merrily smirked for the camera. Not such a stiff upper lip after all chaps!

Don’t Feed the Humans

London Zoo unveiled its inimitable exhibition over Bank Holiday Weekend. Amid the rocky crags of Bear Mountain, eight scantily clad homo-sapiens skulked about. The “Human Zoo” is intended to highlight the primitive nature of human beings as they blissfully horse around, scrutinised by hundreds of bank holiday zoo trippers. The lucky eight were selected from dozens of applicants, all hopeful to have a fun-packed weekend frolicking on the mountain. Criticised as a cheap Big Brother type ploy on the zoo’s part, visitors still found themselves mesmerised by those in captivity. You can’t help but wonder was it a scientific experiment or simply a chance to get a bunch of fit blondes clad in nothing but fig leaves? You decide.

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