Connecting Cultures with Latino Music in Australia

For a lot of Latin Americans in Australia, music is how you keep in touch with home and how you explain home to the people around you. A recent SBS Spanish interview with the Canberra producer Frank Madrid puts that idea at the centre of a concert called Raíces y Ritmos.

Raíces y Ritmos in Canberra

Frank Madrid is a Venezuelan-born cultural producer. According to SBS, he has produced more than 30 national tours and has worked on festivals, art projects and cultural diplomacy. He recently received a Churchill Fellowship to research new ways for artists in Australia and Latin America to collaborate.

Raíces y Ritmos returns to The Street Theatre in Canberra on Friday 6 November 2026. The format is simple. Musicians from Chile, Cuba, Argentina and Australia step away from their larger bands to play short, stripped-back sets. Then each one sits down with Madrid to talk about the music they make, the places and traditions that shaped them, and what it means to bring those sounds into life in Australia.

One of the guests is Adrian Hearn, a percussionist, composer, anthropologist and professor at the University of Melbourne. He plays with a trio from Suns of Mercury, a multicultural project founded in 2016 that mixes Afro-Cuban percussion, traditional chants, rhythms from different continents and contemporary sounds.

It is also listed on Latinhood events as Raíces & Rhythms, La Fiesta Unplugged.

Why this kind of night matters

Most Latin music nights in Australia are about dancing, and that is great. A seated night with conversation does something different. You hear why a Chilean or Cuban musician plays the way they do, and how migration changed their sound. For people who grew up here, or for Australian friends, that context makes the music easier to connect with.

More Latin music around Australia

Early November 2026 is busy. A few examples listed on Latinhood:

• The Colombian singer Andrés Cepeda plays Sydney on 5 November and the Melbourne Pavilion on 6 November.
• Arepatón Fest at The Third Day in North Melbourne on 7 November promises Colombian food, cumbia, vallenato and a DJ.
• In Surry Hills, La Sucursal del Cielo celebrates three years of Salsa y Pacífico on 7 November, with a live show, marimba and salsa caleña.
• In Brisbane, the Ecuadorian community runs Colada Morada Fest at Roma Street Parkland on 7 November, with music and dance. Entry is free with registration.

Places to keep the music going

If you are in Canberra, SOS Salsa on Saturday in Braddon is a weekly social for dancers of all levels, and Move Me Studios teaches salsa to absolute beginners. In Melbourne, Bar La Esquina in Footscray has live music and cultural events, and Maracatu Baque Voador in Carlton plays Brazilian maracatu. In Brisbane, the Brazilian Drumming School in Newstead teaches Brazilian rhythm.

For more concerts, salsa nights and festivals near you, check Latinhood events.

Sources

• sbs.com.au

Cover photo: entrance to The Street Theatre, Canberra, by Nick-D, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.