By José Gandue @Gandour Photos by Julian Gutiérrez @jackmulligan
Let's start with an obvious point, a self-evident truth: If the Tokyo Olympics, scheduled to take place this summer, were moved to next year, even with all the precautions the Japanese government could take to manage the current pandemic, The Mayor's Office of Bogotá and the District Institute of the Arts (Idartes) should act in the same way with respect to all their festivals in the Park (Rock, Hip Hop, Colombia, Salsa, Jazz) and other mass events. We will miss them, yes, but we cannot take risks, especially in a country that doesn't have sufficient economic, social, and human resources to cope with more serious consequences than those we are currently experiencing. Even so, although it may sound disproportionate, more than a problem, What we are presented with, in essence, is an opportunity to rethink and reinvent what has been done up to now., for the benefit of the capital's music scene and its fans.
Without having exact figures, we're talking about reallocating several billion Colombian pesos earmarked for these festivals. As you know, although we're avid fans of these events, we criticize how these competitions have been structured in recent years; they benefit only a few, and hardly at all local musicians., and instead they have become costly celebrations for the mayor of the day to boast about attendance figures that lead to nothing. We were able to attend one of the most well-attended editions of Rock al Parque during 2019, but, to give a simple example, No proposals from Bogota were seen on the main stage during prime time. In other words, the photo taken from the drone showing the crowds was displayed with great fanfare, But the next day all the confetti was collected and there was nothing left for the city's artists.
This is a metropolis that, according to UNESCO, and we have said so on several occasions, It earned the title of musical capital of music, but this mention only serves to fill our mouths with empty speeches that lead to no useful point. For the rest of the year, the vast majority of participants in Bogotá's music scene have no financial or promotional guarantees for the work they strive to present to the audience. There are not enough support initiatives to foster genuine talent development, and the truth is, Behind what they now call the "orange economy" there is no clarity of concept and, as expected, there is a total forgetting of the large number of independent exponents that are part of the whole set. On the other hand, there are no public media outlets in the city working to promote these artists' recordings. The UNESCO slogan is a nice one, but It has never created a real opportunity to promote the growth of a sector of our economy that could help generate employment., to provide well-being to thousands of people and become a clear excuse for strengthening the peace process.
And now the Coronavirus, that's when everything went to hell. Concerts were cancelled, Therefore, event companies, equipment rental companies, rehearsal rooms where artists meet to create their next compositions, and recording studios where these works are captured all stagnated. And, in parallel to that, photographers, engineers, journalists and other professional participants in the sector have brought their activities to a screeching halt. Nobody (or almost nobody) from the private sector is going to help calm this situation down, no, at least not before the State reacts. On this point, I must express it in no uncertain terms: I expect more action in that regard from the Mayor's office than from the national government.
Having listened to my friends and colleagues in the field and knowing that, in this new municipal administration, there are, in principle, better prepared people who are more willing to listen to the participants in this sector, I propose to redirect the money that has been included in the Idartes budget for the festivals to the Park, to create a kind of "Marshall Plan" to rescue independent musicians in Bogota. That doesn't mean expecting a check in your savings account, not at all. We need to reinvent the wheel and harness the full power of digital technology. I would talk about the following points:
-The bands won't be performing live in front of their audience for many months. The solution lies in implementing a virtual platform where artists selected through official competitions can perform concerts from their homes, contracted by the Mayor's Office. Establish the same system of calls for participation that they develop for their mass events, and, in turn, provide sufficient guarantees so that the interested public can access these presentations in their homes. We need to organize online festivals, while ensuring that the first ones selected are self-managed members of this local scene. This is not about repeating pompous acts in search of fleeting glory, such as spending exorbitant sums hiring Juanes or another international figure who does not require this type of help to survive.
-If this is done, It is time to create a true district-level journalistic media outlet dedicated to disseminating information through its own radio station and, if possible, its own live web channel, The daily life of Bogota's culture. It's absurd that this city doesn't have its own frequency and that the broadcasting projects created are for overly elitist and experimental expressions.
-We must protect and safeguard the meeting points and development of Bogota's music. Rehearsal rooms and recording studios are the most immediately affected by this quarantine. They have no clients and continue to pay their rent and utilities without any help. It's time to provide soft loans, grants for virtual recordings, online production courses, and a host of other resources to give these companies a foothold, because if they disappear, It will be too costly for a community that cannot return to its starting point to rebuild itself.
-Digital music platforms must be extended to the entire youth population of Bogota. We need to find a way for the average fan to access Spotify, Deezer, Claro Música, or other music services more cheaply., both in the service contract and in the data cost of your mobile plan, to increase the number of plays for local talent. That will be the most direct way to generate income for musicians while everything stabilizes. This should involve both representatives of these platforms in Colombian territory and the companies that provide communications services. This measure, in the end, can help them create new customers and, in the medium and long term, increase their profits.
-We must start reinventing park festivals right now. To think that all that human and economic effort should lead to the progression of the city's musicians. The aim is to strengthen a neglected area of the city's economic production. We need to plan activities that engage the entire city throughout the year, leading up to major events and allowing for proper celebrations that benefit all participants. It's not about feeding egos or giving clumsy excuses so that this or that ruler can show off in the photo next to the shining star of the moment. This must be done so that all of us who participate in this environment can come together with our work as it should be, in a city that needs the artistic expressions of its musicians to live together in peace and freedom.
I insist, amidst the misfortunes and problems that this situation has generated for all of us inhabitants of Bogota, We must be smart and think about how to act so that everything is not scorched earth. Hopefully, we can see this as a turning point to contribute to the stability of all.
Photos of Julian Gutierrez taken during Rock al Parque 2019
