A rock band that aims to be fun risks quickly running out of material. A band that takes the risk of mixing traditional vallenato with punk is in danger of being a flash in the pan and disappearing within days. The Bogotá-based group Consulado Popular exposes itself to many dangers, and yet, it must be said, it's still going strong. They laugh and their fanbase continues to grow, perhaps thinking of what some rulers said in the times of Imperial Rome:«Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die«. And, in the meantime, let's also destroy cars for a video.
Yes, in his new clip I got drunk, Consulado Popular moves to a car lot and enjoys breaking everything, while his fusion of Beck with Diomedez Díaz plays. He leaves no stone unturned, nor door with window. Remember those American shows where the cameras go deep into states like Oklahoma, Alabama, or Texas, where a fun night out is watching them dismantle old trucks and vehicles? Well, this is our local version, a kind of homegrown catharsis, a metallic therapy that prevents an even worse day of rage. Add to that a clear affinity for the aesthetic of humor that destroys what's no longer useful. Perhaps we are facing an unexpected medicine for a country at war.
Mind you, if what they do were poorly executed and remained just an unfortunate joke, it would be easy to detest them and annihilate them with subtle criticism. But Consulado Popular is not a tasteless joke; it's an intelligent machine that knows it can last for many years if it doesn't fall into the trap of endless repetition, of copying itself to the point of exhaustion. They have plenty of battery life.