Francisco Carrasco and N. Hardem are joined by Graciela Zaera Moraña and Beto Robledo Zaragoza of the band Chapulines to discuss creativity and the songwriting process. These four Latin American artists, who are on the line-up of this year’s La Linea Festival in London, UK, talk about their most constant themes in song writing, writing songs in different languages, the spiritual nature of Spanish literature and playing to audiences from different cultures.
Francisco Carrasco is a Chilean musician who leads the band Grupo Luma. Born in Santiago but based in the UK, he’s a dynamic musician who plays everything from guitar and cuatro to congas and panpipes. He’s led art events across the world, including the Merseyside International Street Festival, as well as delivering lectures in universities across the UK, South Africa and Latin America.
N. Hardem is a Colombian MC, beat maker and producer, and one of the country’s finest wordsmiths. He is the lead MC of British-Colombian ensemble Mestizo, an innovative group building musical bridges between Colombian folk and London hip-hop.
Spanish violinist Graciela Zaera Moraña and Mexican singer Beto Robledo Zaragoza are part of Belgium-based band Chapulines. They play an interpretation of son jarocho, a traditional Mexican music genre from the southern state of Veracruz, and take inspiration along the way from the rhythms and sounds of Cuba, Colombia and the Caribbean.