We interviewed Grupo del Sur, a Chilean dance group based in London who play rhythms from all over their country. Coming from that long and narrow nation, which this year celebrates its 200^th anniversary, they will perform for us dances from different regions of Chile. From the north the "huaino" and "cachimbo, from the central zone "cueca", "jotas" and from the south a dance related with Chiloé Island. There is an important crossover with Argentinean culture in the zone called Patagonia, so the "cueca", "chocolate" and "segrillas" go together with "chamames" and other rhythms. Although this group started dancing Easter Island or Rapa Nui rhythms.

What brought you to London?

Different reasons, but mainly sentimental ones, all of us are in relationships with or married to English people. We didn't come here looking for work. I myself was travelling around Europe with my dance company and intended to study in Geneva.  We don't know what we are doing next, or if we will stay much longer. This was never in my plans, I never expected to come to London, I thought of going to France or Germany to learn the language, but here I am.

Have you adapted to life in England or do you miss South American culture?

In my case, I am a very adaptable person, I am interested in learning about new cultures, new places and it wasn't difficult for me to feel settled after a while. However I am very fond of and I respect very much the Chilean culture. There are always things that you miss, it is not possible to preserve every aspect of culture; the tastes, the people are different. But there are many things that you find here that you would never find in Chile, like the diversity. Here you can find people of all the colours, nations, languages and religions. London is a unique city in that sense; in the underground, for example, you can hear a massive variety of languages and see many different races of people.  Many things are happening here, there are many possibilities, many things to do for free or without spending much.

What main cultural differences can you notice between Chilean and European culture? 

The differences between Chileans and Europeans are that we are much more relaxed, with time and appointments, for example. In relation to flavours, the fruits and vegetables, here everything comes from abroad and doesn't taste the same as in Chile, there everything is fresh. Lots of little details that vary, but it is totally worth it to be here, you can't have everything wherever you are, so you have to be happy where you find yourself.

What do you think about the representation of culture and Latin American art here in Europe?

I believe that there is a lot of interest in South American culture here. In my experience, participating in a lot of folk festivals sponsored by the CIOF across Europe I have realized that the reception, at least for the Chilean culture, is very open, they are very interested in our culture, they were very pleased to see and experience what we were doing in Italy, France, Spain and Germany. In general, when people here think about South America they think of salsa or tequila, but we are such a big and diverse continent, we have so many rhythms, colours and flavours but people don't know that because we don't communicate it well. Television means that everybody is familiar with North American culture, but no one knows about us.

What made you decide to perform for DLA Rhythms?

Some time ago I went to DLA's film festivals and later I found out all the work you do in relation to music and dance. The fact that you are a charity and that you raise funds for South American institutions with these activities is something I really value. DLA have very good approach towards people, and I think is very important.

What is your opinion of institutions like ours, which try to disseminate the art and culture of South America?

I think they really get what they want because they have a very good approach and reception from the public. There is a lot of interest in Latin America; and in the case of Chile, people know that it is a safe place to travel to, and now they know where Chile is, even though it's hardly ever mentioned in the media.

How do you think Chile is viewed overseas?

I think Chile doesn't promote itself enough overseas, that's a bit of a personal campaign for us, to try to disseminate our culture. We can't dedicate our whole time to this, we don't earn anything and we work all week to prepare a performance. We want to grow and show what we do, what Chile is and correct the idea that Chile is just a chili, which is a big mistake.

 What opinion do you have in relation to the fact of celebrating the bicentenary?

In terms of identity is something very important for all of us Latin Americans and it's good to celebrate it outside of our countries and tell the world that we are two hundred 200 years old.

What about your future plans?

Our group has been changing. We want to grow and establish ourselves as a group in a formal way, with regular, more frequent rehearsals, with more people. One of the best ways of continuing to spread our culture is through education and as the curriculum here includes dance children will learn how to speak Spanish and dance to our music.

See more about Grupo del sur here: