By the Zonagirante.com team @spinning zone
Tomorrow, Friday, November 9, at the Main Auditorium (Calle 23 # 6-19), starting at 5 pm, the first Bogota version of the event will be held. Latin American festival Contracorriente, with the participation of prominent artists such as the Colombians Superlithium y Telebit and the Mexicans Saint Paschal King , Odysseus y Juan Moreno. The lineup is rounded out by rising stars such as Guanaco (Ecuador), Gala Brie (Peru), DJ MKC (Venezuela) and, in local representation, I am Emilia, Nina Rodriguez y Rockets. On the eve of the event, we were able to speak with Juan Quiroz, one of the organizers, to learn more about this competition and find out some important details about it.
What is Contracorriente about?
Contracorriente is the union of several agencies of mmanagement From the region (Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia) who decided to unite and swim against the current. It began as an idea from Telebit and his management company, Árbol Naranja, as a way to exchange artists from other countries and thus create a rotation of the scene throughout Latin America. In three years, it grew into the Contracorriente festival, which will take place once a year in each of the four countries. The local agency is responsible for organizing it, and each regional agency sends one or two artists they are interested in promoting across the continent. It's important to note that this began as an exchange between Camilo VII from Mexico and Telebit from Colombia.
Is there a common element in the creation of the poster, or are they simply agencies that want to present their artists and nothing more?
There is one common element. They are emerging artists at a boiling point, where their local territories are beginning to limit them, which is why they need to tour the region. They also need to be bands with a significant following to make each country a "massive" event.
If someone who's clueless asks what Contracorriente sounds like, what would you tell them?
It sounds like an emerging, irreverent, creative Latin America, a generation ready to recover the circuit that once existed in these parts many years ago.
How have you observed the reaction of the public in each of the countries to the visiting proposals?
The festival has so far only been held in Quito. Bogotá will be the second city, followed by Mexico City and then Lima. The response to its first edition was very positive, as this audience is eager to learn more and to be part of creating this circuit. It's a new generation that wants to elevate what is ours.
It sounds odd that a media outlet dedicated exclusively to Latin music would ask this, but is there interest from the local public in music produced on the continent? And if so, what do you think is the reason for it?
I think the interest is there. It's a small audience, which requires work to grow. Interest had waned due to the lack of events like this one, willing to “to fight” to showcase live Latin American sounds. New generations want to give more importance to our own culture, and there's a regionalist feeling of wanting to promote what's from here.
