By José Gandue @spinning zone
From November 11th to 13th, at the Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park, A new edition of the Bogota festival Rock al Parque will be held. And now, at this point in the year, we already know the bands selected from the district call that will participate in said event. Only 20 projects have been chosen to represent the capital's music scene in the competition. Furthermore, upon reviewing the list, we identified several issues that in no way benefit the organization. Let's examine them point by point:
– According to our calculations, the participating groups that are based in Bogotá They don't even add up to thirty percent of the total lineup. That's ridiculous, really, especially considering the event is funded by the Mayor's office. Furthermore, we know the local component will receive very little promotion in the organizer's communications strategy., the District Institute of the Arts, Idartes. The city's artists have been treated in recent years as inconvenient and irrelevant filler.
– The festival's application process It's designed by people who have no idea how the music scene works. Their rules and forms impose ridiculous regulations, such as prohibiting the participation of musicians who have performed with other projects in any edition of the festival in the park last year, or demanding excessive documentation more befitting seasoned bureaucrats than novice artists applying for state contracts. Those who draft the procedure They are people who do not understand (nor are they interested in) the day-to-day reality of the music market. For that reason, when reviewing the list of applicants, we see how some very prominent names in the current artistic scene were left out, by decision of a group of stubborn lawyers.
– Then, among those who were able to submit the paperwork on time and those subsequently chosen for the next stage, The auditions are coming, planned under characteristics that contradict the desired spirit of the festival, under conditions worthy of a fourth-rate reality show, and without the necessary atmosphere to feel the warmth of the occasion.
– The final result and selection don't reflect what happens in the day-to-day music scene in Bogotá. Although we can say (without singling them out) that there are 4 or 5 noteworthy groups, some already with international experience, The vast majority do not meet the necessary conditions for a fair and proportionate selection for the festival. The vast majority don't exceed 300 monthly streams on Spotify, haven't performed more than three times in the last twelve months, and several haven't released new material in five years or more. And it's best not to even mention the quality of many of the recordings these bands have on digital platforms. If you're going to choose twenty projects worthy of representing the Colombian capital, Let's do it seriously and not fall into absurdity.
The organizers' negligence is remarkable., And it's clear they don't care much about what comes out of the city at the biggest festival the country has had for more than twenty-five years. Every day they diminish the festival's brand and the continental importance it once enjoyed. I hope—and I know this will sound contradictory—that many of the selected artists do well and achieve their goals, but I highly doubt that will happen, with a couple of exceptions. Rock al Parque 2023 starts off limping and betraying the interests of the music scene once again which, with each edition, feels less committed to what was once one of its cultural activities that aroused the most pride among fans.
