Latin American House (LHA) was established in 1983 and is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. Their main purpose is to provide space and support for Latin Americans, Spanish and Portuguese speakers in London as well as for other communities in the local area of Kilburn where the organisation is based.
Run by a team of volunteers LAH actively promotes the interests of the Latin American Community and Latin American culture in the United Kingdom. LAH organises different events to engage the community in educational activities. One example of their work is the Salón Cultural, a new forum created to “encourage thought-provoking, critical conversations about Latin American culture in a welcoming and friendly atmosphere”. Inspired by the ‘Salón’ originally found in France in the 17th and 18th Century and later exported to Latin America, this social gatherings offer a space for the continuous development of ideas, education and culture; “not trying to recreate the salons of the past but we do want to open up a space for the debate of critical ideas around Latin American culture and its relationship with Europe”.
Another ongoing and successful project has been Ventana Latina (VL), the Latin American House’s online cultural magazine, published in Spanish and focused on Latin American arts and culture. “The magazine’s content includes articles on relevant and contemporary arts topics, fiction, poetry, interviews and profiles on prominent members of the community. It is also a guide to the UK’s Latin cultural scene and a platform for the expression for Latin American artists in the Diaspora”.
LAH also offers, among other services, a range of language courses. The Founder and Director of the Elephant Minds Foundation, Patricia C Prada Jimenez, has developed a new English Language Course for Beginners (ESOL Beginners- CEFR A1) that is being taught at Casa Latina from November 2016. Registration has been a huge success and as spaces for this course are now full we hope to be able to offer more courses in the coming year. We are very happy to work with such a wonderful group of enthusiastic and committed students and we wish them all the best with their programme.
If you wish to get in touch with Latin American House please contact General Operations Manager, Stefanie Borkum, or Marisel Mendoza, the Administration Officer, at 020 7372 8653 or email info@casalatina.org.uk.