The city vibrates with a ‘boom’ music that has coincided with the peace accord in Colombia

Your circuit is a bank of tests for trends international, where Latin rhythms has gained great impact

Colombia has changed more rapidly in the next few years than during the previous half century. With the historic peace agreement with the FARC reached the end of 2016, nearly 13,000 guerrillas disarmed. This has coincided with a profound change in the culture that has made it appearance in Bogota, one of the musical scenes most exciting on the planet.

“This apparent calm we live in now by the reduction of the insecurity has also allowed the musicians to travel to regions hit by the conflict that they previously were unable to visit and that exchange is always enriching,” explains Jaime Monsalve, chief of music of the National Radio of Colombia.

Before you saw the traffic to the reverse: to the capital came, for decades, musicians from regions hit by the conflict, fleeing violence, germinating a fusion that cannot be found in any other city in the world: sounds of the Caribbean, the heritage of african Pacific, the andean tradition, the rhythms of the llaneros, artists, indigenous people of the Amazon… all of this revisited from optical modern.

“The youth in this city vibrates today with music,” says Monsalve. This journalist mentions the importance that they have had the strengthening of the middle class, the higher rates of reading and access to education, as well as a growing interest in the higher studies of artistic careers. Added to that is a law that, in 2012, eliminated bureaucratic obstacles and encouraged cultural proposals through benefits in taxes.

A decisive change for the development of a circuit of concert halls, seals and new bands has been the growing demand for a new public that, for the first time in the country, is willing to pay for listening to live music. For years the institutional policy consisted in encouraging the free concerts at open-air festivals like Rock The Park, an icon of the hard sounds (metal, hardcore, punk) in Latin america.

class=”icon-foto_16_g”> Frente Cumbiero, in concert

Has sprouted a fusion that cannot be found in other city in the world from the perspective of modern

“When I was a teenager was unrealistic to Colombia come outside bands as The Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam and Coldplay, in the past few years have touched for the first time in the country,” says Diana Sanmiguel, a city of the 89 that forms a part of bands such as The BOA and The Pearl.

The concert of Sting along with the jamaican Shaggy on 21 October will mean the opening of the Movistar Arena, a venue with a capacity for 16,000 spectators is built next to the football stadium of the city (el Campin) that will cover a gap historic in Bogotá: the absence of large spaces for live performances.

“Colombia, and Bogotá in particular, is a melting pot of cultures, music genres, instruments and artists with a rich and diverse: from vallenato, the cumbia and the rhythms to folk to salsa, rap or reggaeton. The colombian artists are more fashionable than ever around the world,” says Mia Nygren, managing director, Latin america at Spotify.

This platform of playing music has created a specific category Made in Colombia, with 19 playlists. “More than 90% of the listeners of colombian artists come from outside, it is a great exporter of music,” explains Nygren.

‘Hipsters’ in Gauteng

at the end of Each week the youth in this city gathers around to local live music in the neighborhood hipster Chapinero as ‘Latino Power’, ‘Matik Matik’ and ‘Boogaloop’ to hear the new sounds local that are then exported abroad. This circuit is a bank of tests to international trends, where Latin music has gained an impact of paramount importance in the last few years.

“it is No exaggeration to say that Bogota is home to one of the scenes most exciting in the world. Here is happening the same that happened in previous decades in Brazil and Cuba. At this time, Colombia and Peru are the two powers of sound of Latin america,” says Jaime Monsalve.

The journalist praises the work being done by labels and promoters independent as Llorona, Biche, Afropicks and Palenque. “Are music lovers who get together to do things, very active and talented. So that wasn’t happening a while ago. Have led to an explosion of bands is amazing, in my case, every week I discover three or four new artists that you fly in the head”.

The scene has evolved since the end of the last century at the same rate that the colombian society: the worst years of the drug have given way to an open mind, achieving social progress important matters of human rights and equality.

“We are living a unique moment for the culture in Colombia”, says the DJ and visual artist Mateo Rivano. “The scene of Bogotá, it is something special for the package the full artistic. Not only are you going to a concert, but there are other things going on while you listen to music, from performance to videos and choreography”.

“There are many people working very hard for Colombia to be a country in which every year has major film festivals,” says Ela Minus, a columbian with more projection out, who lives in New York since 2014 after studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.

“The young of the middle class in bogota for the first time can afford to pay three or four large concerts a year, that is a definite change”, explained from Moor Presents, that in addition to Stereo Picnic have managed to bring to Bogota the barcelona festival Sonar specializing in music of the avant-garde.

the U.S. wants to Malumas

Despite these giant steps, and the same happens in colombian politics, where the agreement of peace has not meant the end of violence (there are still illegal armed groups that control the drug trade), there are still many things in which to move forward to strengthen this music scene that has amazed the experts all over the world.

Alejandra Gomez, seal Biche, pointed to one: the difficulty of the local artists to develop their career in the country. “It’s easier to fill a room in Amsterdam in Cali”, it regrets. He has toured with his bands by almost all the countries of South and Central america, plus Europe, and for the market of Japan, where you think there is a gold mine for new Latin sounds.

The thorn is the united States. “Si you are not Maluma is very difficult to be worth the risk because you must pay the visa as a tourist from colombia and also another permit that costs about 800 dollars for each musician and then expires.”

The music scene around Bogotá, it is increasingly demanded in the international markets but still need to consolidate the local industry so that all these talented artists be able to stay in their city and live music.

According to the criteria of

Learn more