Latin Hub increasing visibility of Latin Americans
The Latin American community is one of the fastest growing in London making an essential contribution to how the city operates economically, socially and culturally. In her foreword to the report, Paulina Tamborrel, a Citizens UK community organiser from Mexico, said:
“They call us ‘the invisibles’, los invisibles. For all our colours, flavours and rhythms; Latin Americans would expect all before invisibility. We pride ourselves in our joy, musical spirits and loud voices. The grinding reality of being Latin American in the UK has made invisibility a new custom for our community, one that is hard to escape.”
Latin Hub UK is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit initiative to support Latin Americans in the UK and to promote our cultural heritage. Our website and social media channels aim to integrate all the dispersed activities by and for our community, creating a hub that strengthens our identity and contributes into a larger journey towards visibility and recognition of one of London’s fastest-growing yet least appreciated communities.
In line with these goals, on the 9th of October we exhibited our work in Southwark Heritage Centre & Library.
During our last year we have gathered stories of courage and resilience from Latin American traders that have been affected by gentrification, covid and all the other barriers that the community faces.
On the ground floor we exhibited the beautiful paintings of Desire Noriega, which illustrated the spirit of our oral interviews.
It was a great event that connected us with young Southwark residents also concerned with issues of gentrification as well as the wider community.
Art can be a great communicator, but we also accompanied the paintings with a synopsis of the story that inspired the artist, contextualised by the wider challenges that the Latin American community faces related to each story. We also included organisations where members of the community can seek support for a wider rage of issues, from domestic violence to work exploitation.
On the first floor we presented an audiovisual experience, all audio interviews were animated with painting videos combined into a short movie that presented all the trader stories in a series. Visitors were able to experience first hand the moving stories of resilience and hope.
At the end of the event, a local artist illustrated the day that we captured in the image video.
A big thank you to all visitors who were so positive about our exhibition and project!
Speak out on issues you care about!
Latin Hub UK is independent, non-profit initiative to support Latin Americans in the UK and promote our cultural heritage. Our website and social networks promote initiatives and talents of our community. You are all invited to participate to promote your ventures or write about a topic that interests you.
We are collecting ANONYMOUS information about Latin Americans in the UK and the challenges we face.
It is important to gather as many opinions as possible because this is how we can understand the needs of a large number of people in the community in order to campaign for concrete solutions.
Please donate 3-4 minutes of your day to complete this survey and we would be very grateful if you could forward it to other Latin Americans living in UK.
Latin Hub joins BAME debate
In March 2021, the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities recommended that the government stop using the term BAME and the government is currently considering its response to the Commission’s recommendations. This was one of the topics discussed in a focus group about Southwark Council grants funding & BME led community organisations. On the 11 of November 2021 members from a wide range of ethnic-led organisations discussed the use of the terminology BAME and whether a more appropriate and meaningful terminology can be used in applying for funding from Southwark Council. The overwhelming majority agreed that BAME is a problematic terminology for a number of reasons but there was no consensus about a suitable alternative. Latin Hub argued that BAME is problematic mainly because it established hierarchies among the different community groups. However, in the context of funding, we don’t mind being ‘labelled’ as a way of recognising the specific barriers that we face as a community. With regards to access to funding we argued that small grassroots organisations can be at a disadvantage because they ‘don’t know where to start’ and suggested that a tool kit explaining the funding streams available, eligibility criteria and calendar of application deadlines will level the playing field between the more experienced fundraisers and the smaller organisations. Another mentioned point is the lack of feedback that prevents unsuccessful applicants from improving their bid for the next round. Other Latin American organisations also that contributed to the debate were LAWRS, VOADES and AYMARA. The need for more co-fund opportunities was also stressed and we hope that we can work together in the future. Latin Hub UK welcomes this initiative from Community Southwark and looks forward to continuing to participate to push for change in the right direction.
