Watch: Mestizo

Mestizo is a British Council programme connecting some of the most exciting musicians in London and Bogota today. And now is your chance to hear and witness for yourself what incredible music is unleashed when these musical cultures combin, as we bring you a special event, streamed to the world, on Sunday 2 May 2021 as part of La Linea festival.

This special music stream event will be the global premiere performance for a big band collaboration between the new jazz scenes of Bogotá and London. The collaboration was originally due to premiere in a live performance at La Linea 2020 which was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. But thanks to technology and the adaptability of the musicians, Mestizo will be heard for the first time in a striking video performance, shot against the backdrop of the cities that inspired it.

Sunday 2 May 2021

La Linea – London Latin Music Festival, Online

Featuring Ahnansé and musicians from the Steam Down community, Theon Cross, León Pardo, Diana Sanmiguel, N. Hardem, Daniel Michel, Marco Fajardo, La BOA and more

Tickets are available globally via DICE now

Jazz al Parque

In 2019, with support from the British Council, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia and Steam Down travelled to Colombia to perform at Bogotá’s Jazz al Parque festival. While they were in the Colombian capital, they spent time in the studio with members of the city’s inspirational independent scene. The conversations they struck up have continued and resulted in this year’s new set that embodies the vibrant sounds of both countries. This is mestizo.

Neither London, nor Bogotá, this is a brand new international local sound that draws on the diaspora roots of the British and Colombian musicians. At one moment filtered through grime, at another via the haunting sound of the gaita,

Like their UK counterparts, contemporary Colombian musicians have embraced different musical traditions to create new and refreshing music. Twenty years ago, young Colombians from major cities began to create musical fusions between cumbia and currulao mixed with jazz, hip-hop, salsa, and electronica and transformed afro-diasporic traditional Colombian music.

Mestizo is a British Council programme to foster music collaborations between artists and producers from the United Kingdom and Colombia. It is co-produced with La Linea, and supported by the PRS Foundation.