By José Gandue @Gandour
A story to begin with. Perhaps I've told it before, but it seems relevant to remember it; Zonagirante.com was created to provide a space for contemporary Latin American arts, especially music, and to talk about our continent as if it were one big neighborhood who had never had the courage to get to know and recognize each other among neighbors. I always give the same example: When our website was launched in 1999, it was easier for anyone in Bogotá, where I live, to find information about a Belgian industrial band than about any of the independent groups that might exist within the Latin American scene. It didn't matter if the Venezuelan, the Peruvian, the Argentinian, or the Mexican made music in the same language and referenced themes that surely any of us experienced daily., Information from the developed world always reached us first. And you know what? We only became aware of our own culture, the culture of our neighborhood, because some of these artistic expressions garnered significant attention in more developed countries. Only then did we realize it was worth paying attention to. It was a little sad, wasn't it?.
Well, it happened again tonight. I was watching the Oscars and suddenly they announced the nominees for best animated short. As you know, a Chilean production won., Story of a Bear. An exciting story that references the director's grandfather, Gabriel Osorio, who was forced into exile in London for political reasons during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. A tale that It speaks of nostalgia, repression, and the invisible but tangible elements of family, with a truly fantastic animation technique, created by the people of Punk Robot studio. One detail that is not insignificant, and which further justifies writing about this film on this page: The music was made by the people of Denver, And it is truly one of the most outstanding works we have heard from them in recent years.
I must confess I had no idea this work existed, and I imagine many, many Latin Americans like myself were surprised tonight. Thanks to a friend's timely information, I was able to obtain the full video., that we share with you. Even so, despite the satisfaction I felt seeing this spectacular work, I was still somewhat annoyed that history was repeating itself, that a large part of Latin America only learned about these kinds of works through their presence in larger markets and that our recognition was only validated because it had been praised in Hollywood before.
I know that for many this speech sounds old-fashioned, outdated, and even resentful, but in the more than 16 years that Zonagirante.com has been around, without being against anyone, I still think that with each passing day, Latin Americans lose the opportunity to forge, through mutual recognition, a stronger cultural market, with a more consistent identity, more useful for our artists and our audience. We can constantly confirm the extensive list of talent we have across the continent and the attention they deserve from us. We have enough to get to know each other and negotiate among ourselves. In theory, we are a land rich and abundant in creativity., But sometimes the excessive stupidity that surrounds us makes us ashamed of it.
P.S. Punk Robot gentlemen, a big round of applause for your gem.