By Santiago Rivas @Rivas_Santiago
Photo by Oscar Perfer.
The first thing I must say about Rock al Parque, a week after its end, Music is an infallible balm, and in its presence there are no valid arguments...in principle. Of course, we all left the park exhausted and happy, because even if we encountered shows that didn't captivate us or didn't even interest us at first, we found a series of concerts where Colombian and foreign artists performed in front of tens of thousands of euphoric people. It is an emotional experience capable of overwhelming any logic and crushing any argument.
Moreover, that experience, those sensations, the way we know how to surrender to the power of music, These are the reasons why the festival continues, despite everything.. I'm the first to fall, because you don't need to be Papa Jaramillo to feel all the empathy in the world when a group of people who have little or nothing in their lives, except rock, stand on a stage to give it their all. No musician is stingy at Rock al Parque. But that's not the point.
Moreover, I believe it is thanks to its emotional content and its nature as an annual cathartic rite that the festival has to be held, with whatever money is available, year after year. The dark side of that notion is precisely the inertia about which I have written ad nauseam. Sometimes those of us who criticize the festival are accused of being its “enemies,” but that is just a reflection of our profession, since the festival, in the end, is made by people who dedicate their lives to politics, regardless of whether it is the branch of the District that is dedicated to overseeing cultural events., They too need to become a profitable machine, and anything that might sound like "opposition" should immediately be labeled as antagonism.
It is therefore necessary to return to the same point: We are by no means enemies, those of us who go to the park three days a week, looking to talk about what we like and also about what we don't like., Because we're the first to fight to make Rock al Parque better and help it become everything it could be. The festival's biggest enemies are its own mistakes, like when there's so little information that people end up believing the curators are the same ones who design the pathways, set up the speakers, and run the sound systems. Enemies of the festival are those who skimp on screens and public restrooms, or those who design a press area where there isn't even a single plug to charge devices.
If anything, the festival's biggest enemy is inertia; the lack of care with which certain things are done, which tarnishes all the beauty that exists in that weekend, which for us is an unmissable event. This inertia is what prevents the festival from looking at itself and learning from its mistakes., Or, it needs to know how to design the parameters by which it should be measured, in order to improve each year despite the inevitable difficulties. If Rock al Parque lacks a defined direction and sustainable growth, it's because its purpose is unclear, and it's not understood as part of a larger circuit., a system in which all of us interested in music move.
Rock al Parque has several brains wasted on solving specific temporary problems (security and number of attendees, for example), when it could take advantage of the talent and intelligence of those who design it, to set long-term goals and understand its own role in the life of the city. But that doesn't happen, because nobody cares enough to dedicate more energy to it than it already takes to pull off that gigantic event. Perhaps, just perhaps, it wouldn't be necessary for the politicians and district officials to keep doing it either. Suddenly the solution is to turn it into public policy (the reason for the existence of the institutions), guarantee its free access and outsource its execution, without ceasing to receive the political benefits that come from the festival; even increasing them, since the quality would grow and be maintained. Our populist technocracy, full of figures, has to be good for something.
For example, if Rock al Parque is considered a festival that shouldn't compete with commercial festivals, and rather it should be the one that opens the door to new sounds and proposals, An interesting collaboration between the public and private sectors is being developed: Rock al Parque can become the festival responsible for bringing, for the good of the local and national scene, the sounds that in three years will be in the big private festivals. Orbiting around that idea, it's possible to continue bringing in older groups that maintain a fresh approach and a current sound, without falling into the need to please everyone.
If we think of Rock al Parque as a laboratory of ideas to reduce the imaginary borders that separate us, the unnecessary conflicts that take place in the city, That idea would guide the design of the activities, the brand activations, the way in which the production is designed, and the role of the mayor's office and its youth programs., in the conception of that design. Rock al Parque can indeed be a space to play, exercise, and build our notions of citizenship., not simply a gigantic district propaganda billboard.
If Rock al Parque is considered a school for all of us who are interested in writing, reporting and creating around music, the academic programming would be better utilized, in conjunction with the Distrito Rock tent. The entire media experience of the festival can be designed and preserved, feeding the first captive audience, which is always cultural journalists. Thinking about the quiet zones, interview times, the dynamics of approaching the artists, the basic provision of comfort and the possibilities of improving the way journalists, many of them trainees and novices, talk about music.
But since the first step is to review how the festival went, part by part, in order to improve what failed and preserve what was successful, This is my opinion on certain aspects of the festival:
Curatorship: Above all, intelligent. Once again, I must declare that I have a close relationship and affinity with Chucky García, for which reason...It is easier to agree with many of their decisions when choosing groups. This year's metal day was infinitely less interesting than last year, and I found POD and Sum41 to be extremely boring options. But they worked. And thanks to those successes, the alternative stage at the Media Torta on Saturday, and the metal stage on Monday, attendance was a success., which is ultimately the reason why they decided to put him in charge of programming. Moreover, thanks to these groups, there are already others that appeal to the majority, such as Los Cafres, ANIMAL, Los Pericos and Soziedad Alkohólika, one can indulge in seeing more interesting and lesser-known proposals, such as Ilabash, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Total Chaos, Atari Teenage Riot, Capsule and The Coup, to name just a few. It was a festival with a very interesting and open sound palette., in which the more hardcore or less metal fans were in no way neglected, so the rating should be high. There are things in the programming order that don't quite add up for me., But to that extent, I'm optimistic.I think it's more about a plan than many separate agendas.
Sound: Bad, especially because he knew how to break down at the crucial moment. And because this is the 21st edition of the festival, not the second or third. It only went wrong at the end, but that alone is enough to make a negative impression.
Stages: generally very ugly. Rock al Parque has had beautiful stages, with huge screens, not so surrounded by black, and not so invaded by cameramen working for Canal Capital. It's a matter of taste, not money.
Space design: the production team really messed up with those miles of white plastic sheeting, which were especially intrusive this year. I don't know if there's time to rethink it, but there have to be more elegant ways to demarcate the festival spaces, without making us feel like we're at a construction site or a prison camp (an idea strongly emphasized by the lack of sufficient restrooms and the resulting smell). It would be even better if we felt like we were in a movie of Mad Max. Well, that and the little bags tied to the sticks. Where did the trash cans go? A great idea, though, was the game of sliding down tires on a piece of plastic. I don't think there's a better cure for boredom.
Press area: I've said it several times already, it's very wrong to treat journalists who are not from allied media outlets as if they weren't equally important. All that's needed is a better soundproofed space, with seating and power outlets. Bad, especially since it's happened in previous years, so it's possible. The handrails were a great idea; they sped up traffic through the park and didn't force us to wait. beep of the cockade at each exit or entrance.
District Rock Tent: It's still a great place to visit. This year, the folks from La Valija de Fuego also had their own space, setting up a mini bookstore, and people copied them. A great success.
Food area: The selection was less interesting than in other years, but the organization has improved a lot, and the lighting too, so applause for the food area. Hopefully everyone has reached a break-even point and sufficient profits.
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