Everyone’s favourite global punk protest singer Manu Chao plus interviews with Gilles Peterson, Oumou Sangaré, Gilberto Gil, Ojos de Brujo, Baaba Maal, Tony Allen, Jane Ginsberg and more

In 2001, Argentinian songwriter and producer Gaby Kerpel released his début album Carnabailito; a fusion of Argentine folklore and electronica. Some eight years later, he returns under the neo-cumbia pseudonym of King Coya

Mauricio Pacheco’s passion for Angolan music has flowered into a wonderful album of reinterpretations of classic Angolan tunes by the cutting edge of Brazil’s underground scene

Hidden down an alley in the old Inca capital of Cusco, there lies a small, unpretentious museum lined with strange, forgotten instruments. It is the modest front of a unique foundation working to preserve the traditional music of Perú.

Late this February Olodum marched into Salvador’s world-famous carnival celebrating its 30th year promoting citizenship, education, and, of course, the deep grooves of samba-reggae in the historic, and historically marginalized neighborhood of Pelourinho.

Colombian journalist Jaime Concha explores the hard-hitting musical flipside to the tourist idyll Cartagena on the country’s northern coast. His love of champeta led him deep into a world where resistance has always been a rhythm

England and Brazil have always had something of a special relationship, and judging by the range of Brazilian cultural events coming to the capital in next few months it is as healthy as ever. To ensure it persists and you don’t miss out, Fly has been sifting through some of highlights.

The Ipanemas play dusty vintage bossa nova. Their music is soothing, care-free and full of Carioca charm, just as Fly found front-man Wilson das Neves to be in conversation

With parts of London now officially Brazilian (Willesden, Harlesden and bits of Oxford Street being just a few examples) the yellow and green cultural invasion of the UK continues. Carnival may have been and gone but fans of Brazilian music should fear not. The next few months offer some rich pickings and here is just a taste of what is on offer.

As The Ipanemas ready themselves for their tour of the UK this Spring, we chat with their producer and Azymuth main man Ivan Conti

Bogota is getting set to rock the continent with its annual hip hop bash but the location is no accident as Hollie McNish explains

The Def Jam of Latin music is back with the latest in its series of re-issues. This time it’s the voices of the Fania stable that get the digital treatment

With Brazil the new Camden, and Bonde do Role following in the footsteps of CSS as the next big thing from the South American giant, Fly went along to meet the band and find out what happened when baile funk went punk

Andy Palacio, erstwhile star of Belizian Garifuna Punta rock has taken a turn for the more introspective recently, and by way of contrast is finding an audience way beyond his familiar territory

Jose Luis, London’s Latin Mr Big turns his hand to the art of compilation making to deliver three big, bad slabs of music that will have purists gnashing their teeth and everyone else shaking their thing

Brazilian born, world-travelled and Los Angeles based, Jonathan Stier is producing a unique amalgamation of sounds with his music

Daughter of bossa nova architect João Gilberto and niece of Chico Buarque (pop legend), Bebel Gilberto’s place in the royal family of Brazilian music should now be secure in its own right with the release of Momento

Daniel Haaksman had the look of a man who’d had an early start to the day but as soon as he started talking about baile funk, he lit up as bright as the proverbial Christmas tree

Kinky’s Ulises Lozano (keyboards, accordion, programmer) talks about their new album Reina and creating their unique sound

“Cantaré es la vida mia,” croons Marino Luis, “Singing is my life.” Luis, a local star in his native Buenavaentura, Colombia, is making his international solo debut with a bang. After ten years of touring with prestigious salsa outfits, Luis is ready to break out and make name for himself in the salsa scene with A la Medida.

Ponder the essence of tango for any length of time and soon you’ll realise that it’s a music form like no other. No other genre comes close to the sense of tragedy, tension and melancholy that it exudes. Responsible for spearheading a renaissance of this criminally marginalized music form is the production trio Gotan Project

DJ Jose Luis has been burning the candela at both ends bringing Londoners endless club nights, and now Latino London has its own show on Resonance FM featuring cutting-edge Latin sounds including reggaeton of course…

“Man is a hacker, the human essence is that of a hacker’s. We need to invade everything and use it, and then move.” The Brazilian master of intoxicating leftfield extra-terrestrialia that is Totonho took time out to talk to Fly about man’s desire for self-destruction, playing on the moon and his latest album.

Blessed with iconic looks reminiscent of her idol Frida Kahlo, a distinctive vocal style with dusty chocolate tones and a genius for re-imagining Mexico in song, Lila Downs doesn’t so much cross borders as move them about for fun

“This column is dedicated to all the wonderful international tunes that most people either don’t know about, or can’t be arsed to cover. I hope it inspires you all to start digging a little deeper.” Phil Meadley kicks off a regular feature dedicated to global beats

Despite José Antonio Rodríguez’s diminutive size, he had a huge voice and was affectionately known in his native Cuba as ‘El Pequeño Gran Sonero’. His death, aged just 52, is a shock to many and a loss to all.

Paulina Tala Masafierro gives us a glimpse into the world of the independent musician in Chile and points at some of the brightest lights on the scene

Juan de Marcos gave Fly this candid and wide-ranging interview about his latest album Step Forward, the new label, the politics of the music business, the history of Cuban music, the vexing myths surrounding Buena Vista, tomorrow’s stars and, er, King Crimson.

Filmmaker Gustavo Hernandez wants to make movies that matter. The Mexican Dream seems to have accomplished his goal if the pile of awards are any indication. Hernandez's short film concerns the dreams of a Mexican immigrant to the US. Hernandez travels to Cannes as his little film gets screened in the world's most renowned film festival

DJ Jose Luis traces the rise of Latin American music phenomenon reggaeton. Like hip hop, its Northern brother in arms, this ghetto music is the angry voice of the oppressed and no force on Earth is going to stop it

For Chango Spasiuk, virtuoso accordion player, winner of best newcomer award for World Music and champion of chamamé, development is in the simplifying and distilling of an art as he tells Fly’s Wyl Menmuir.

Conga player Miguel 'Angá' Díaz is about to release what is possibly the Cuban album of the decade. In drawing on his own rich musical background, Díaz in Echu Mingua also collects the many-coloured threads of Cuban music and weaves them into something new and wonderful.

Starring Mia Maestro and Ruben Blades, the film Secuestro Express tells the story of a wealthy young Caracas couple who are kidnapped by three delinquents as they leave a party. Venezuelan director Jonathan Jakubowicz talked to JosÈ Orozco, Fly’s Caracas correspondent, about making fast movies, being a Latin American director in Hollywood, and the artist’s role in Venezuela’s future.

Bob DeBrino came to Caracas to make a documentary film about Simon Bolivar. If it works out, he’ll film the Carabobo Battle scene on the land where it took place. DeBrino’s project represents a welcome investment in the local film industry and tells us what Latin America means to Hollywood.

His band, Huascar Barradas y Maracaibo, dresses up llanero, joropo and gaita in world music colors for export. Barradas is changing Venezuelan music as he strives to become the world’s best flautist.

Gustavo Cerati’s Roken project debuts in Caracas: three guys jamming and having a good time with some laptops and some machines.

Two local magazines look at global and local culture, high and low, as never before. Our brave new world of barrios, high-speed internet and fast food finally gets recognized, expressed and critiqued.