By José Gandue @Gandour
It must be said plainly: Only when the Colombian musician accepted the variety of original sounds that surrounded him and knew how to integrate them into his intention to work within contemporary genres, The artistic scene had its opportunity to mature and develop in front of the whole world. When he realized that within his geographical borders he had a multitude of sonic roots and that he could play with them in any way, The connection with new generations in his country and around the world bore fruit.
Of course, there was no clear path to understanding it. There was a chaotic learning process., where learning was done through trial and error. On the other hand, there was strong resistance to believing that integrating the tools, sounds, and rhythms that have always surrounded us was the way forward. Some radicals with scandalous platforms continue to shout against it., demanding the heads of those who dared to mix different worlds in their songs. They forgot that we're in a system open to all possibilities, and that any musician from anywhere in the world can use and reinvent everything the global music scene offers to do their work. Good fusions, those that represent the reality of the twenty-first century, They are the true vanguard of the moment.
I say all this to introduce the visitors of Zonagirante.com to the newly released documentary Independence Shouts, produced by the public channel Channel 13. This work, directed by Enrique Bernal and produced by Suma Producciones , It seriously addresses what has happened in Colombia in recent decades and manages to clearly and concisely explain where the musical boom we are experiencing in this country comes from.. This audiovisual work contains interviews with protagonists of the stature of Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago (Velvety), Simón Mejía (Bomba Estéreo), Richard Blair (Sidestepper), Pedro Rovetto (Superlithiumand others, including prominent producers, entrepreneurs, and journalists in the field. They recount and describe their experiences over the past few years, highlighting the efforts undertaken to bring this artistic phenomenon to its local audience and cross borders to reach the most unexpected places. Almost all of them speak of something that now seems like a self-evident truth, but which, by no means, had an easy path to development and dissemination. Colombia is a mestizo, mulatto, and zambo country in all its cultural possibilities But we have only recently come to accept this reality musically.
As a participant in this project, where I worked as a researcher, I hope that those who watch this material will enjoy it and learn a little more about what happened in this area. This documentary may be open to discussion, and some may point out that it lacked testimonies and acknowledgments. But, personally, I believe it was made with complete honesty. Thank you in advance for your attention.