By the Zonagirante.com team @spinning zone
Editor's Note: This article, originally published on September 28th, is being updated with announcements from Idartes regarding the festival's guests. There will be a total of three announcements, including the names of Colombian bands based outside of Bogotá selected for the festival, plus a number of international groups invited to perform at Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park., where, from November 11 to 13, will celebrate the 2023 edition of Rock al Parque.
It must be said: We had an initial displeasure with the selection process for local artists, those from the district and capital city scene, a selection that was made differently from that made by the calls department of the District Institute of the Arts (Idartes), an entity belonging to the city's mayor's office and the organizing body of the event, with disappointing results. Fortunately, as news of the invited artists has been released, the festival's program is looking more promising. It should be noted that the selection of these latest artists, without the need for competitions, was made by three curators, well-known names in the city's event production and journalism scene: Camila Rivas, Rodrigo Duarte and Hector Mora.
September 28, 2023 (first notice):
The first thing you notice when reading the first sixteen names announced is that The selection committee was clear that this was an event that should better blend the timeless legends of rock history with new exponents of the global sound, preferably Latin American. After the previous curator's sluggish approach during the last two editions, this one shows real study, courage, and a desire to educate (while entertaining) the audience. There may be a risk of a decrease in attendance, but it's no longer time to focus solely on the photo from the third day., where the only thing that mattered was that a mass could be seen that reached up to the flags in the park.
More captivating times seem to be on the horizon, And proof of this lies in what, for Zonagirante (we say this from the outset), appears to be the most attractive aspect of the festival, Two of the most interesting women in the continent's music scene right now: Marilina Bertoldi y Javiera Mena. Bertoldi He knows how to define the word rock in the broadest and most avant-garde way possible, while still making songs that anyone would want to sing. He goes to the rhythms he wants and that best suit his ideas (Remember, rock remains the most mixed-race, mulatto, and zambo musical genre in contemporary history), and his message is forceful and direct. In 2019, he won a Gardel de Oro award, two Gardel awards for Best Rock Artist in 2017 and 2019, and two Latin Grammy nominations in 2017 and 2019. On the other hand, Ore He has taken electropop to another dimension and, as a result, has grown his audience in America and Europe. As the Chilean website says Musicapopular.cl, «"As a creator, she has shown a lack of prejudice in composing acoustic, pop, or electronic-based songs alike, from her beginnings in the independent music circuit to the leading role she has gained in the Chilean pop scene of her time.".
Of the rest, the presence of Goat (formerly of Calle 23, brother of Residente, a renovator of Caribbean sound, whose tunes include Puerto Rican folklore, electronica, hip hop and other sonic spices), The Punsetes (Spanish band with two decades of history, cultivators of the best indie sound of the Iberian Peninsula) and The Trees (a group from Medellín, which released its first album almost thirty years ago, with an "alternative" sound, as it was called at the time, and since then that production has become a myth, almost a hidden gem among the Colombian underground).
October 10, 2023 (second notice):
Twenty more names added to the Rock al Parque lineup, These include proposals from folk, death metal, contemporary rock and avant-garde sounds. Within this last category, we can highlight the presence of Matías Aguayo, A Chilean/German DJ and producer with extensive international experience, who has released his recordings with distinguished record labels (Cómeme, Kompakt, Crammed Discs, and Soul Jazz Records). On the other hand, it's always fun to welcome... Miss Bolivia, Argentine artist, highly popular across the continent, for her brilliant fusion of styles such as cumbia, hip hop, dance, and reggae. The presence of The Ocean, a Berlin-based musical collective that explores combinations of metal and electronica, with outstanding melodies and striking instrumental mixes.
On the Colombian side, among the latest additions, we are drawn to the participation of Javier Alerta, one of the most important members of the country's reggae scene, who has just released his solo work, receiving rave reviews from the specialized press. Another name to recommend is The Bison Gang, an Antioquian group cultivating the current indie rock scene, with good songs that live up to the expectations they generate in their performances.
October 19, 2023 (final notice):
It's time to confirm the most popular names on the Rock al Parque 2023 guest list: Velvety, Lospetitfellas, Julieta Venegas y The Authentic Decadents, These latter artists are responsible for closing the festival on Monday, November 13th, a public holiday, in the evening. In addition to these confirmed, other popular artists have also been announced. Slow Crush (a Belgian-based project with shoegaze tendencies and a contemporary sound), Saratoga (Spanish heavy metal, not exactly to our liking), La Vida Boheme (one of the most interesting rock acts on the continent, with fresh material on digital platforms), and Makewar (an American band with Latino members whose style is similar to the neo-punk bands that were so successful in the past two decades).
In total we will have 44 national and international guest bands and 20 groups selected through the district call for entries (a little less than a third of the lineup, which has been a worrying decision by the organizers, the Mayor's Office of Bogotá itself, for some time now). There are names that justify attending the event at Simón Bolívar Park, and more than two hundred thousand people are expected over the 3 days of the festival. This event marks the end of the current mayor's term, and we await the decisions of whoever is elected to the position and takes office on January 1, 2024. As we have always stated, we at Zonagirante.com request and demand that everything possible be done to ensure that Activities like Rock al Parque help the city grow its music sector and contribute to the culture of peace that the city so desperately needs.. We have a lot to discuss and change…
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We've put together (and updated) a playlist with these guests, a mix of pop, rock, reggae, ska, folk, punk, fusion, hip hop, electronic and metal, which, hopefully, will draw a good crowd to the Simón Bolívar. Almost three hours of music made in Colombia (Bogotá, Pereira, Pasto, Medellín and Cali), Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Venezuela, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Peru, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United States, and Spain, themes that will surely be heard in November in western Bogotá.
