London is a multicultural city shaped by migration and music.
Latin American music has become increasingly visible through global genres such as reggaeton, salsa and Latin pop. Yet, this visibility can also reinforce simplified representations of Latin American identities, reducing a culturally diverse region to a few recognisable sounds, rhythms and labels.
At the same time, the South American diaspora brings musical traditions, memories and cultural experiences into cities like London. Music becomes a way of maintaining connections with places of origin, expressing identity and creating new cultural meanings.
The problem is a potential gap between listening to it and developing a meaningful emotional and cultural connection with it.
People may dance to a song, enjoy its rhythm or recognise its genre without cultural significance. Yet these emotional responses could also become an entry point for curiosity, dialogue and intercultural understanding.
This research therefore explores how musical listening experiences might move beyond passive consumption or entertainment to encourage emotional engagement, curiosity and connections between Londoners and the cultures represented within the South American diaspora.
Rather than assuming that understanding must come before emotional connection, the project investigates whether emotion itself can become a starting point for intercultural dialogue.