Colombian and Italian heritage singer/songwriter Desta French is one of a new wave of Latin artists in the UK blending the music of her roots with RnB , Jazz, Hip Hop and Soul.
From her first single “Shame”, Desta is leading from the front as the first UK-born LatinX artist to have an entirely Spanish song “Aguanta” played on BBC Radio with Jamz Supernova a fan. The only British-Latina artist to tour North America Desta performed at the SXSW festival with support from PRS, Selector Radio and the BBC and has headlined the La Linea Festival and Latinas in London at the Jazz Cafe on her home turf, Camden Town.
With a new single out soon, Desta can’t wait to take the Main Stage at the LatinoLife In The Park Festival on Saturday July 20th at Ealing’s Walpole Park. The biggest Latin festival in Europe, this year celebrates Colombian Independence Day with 5 stages including a Dance Tent, immersive areas dance, an urban showcase, food & drinks pop ups and a Kids Zone.
Ahead of LatinoLife In The Park, All In London chats to Desta about where she goes to have fun and relax in the city.
What’s the best thing about London?
The cultural diversity in London is unmatched and when you go to other cities it really hits home how much I value that. I love being able to find any food I fancy and know there are really authentic, good quality options.
I like that there are a lot of green spaces too compared to other places, even though not everyone notices them. I like politeness too and we're quite good with that in the grand scheme of things.
What’s the worst thing about London?
The rent prices, phone snatchers, cost of travel and racists.
Where do you go to have fun?
'Tia Mia' is a night I run which celebrates Latina and diaspora Diva female energy, past, present and future. It's one of the events I do with a platform I started called 'La Chonga' that supports and encourages Latina creatives, independent businesses and artists. We curated the last 'Latinas Of London' event at The Jazz Cafe in May and are about to open an evening 'Chonga Market Place' in Portobello Road, West London.
Where is the most relaxing place in town?
There's a little cinema in Covent Garden, called the Garden Cinema. They always have the most interesting showings of independent films and loads of re-runs of old classics. I really feel a sense of escapism and relaxation when I'm there.
Where is your favourite place for eats and drinks in London?
Portobello Nights is an incredible vegan market in west London. It’s a community run project and the vibe is unmatched, I love going there and checking out all the vegan options, even though I’m not even vegan there’s some really nice stuff!
I'm obsessed with Tacos and recently I went to a place called Tacas in Peckham and it was banging.
Since living in Mexico for 4 months last year, and frequenting Texas quite a lot over the past couple of years, it has really set the bar quite high! I crave chamoy and tajin on everything, and it's not so common here so I was so happy to see that glorious rim on a few of their cocktails.
Chamoy is like this gooey sweet candy, paired with Tajin salt which is like a chilly salt, it's really a combination dropped down from Ometechhil himself. If you put that on the side of a watermelon slice it will change your life forever.
Their tacos were some of the best I have tried in London, particularly the fish taco, the chicken katsu and I really loved the mushroom one too.
I also like that it's situated right on Peckham high street, which has a really small pavement. Feels like you are walking in from off the road, so it’s quite unassuming from the outside. It's not over done, it doesn't feel gimmicky which I can find with a lot of Mexican places here. It's great. I kinda want to make them a playlist.
I'm also a huge fan of Papagones in Finsbury Park. I just love that everyone that works there is actually italian. The food slaps every single time and it's really good value for money in my opinion. It has to be the North London brand for me every time though.
If I could change one thing about London…
Uptight rules, like no Barbecues in parks and loud music in residential areas. They serve a purpose but sometimes I feel people need to chill out a bit.
What’s your favourite venue or festival to play at and what makes it so special?
It has to be the Jazz Cafe for me. It was the most significant headline I've had to date and anyone that was there for my first show there will remember the energy. It was like the whole community really did show up. They also believed in my vision when I did Latinas Of London, for La Linea Festival. I have a lot of respect for that venue and their curation across the musical genres, eras and the world.
The song that reminds me most of London is…Lily Allen - LDN
I just feel Lily is so quintessentially London to me, and all of the lyrics in the song just describe it perfectly. Even though it's an old song and alot would have changed, it's just the first song that jumped into my head. She and that song feels like it straddles working class and middle class London quite accurately and if you were raised here you understand those nuances in all their glory well so it's very relatable to me.
Tell us a London gem that everyone should know about?
There are little pieces of wall still standing within the city that used to circle around the old City of London. I like finding them and just reflecting on how mad the world was then and also now.
Desta French headlines LatinoLife In The Park Festival alongside Jimmy Saa, Dukus, Classico Latino and many more on Saturday 20th July at Ealing’s Walpole Park, Mattock Ln, W5 5EQ. Starting at midday 12 Noon and running until 10pm tickets are available at https://www.skiddle.com/festivals/latino-life-in-the-park