Resonant Territories: Sounds of Shared Latin America
Resonant Territories: Sounds of Shared Latin America was an event co-organised with the radio programme Somos con Cecilia Ramos and the Instituto Cervantes on 23 February 2025.
The evening featured Mapuche singer-songwriter Pukka Malen from Bariloche (with whom we had previously collaborated on Nuevos imaginarios del sur) and the Kichwa hip hop group Runa Rap.
Unfortunately, visa applications for two of Runa Rap's four members were inexplicably refused by the British government, despite official letters from the University of Manchester confirming their participation in our event with all expenses covered. This reflects the intrinsically discriminatory nature of the visa system in the UK and the ongoing barriers faced by Indigenous and Latin American artists seeking to share their culture with British audiences.
Despite these setbacks, the evening proceeded successfully to a full house. It also featured performances by Luma, a Liverpool-based ensemble led by Chilean brothers Francisco and Óscar Carrasco and Las Warmis, a dance collective comprised of Indigenous Ecuadorian women based in London. The event also featured Rayen Rupayan from the Mapuche youth organisation Wechekeche Ka Itrofillmongen, who raised awareness about the disappearance of Indigenous activist Julia Chuñil in November 2024.
The free event provided British audiences with a rare opportunity to experience the richness and diversity of contemporary Indigenous Latin American art whilst also highlighting urgent social justice and Indigenous rights issues.
