By José Gandue @Gandour Photo @jackmulligan
I've been mulling over this article for several days. I'm telling you this because, as those who know me are aware, The topic of the "largest free festival in Latin America" has been affecting me quite a bit for some time now. I have attended every edition of the event, except for 1996, the year I lived in Argentina. I participated as manager of several district bands selected through an open call, and on occasion, I arranged invitations for some Latin American groups. I contributed to the writing of the first two books on the subject, and three years ago, I directed a documentary called District and Popular. But, Why should I care so much about a concert like this and not others, with more well-known artists, more publicity, and more attention from the audience?
Well, the answer is clear: Rock al Parque was born and developed as an activity funded with public funds. (yes, the taxes of all Bogota residents, as the economists of the day say), which, from the beginning, was expected to be the true launching platform of the capital's music scene, the appropriate space from which a massive sound activity would be generated throughout the geography of the city throughout the year. Too romantic? Maybe. Overly optimistic? Definitely. But (and I still see it this way), if the State (in this case the Mayor's Office of Bogotá) allocates a very large amount of money to organize presentations hoping to attract hundreds of thousands of spectators over several days, One would expect that the end result wouldn't simply be pleasing the public for a few hours and then forgetting about the matter until next year, right?.
Someone as naive as me would hope that based on this political decision (it is a public event, open to all, paid for by a state entity, therefore it is a political event), and of all the events that are "called" THE PARK, a musical circuit would be built that, in the intensity of its growth, would generate a cultural structure that would be established in all the neighborhoods of the city, for people from all walks of life, creating direct and indirect jobs in each area, and also building an atmosphere of tolerance and peace worthy of a country that has long been trying to escape the unbearable spiral of violence we are experiencing. Mind you, no one is saying that government institutions should bear all the costs, but in a city of eight million inhabitants, with a multitude of auditoriums and spaces belonging to the state structure that remain unoccupied for much of the year, By simply opening doors and training potential small and medium-sized local entrepreneurs, that goal can be achieved little by little. But, throughout all this time, such an aspiration is like asking for pears from an elm tree or, as Gustavo Cerati would say, "impossible things".
If in 2019, at the twenty-fifth edition of Rock al Parque, they spent everything they had to take the last photo and show how full the Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park was on the final day, now, 3 years later they bring us a very limited edition, with old glories who, by force, try to connect with a new generation of viewers, arguing that «"We had to call on friends for help because there was no money."». In neither case, no matter how spectacular or supportive the efforts, did the Bogota music scene receive what it needed. This is a festival that benefits very few, and almost none of them are interested in what happens to local music the rest of the year. It is an event whose organizers do not work for the benefit of the development of the artistic community or the formation of new audiences who discover the new sounds that are happening in the country or in the world. Over the past few years, the organizers of Rock al Parque have not cultivated genuine exchanges with other festivals and musical entities on the continent. They don't even make a real effort to effectively promote the presentations of the dwindling number of district participants, either in print or through digital advertising. The festival's name, its brand value, and its original purpose have been squandered to pander to selfish, lazy, celebrity-obsessed, and political interests, where grand pronouncements are made while wasting a budget that, at this point, It should have a more popular use, and be more profitable in social and economic terms, that would at least generate the pride of yesteryear and the good vibes that we all deserve as active participants in this story.
If Rock al Parque serves no purpose other than to extend undeserved praise to those in charge of its operation and, in turn, confuse the deluded, while it continues to constantly lose the luster created in the past by the hope and aspirations of those of us who believed that things could be different, then the truth is that it is not worth continuing. The only thing that saves it from its mediocrity is the purpose of reinvention and usefulness that this city needs.
