By José Gandue @Gandour
A friend told me that 2020 couldn't have been better, given that Bad Bunny was the most streamed artist on Spotify worldwide, with over 8.5 billion plays of his recordings. Not far behind is J Balvin, the same one who shamelessly praises tyrants and corrupt officials in interviews, acting like he's the coolest guy around. This has been a damn year. But, look, I'm not revealing anything new. Everyone has their own set of calamities, lockdowns, separations, deaths of loved ones, unusual weight loss or gain, lost loves, and disrupted sleep schedules. We have all discovered, for better or for worse, what our weaknesses are and how we can be destroyed.
I have personally stated in these pages what others have also reiterated in their own way: Music has been the best medicine to endure this time. Luckily, I have been able to discover, to my delight, a lot of new proposals that have shown me that The spirit of risk, courage, avant-garde approach, and reinvention of sounds remains alive., Despite commercial pressures or the clumsy suggestions of industry experts, the world doesn't need millions of artists churning out the same crap under the same formula, believing that by endlessly imitating it they'll find the key to success. Only fools, and there are many, believe that by rigidly adhering to those rules they'll win over the audience. We're fortunate enough to see artists like Rubio, La Zorra Zapata, La Chica, Perrosky, Lido Pimienta, and many others rise to fame not far from our homes. While they may not enjoy the exorbitant rewards of streams, sales, or royalties that the most popular artists do, They know that in them rests the happy burden of resistance, the good flag of difference.
This has been a horrible year for the cultural economy in much of the world, And all of this has happened right in front of local and national leaders, overwhelmed by their passivity and ignorance. In most parts of the world, this is a wasteland. In a discourse that says "every man for himself," the vast majority fall into the abyss and few recover. The failure to implement a genuine policy of protection for the artistic values of our society during the pandemic is not a minor fact, nor is it trivial. It leaves thousands of people without a livelihood, people who, until now, were only seen as entertainers sustained by audience applause. This has only reinforced the idea for new generations that choosing to pursue the arts is foolish, trivial. It's about making the masses believe that the only things that can be heard around them are those sold by the manufacturers of pre-made products. Or those little figurines they offer us even in soda bottles or precooked soup packets. In this debacle, thousands of venues, auditoriums, restaurants, rehearsal spaces, recording studios, and instrument shops have closed. We've regressed many years in the process. And there are still presidents who say that many artists have benefited from the pandemic because they have been able to earn money with their virtual shows.
Zonagirante.com, don't ask how, has managed to survive, but many of our colleagues have closed their sites and there are fewer and fewer chroniclers talking about current music news. This year we have managed to invent ways to survive and continue with our activities. We created a web series called Castaways at home, where we interviewed musical figures from across the continent during quarantine, and, under the same name, We put together a compilation with artists from all over the continent, who presented us with fifteen songs made during their confinement that turned out to be true contemporary gems. which have garnered thousands of plays across various digital platforms. We created this in collaboration with the Spanish record label. Subterfuge Records, The first season of our podcast is out, and soon we'll be continuing independently, hoping to have the support of our audience. We're in talks with friends of the network to grow and offer more content to our listeners, and that, at least, It has given us signs that some of this may change.
In the days that follow, We will do our traditional year-end summary. You know the drill: the best songs, the most outstanding albums, the videos that have most amazed us. We'll be talking about music and design, and that will allow us to bring in special guests who will share their perspectives. Other friends are preparing their own columns and will enrich us with their insights. 2020, amidst all the devastation, has revealed beautiful things that we must embrace and celebrate., And for that reason, we will do our best to ensure you are by our side, finding joy in these great works. This has been a time of misfortune, but we have grown resilient in the face of such adversity. If we have come this far, it is because the positive energy of the continent's talent has protected us and is holding better days in store for us. Have faith in music, it is our best shield.