By José Gandue @Gandour
Dedicated to all the collaborators we have had throughout this time and especially to my mother.
Zonagirante.com was born 18 years ago. Since then, the second week of December 1999, We are committed to good and constantly emerging contemporary Latin American music. Since then, we believe that our job is to promote an evident reality every day: Music made in our countries deserves more attention than it receives from the inhabitants of the continent, especially at a time when we can affirm, avoiding all kinds of demagoguery, that what is done on this side of the world has nothing to envy in terms of quality and innovation compared to what is published in the rest of the planet.
Eighteen years have passed, and things have changed drastically. Unlike when we launched this page, now every Latin American artist can make all their songs available to everyone connected to the internet on this planet., all just a click away, ...without resorting to tricks or piracy. We don't even need the help of major record labels. We can already say that The vast majority of Latin artists who have their work publicly exhibited are independent and self-manage their careers., For better or for worse, and all of them can be heard in Ulaanbaatar, London, Nairobi, Miami, and Perth. Anywhere. Even in any of the countries on this side of the world., where their music can surely be better understood. Using a concept that we did not invent, but to which we frequently resort, this is the moment when we can think with greater certainty that Latin America is our neighborhood, our great homeland, our common element, and that today, given the very high level of the main representatives of our culture and our sounds, We have no excuse to ignore such a reality.
Zonagirante.com continues (and survives) in times of digital platforms, cell phone broadcasts, and information and misinformation through social networks And despite the fact that a large part of the potential audience in this hemisphere continues to ignore the music being created around them. But even so, 18 years later, we're still happy when our readers and visitors tell us things like “I discovered this band X, which now tours the world, through you, who talked about them when they had just released their first album.”. 18 years later we continue to sustain our work for the pleasure that being curious gives us. Every day we are happy to discover new groups, recently released albums, freshly made videos, and fusions that are just beginning to peek into our headphones.
We will soon publish our traditional summaries of the last twelve months. 2017 has been an amazing year Regarding the number of projects that have impacted us with their intensity, rebelliousness, and excellent execution, we insist that this is a great moment to heed the call of Latin sound in all its complexity. Zonagirante invites you, as always, to let yourself be surprised, to step outside your auditory comfort zone. and immerse ourselves in the exquisite jungle of good noise that surrounds us.
We reached adulthood thanks to your attention. Thank you all for following us.
