By José Gandue @Gandour Photos by Julián Gutierrez @jackmulligan
I know. I take responsibility for the insistence I've shown on this issue. But I want you to understand: I live in a city that in February 2020 had a promising musical scene. If you review our archives, you'll see that we referred to Bogotá as a city of festivals, where both private and public participation played a prominent role in organizing large-scale events. Here, the creative energy was demonstrating daily the growing development of the arts, and especially the music sector. It fostered what marketing specialists call City Branding, a factor that attracted external visitors, increased economic consumption, and created jobs. and a social stability that accompanied the peace treaties signed between the government and the FARC. Let's be clear: Bogotá is not a city known for its architectural beauty, its climate, or its natural landscapes, far from it. What attracted people to Bogotá was what its people, especially its artists, in all areas, did. But let's not just think about the tourists: This city was a much better place to live with all the creativity that flowed from its streets and specialized spaces, and without it, life becomes much harder. For all these reasons, and despite my being rather stubborn about this, I believe that the contempt shown towards the cultural sector, and particularly the music community, is ridiculous and untenable.
Yes, the pandemic. Obviously. Everything came to a halt because of the damn pandemic. If it weren't for this treacherous, murderous virus, we wouldn't be discussing all of this in these terms. I know. But here, as in other countries on our continent, The economic protection measures that the general population was asking for were not adopted, and everything that was available was let go. The vast majority of small and medium-sized music-related businesses closed their doors, and a large portion of the thousands of direct and indirect employees in the sector were condemned to poverty. All of this happened, and meanwhile, we listened ironically to a large part of the population, from the president to any ordinary citizen of this country, saying that their lives would be unbearable if, during this crisis, they didn't have their favorite songs on their side.
Imagine that at this moment, apart from a few small lights that survive on the map, The landscape resembles a vast desert where there was once life and today there are only memories. How do we rebuild it? How do we plan a recovery of what we had and move forward? How do we ensure that in three, four, five years, Bogotá returns to what an exaggerated and optimistic journalist in a Spanish newspaper once called «"the world capital of music"»Let's start discussing:
-The first question may be cruel, but any of you can ask it: Is it necessary to revive the music sector?. Anyone can tell me «"Gandour, stop being so tiresome. You're making too much of this.". In a previous article, I added up all the job categories related to this segment of the economy that had been halted since the health crisis. It's tens of thousands of people. Too many people to just turn your head and look the other way. If focusing on the humanitarian aspect seems too pitiful, translate that into monetary figures and you will realize that what happened is an important part of the economic crisis we are experiencing.
-Let's continue: We must define responsibilities, we must assign roles to pull this out of the abyss. State institutions related to culture are behaving according to the same patterns they had before the pandemic. They still believe that everything can be fixed with trivial calls for proposals and individual grants. Frankly, that's just putting a band-aid on deep wounds. It's like lazily scratching your belly in front of the rest of the population, when your main job should be to think deeply about how to revive the city's artistic movement. It's ironic to say it like this, but those least affected in the cultural sector are the bureaucrats of these institutions, who have the budget to drive the recovery., But their lethargy prevents them from seeing beyond their noses and mouths, From these points, faced with the chaotic situation, they ask «"And what else do you want us to do?"». Simply remember: If there is no art (and specifically music), the existence of these organizations is not justified at all. They have the means, the budget, and the facilities to pinch their holy asses and move on. Do it already!
-The recovery begins at the grassroots level. Bogotá has 20 districts, and the recovery starts from the vital points within these municipal regions. We need to think about how to revive concerts, talent development, audience building, and information distribution., The general education of the audience. Culture is part of the people's rights, and if its activities grow, it is reflected in the entire environment in which it develops. A simple example: If an abandoned auditorium in a town (there are many like this around the capital) makes its space available to micro-entrepreneurs from the surrounding neighborhoods, it not only boosts immediate consumption related to the events organized there, but also all the businesses neighboring that space. It's about getting money circulating in many areas of the city. It's about integrating new promoters into the cultural economy, promoters who already understand the potential audience they can attract. The solution starts from the ground up, and if this policy of repair and restoration is done correctly, the role of the State will not necessarily be to always provide the necessary budget for these activities, but rather, to take charge of the preparation and pedagogy of the new SMEs to come.
Let's put an end to the confusion: Let's talk about Cultural Industries, not the Orange Economy. Talking about creativity as a sector of the economy where the only common thread is a shared spirit of colorful inventiveness leads nowhere. Believing that gastronomy, architecture, graphic design, tourism, and the conventional arts can all be lumped together doesn't lead to practical solutions. I don't doubt that the inventors of that theory had good intentions, but they have confused things. Look, I'll make it easier for you: If you want, even if some orthodox intellectuals raise their eyebrows in protest, Let's talk about the entertainment industry. Let us move beyond excessive folklorism, through which we play at venerating old nationalist instances and favoring ossified clichés, and let us think in contemporary terms., where we clearly understand the role of our arts in building the gross domestic product and in the emotional and mental strength of our society.
-Finally (for the time being), let's work together across all cultural sectors for the implementation of the Artist's Statute, to recognize their role and place in society, clearly defining the rights of workers in the sector, with a new Social Security model, a sustainable tax model, and strong trade union institutions, that allow the creation of clear benchmarks so that culture (including music) can be an example of a source of quality jobs. Without the stability of a strong guild, this won't go anywhere. It can serve as a reference point. what was done in Spain o in Argentina. There are plenty of examples.
Anyway, there's a lot to do, and the first thing is to sit down and talk and discuss. Shall we begin?