Valeria Cazas Lozada
Valeria is very passionate about and enjoys the process of creating promotion using media, film and dance, to share her love of Latin Music with everyone as well as provide people with a chance to experience and learn about her culture and the many cultures of Latin America.
Valeria was born in Guajara Merimi, Brazil on the border of Guajara Merin, Bolivia. By a beautiful river called the Guaporé River which is in North-eastern Bolivia. Her mother had to travel to the Brazilian side of the border to have Valeria as there were no hospitals in that area of Bolivia.
At the time of Valeria’s birth, her dad was in the army and had been stationed at the border, he was then transferred to La Paz where they spent the next 7 years. They then moved to Cochabamba and then Sant Cruz, moving every few years when her father was transferred.
When she was 10 years old Valeria and her family had to leave Bolivia, and on Valeria’s 11th birthday they arrived in London as refugees. One and half months later they were sent to Liverpool to create a new home for the family.
Valeria Cazas Lozada
Soon after they arrived in Liverpool, Valeria’s family became involved with a Latin American group of families who had arrived around the same time, helping to develop events and family sessions with the group. At that time, Valeria and a group of young girls from Bolivia, El Salvador and Colombia started choreographing dances for songs from Latin America to present at the community events. Around that time a Latin American cultural organisation, All Things Latin; led by two Latin American Artists and cultural activists was born, and one of the projects they created was a drum and dance group called La Comparsa. Valeria became wholeheartedly involved in the dance section of the group.
Whilst in Bolivia, as part of the physical education, Valeria learnt and presented traditional dances to an audience and this became her favourite school activity, so when she became involved in the Latin American youth project in Liverpool, she quickly focused on the dance element, producing choreographies and performing in shows for a range of festivals and events throughout the Northwest of England.
Being involved in the Latin group helped Valeria to feel confident in her heritage and become proud of her identity as a Bolivian and Latin American woman. The supportiveness of the group allowed her to flourish and helped her to decide to study a combined degree in Media and Dance at Hope University.
After graduating she moved to London where she started her own YouTube channel, doing small videos to develop her portfolio as a presenter and interviewed many of the up-and-coming Latino artists in London. She also participated in parades such as “El Carnaval del Pueblo”, where she danced Caporales with a group of young Bolivians.
In 2012 Valeria began to work in Extra Radio, a Latin American online radio and media company. Here Valeria developed a Latin American Urban music show which later became the “Urban Flow” show for Aculco Radio (The leading Latino radio in London); interviewing major Latino artists such as Jowel & Randy (Puerto Rico); Magic Juan (Dominican Republic) and many more. Valeria travelled to the US to interview artists at the Latin Billboards and American Music Awards.
Just before the pandemic Valeria moved back to Bolivia to work with her father and ended up spending most of the pandemic in an almost continuous state of isolation in her father’s Eco Holiday Camp.
Valeria has returned to Liverpool to develop her dance and media work and continues to promote her culture through performances, workshops and events. She is very passionate about and enjoys the process of creating promotion using media, film and dance, to share her love of Latin Music with everyone as well as provide people with a chance to experience and learn about her culture and the many cultures of Latin America.
Francisco Carrasco
