By José Gandue @Gandour Photo by Oscar Perfer @perferoscar
Since 1995, the Mayor's Office of Bogotá, Regardless of the political leanings of whoever was in power, he organized a series of massive public shows, outdoors and with a distinctive name: «"To the Park"». The most well-known of these is related to rock music. This event was declared a cultural heritage of the Colombian capital in 2004 by the City Council and has been held 22 times. It attracts between 200,000 and 400,000 people over three days. It is one of the world's largest free festivals. Some question its existence and say it's an expense the State shouldn't have to bear, while others of us think it is a significant social investment. But from this point on, I want to go further. Being a promoter of peace, a meeting point for different segments of the population, and a massive celebration that every Bogota resident should be proud of is not enough. This is where it's my turn to ask, where's the business, partner?
The vision that he has District Institute of the Arts (Idartes), The organizing body for events such as the park festivals has limited capacity. It involves organizing activities and issuing calls for participation a few months in advance., waiting for the date to arrive, And once it's over, the party scraps are collected and the matter isn't discussed again until the next cycle begins. In this specific case, Rock al Parque. It is stored in a drawer until next year once the last band of the festival has finished playing.. A significant budget is allocated to attract hundreds of thousands of spectators, and then it's as if nothing ever happened. And that doesn't help the city.
Let's explain the current context: Bogotá is a city of eight million inhabitants where musical activity is constant. It is concentrated in a small percentage of its extent. The vast majority of the taps, each week, They take place in bars where minors are prohibited from entering. Large private concerts have ticket prices that are prohibitive for the vast majority of the population. A prominent rock band from Bogotá He plays on average only 10 times a year in his city and often in front of a similar audience that lives just a few blocks from the venue. Good live music, except during public festival seasons, It is a show with elitist characteristics.
On the other hand, the Mayor's Office of Bogotá Each town has auditoriums and public open spaces with little or no artistic use. These are spaces built for shows that, because they do not have regularly scheduled entertainment activities, They become meeting rooms for neighborhood gatherings or storage warehouses. Not only has the opportunity to convene each of the communities on a daily basis to meet been wasted, using art as the perfect excuse, Instead, the possibilities of fostering cultural industry have been ignored.
Talking about the cultural industry It's about discussing the overall economic potential of the arts in each city, in each country. It is understanding that each activity in the sector directly and indirectly generates jobs and a significant movement of resources. It's about integrating the population into a domestic talent market and fostering audience development across all social strata. It's about igniting the artistic engine in every underutilized space. and contribute significantly to strengthening employment in the sector. It's about opening doors to local entrepreneurs, those we see eager to do activities in their neighborhood, giving them the tools to implement their events and thus promote the creation of SMEs throughout the urban landscape which in turn build the circuit of activities that the city needs throughout the year Bogotá will be filled with music, theater and dance, with all the benefits that entails. It's about considering that social inequality also It is combated through the growth and expansion of culture. And the political authorities of this city must understand that.
Idartes It needs management that understands and provides the elements necessary for the cultural industry to grow. Management that has the financial savvy to invite... and train entrepreneurs who cover all localities. It's about leveraging the brand power of the park festivals to establish agreements with international organizations that can provide resources to meet those needs. It's about shaking off the lethargy and to make their spaces available so that businesses can be generated that will grow the sector. It's about breaking with the scheme that puts them in charge of organizing events simply to provide sporadic entertainment for the public.
This is where I remember that phrase that President Bill Clinton's advisors used to repeat to him during the campaign, when he was giving his speeches: It's the economy, stupid. We should say the same thing to both the mayor of the city and the director of Idartes., especially when they implement clumsy budget cuts And they clearly show they don't know what they're doing. Yes, Mr. Peñalosa and Mr. Ángel: In cultural matters they have the opportunity to level the playing field, to be astute and create jobs, to move money intelligently, create social justice. I repeat, with all due respect, knowing that you understand the intention of my comment: It's the economy, stupid.
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