By José Gandue @Gandour Photo by Oscar Perfer
The work of the judging panel in such a complex competition as the Rock al Parque festival is crucial. Their job is to choose, from the call made by the Mayor's Office of Bogotá among all the artists interested in participating, those who deserve to represent the city in an event that will be seen by hundreds of thousands of people and where there is a clear opportunity to take a big step towards the development of a professional career. The jury must be knowledgeable about the music scene from which these artists emerge. and carefully select from the three hundred and some groups that fill out forms. In 2016, 19 bands were chosen, These 19 acts will join the directly invited artists, both Colombian and international. The aim is for these 19 proposals to clearly reflect the progress of the city's sound and the evolution of a scene that has grown and is projecting itself beyond its borders. The truth, it must be said, is that this year the jury did not fully perform its duties.
Let's begin with a detail that is not of minor importance: Among those selected, there is not a single group with female vocals. This hasn't happened in a long time, and it's strange because two of the three jury members were women. Is there really no proposal from a female singer worthy of being chosen, aside from the artists already officially invited by the festival? Are you sure?
Another striking point is that There are genres with a strong presence in the city that are not represented on the list. There's no hardcore, not a single band with even a simple electronic element, none with pop aspirations. Instead, without specifically naming anyone, some of the chosen groups They look like they're from decades past., because they have an antiquated sound and are clearly out of step with what is happening in the current global market.
This only begins to be understood when we read the answers given by each of the jury members. to the questions of a recognized medium, which asks them to explain their procedure. In that note, they say that «"Three aspects were evaluated: technique and interpretation, creativity, and the band's stage performance."». Then they say that «"There are many shortcomings... there's a low level, there isn't much overall quality."». One of the jurors says he saw «"Good musicians, songs and ideas, but overall... there's a lack of cohesion.". All of that may have happened, but at the same time There was a decision that is more appropriate for a television contest than for a festival of the size of Rock al Parque: «"The judges only consider the musical aspect, the ensemble, the show, from the moment they arrive at the audition.".
Let me tell you an anecdote: In 2004, the jury chosen for that occasion found themselves in an awkward situation, where a group of rising popularity at that time in Bogotá had problems during their performance, since the audio technician they had hired was not the right one and that complicated the show which, in addition, was done in front of a large audience on the same stage where today cold and decontextualized auditions are held privately at 8:30 in the morning on a weekday. The jury met and discussed for a considerable amount of time to decide what to do. One of the members, now a well-known station director, said something forceful: «"We all know this group. We know they put on good shows, and that they're on their way to becoming one of the most professional acts in the city.". Today was a bump in the road. Here we are choosing bands to represent Bogotá at the city's biggest concert. Let's have faith in their performance, and I assure you they will deliver.». The band certainly made a great impression during the festival, and to this day their music continues to thrive, with them independently touring Europe and South America every year. with brilliant performance.
The 2016 Jury Make a different decision with a group like LosPetitFellas, those who did not have a good session during the qualifiers, and he justifies it in this way: «"LosPetitFellas are a great band, but unfortunately they had a bad day, which was very strange because they had just come from a tour in Mexico. They didn't audition well, they didn't sound like themselves, and they received a low score."«". Asked: Who benefits from these kinds of decisions? What good does it do the festival to remove one of the most outstanding bands of the moment from its lineup? All the jury members know the band's worth., They have seen his live show on other occasions And, disregarding the interest in giving Rock al Parque more prominence, They judged as if they were on American Idol or The X Factor, forgetting that the important thing is that Bogotá is at its most crowded event can showcase their best talents. And that's not the only example: Groups with strong development and proven efforts to build an audience were left out., with local resonance and projection in important international markets. The decision to remove them was based on what the jury considered a failed day It shows a lack of understanding of the development of the capital's music scene. And to give value to fleeting factors that don't reflect what's really happening in this city. That's acting with negligence and arrogance, to the detriment of the festival. Do the math, look at who was left out, and consider what the audience at Simón Bolívar Park will say about it.
There's nothing more that can be done about it., It will be necessary to accompany and support the groups selected for the event. We wish them all the best in their concerts and hope the audience enjoys their songs. But the lesson from this process is that if we want Rock al Parque to be of service to the city's music scene, it must, among other things, to connect more clearly with what happens here during the other 362 days of the year and reinvent how they select their participants. If they continue to think in the current terms, The festival will continue to deteriorate, and that is not good for the Colombian capital.
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