It doesn,t feel like we have been up to much over the last couple of days, but upon reflection I suppose we have really. We spent the whole of yesterday looking for materials to build a small soundproofed room in the community centre in Juan Pablo II. Eventually we managed to get enough to make a start and today we started building it. Now it feels like we have truly made a start on the project.
We left the centre as dusk was falling and we really saw the barrio in a different light (no pun intended). Before when we had visited it was generally during the day and with at least one other Colombian with us. This evening we were alone with a load of hired tools and the place was really buzzing with people. The atmosphere was fairly electric and we had one or two knowing looks thrown our way. Despite what most people say about places like this we have never felt threatened; everyone is so friendly here and easy to get along with. Having said that we have been down a couple of streets at night which we then took taxis out of.
Anyway, the long and the short of it is that we have started building and Nick has finished teaching people to use the studio and we are well on our way.
Tuesday 28 April 2009
Monday 27 April 2009
Music, The fabric of Life
I think it goes to show how important to a country music is when there is a street where mariachis hang out waiting to be hired. Anyone can go down to hire them for serenades or parties, for as long or short a time as you like.
But the mariachi street is but one tiny demonstration of how much music is a part of the very fabric of life here in Colombia. The past couple of days we have visited some other projects that are taking their music very seriously. For the guys running these projects they see music as a way of keeping kids off the streets and out of gangs that are constantly trying to recruit youths in the poorer areas.
Yesterday we visited a group called L-Mental (Elemental) that run a series of workshops on Sunday mornings teaching various aspects of Hip Hop culture. In a community centre in Ciudad Bolivar they provide free classes that are an inspiration to the kids of the area. We were shown a breakdance class that was of a truly high quality with several instructors running a group of around forty kids.
The main problem for L-Mental, like so many of the community projects we have visited, has been with funding. They have had problems in the past when people have invested mony and then tried to take control of the project itself. The guys running the project stress that it is vital that the they remain in control as it is they who understand what the kids need. They are very serious about their work and about the area in which they live. Such can be demonstrated in the lyrics of the music that they produce. The Hip Hop that they make is progressive and politically charged telling of the trials and tribulations of everyday life. For them music is a way of channeling thier emotions and bringing a positive message to those younger than them. L-Mental have a very small recording studio up in the hills of the barrio in the front room of one of their crew. Here they have recorded many groups fro free and are committed to providing a free service to anyone who wants it. Their resources are extremely limited and their old computer is now beginning to fail them. We are going to try to help them in what ways we can but what they really need is some real imput of infrastructure that could see them move out of the front room and into a proper location from which to work.
In the future this exactly the project that we aim to help, unfortunately we couldn´t bring enough with us this time to help everyone. As it is, however, music is what binds these people together and provides them with real hope to keep moving in the right direction.
But the mariachi street is but one tiny demonstration of how much music is a part of the very fabric of life here in Colombia. The past couple of days we have visited some other projects that are taking their music very seriously. For the guys running these projects they see music as a way of keeping kids off the streets and out of gangs that are constantly trying to recruit youths in the poorer areas.
Yesterday we visited a group called L-Mental (Elemental) that run a series of workshops on Sunday mornings teaching various aspects of Hip Hop culture. In a community centre in Ciudad Bolivar they provide free classes that are an inspiration to the kids of the area. We were shown a breakdance class that was of a truly high quality with several instructors running a group of around forty kids.
The main problem for L-Mental, like so many of the community projects we have visited, has been with funding. They have had problems in the past when people have invested mony and then tried to take control of the project itself. The guys running the project stress that it is vital that the they remain in control as it is they who understand what the kids need. They are very serious about their work and about the area in which they live. Such can be demonstrated in the lyrics of the music that they produce. The Hip Hop that they make is progressive and politically charged telling of the trials and tribulations of everyday life. For them music is a way of channeling thier emotions and bringing a positive message to those younger than them. L-Mental have a very small recording studio up in the hills of the barrio in the front room of one of their crew. Here they have recorded many groups fro free and are committed to providing a free service to anyone who wants it. Their resources are extremely limited and their old computer is now beginning to fail them. We are going to try to help them in what ways we can but what they really need is some real imput of infrastructure that could see them move out of the front room and into a proper location from which to work.
In the future this exactly the project that we aim to help, unfortunately we couldn´t bring enough with us this time to help everyone. As it is, however, music is what binds these people together and provides them with real hope to keep moving in the right direction.
Thursday 23 April 2009
Teaching continues
I guess that things are starting to slot into place a bit. At this moment Nick is giving a second lesson to what is now becoming a sizeable crowd. This is really important as these are the people who are going to take the equipment that we have brought and take it to locations and record music.
Each day it seems we have the amazing opportunity to visit another project that is working for the greater good. Today we visited ´La Familia Ayara´, a Bogotá based group who run workshops in Hip Hop and grafiti as artistic forms of expression. These guys are really together and produce music in their own studio and sell it in a shop they have. They are hoping to expand their social enterprise to their home province on the pacific coast where the local population is severely affected by war and poverty.
These guys are very well organised and appear to get funding from a variety of NGOs, but they still need more help and we definately want to work with them. It is amazing to see how many people are interested in what we are doing and the creative links that we are making are increadible.
We went back to the community centre in Juan Pablo II today and began to clear out the room we are going to set the studio up in. There is a lot to do there before it is ready but at least we have made a start. Tomorrow we are going to look at another place that wants to host the equipment we brought over on a temporary basis. Each day our schedule is filling up with more and more places to visit and amazing people to talk to. Its hard to catch your breath sometimes, especially when so many people have something to say.
Each day it seems we have the amazing opportunity to visit another project that is working for the greater good. Today we visited ´La Familia Ayara´, a Bogotá based group who run workshops in Hip Hop and grafiti as artistic forms of expression. These guys are really together and produce music in their own studio and sell it in a shop they have. They are hoping to expand their social enterprise to their home province on the pacific coast where the local population is severely affected by war and poverty.
These guys are very well organised and appear to get funding from a variety of NGOs, but they still need more help and we definately want to work with them. It is amazing to see how many people are interested in what we are doing and the creative links that we are making are increadible.
We went back to the community centre in Juan Pablo II today and began to clear out the room we are going to set the studio up in. There is a lot to do there before it is ready but at least we have made a start. Tomorrow we are going to look at another place that wants to host the equipment we brought over on a temporary basis. Each day our schedule is filling up with more and more places to visit and amazing people to talk to. Its hard to catch your breath sometimes, especially when so many people have something to say.
Wednesday 22 April 2009
Recording the present for the future
At times it seems that whatever you might do, or even plan to do, is futile. Looking at the larger picture of our project and the stumbling blocks that have already arisen since being out here- we need to find a way of importing equipment into the country without being taxed and that is just one thing- it has crossed my mind that what we are doing might be pointless.
But then you come across people that are truly inspiring and give you a real reason to carry on. Last night we visited a collective called Vivo Arte (Live Art) who have been doing some truly amazing things. They have a recording studio in the centre of Bogota and produce both their own music and music of other bands in the area. But this is only a small part of what they do.
Vivo Arte is a politically active group that is creating creating 'resistance art' and music of resistance. Here in Colombia there are major difficulties in expressing yourself against the official position. Traditionally there has been the path of violence that has lead the country down a long and bloody path which has not reached its end yet. Violence commited by the army and linked paramilitary groups threaten the many indigenous tribes that inhabit land that is of interest to multinational companies. This is something that Colombia has to deal with on a regular basis.
What Vivo Arte are trying to do is to teach a different way to resist what is happening to the people and, in so doing, create a new way of documenting the problems for both current and future generations. Just by doing this they are jeopodizing their own lives.
Another extremely improtant activity that they are involved in is the documentaion of indigenous music. They have been working with various tribes all over Colombia - there are 68 languages spoken in the country and countless tribes - to record their traditional music so that it is not lost. The recorded music acts as an archive and can be used by the tribes to protect their cultural heritage from displacement at the hands of revolutionary and paramilitary forces. Some of the music we heard was amazing and it is difficult to put into words the amazing work that this collective is doing. We were literally blown away. Each time they produce a CD of tribal music they give 500 discs to the tribe so that it can be retained by them as part of their culture. The rest they sell to try and fund the continuation of their project. The work they are doing in this area is so important as without it these languages and cultures could soon be lost forever. These are people that we will try to keep in touch with and hopefully help in the future.
We have set up our studio in a friend's house and tonight we are going to begin teaching people how to use it. Once we have soundproofed the space in the community centre we are going to move the equipment there. Slowly but surely our project is getting off the ground. If we can make a fraction of the difference that Vivo Arte do, then everything will be completely worthwhile.
But then you come across people that are truly inspiring and give you a real reason to carry on. Last night we visited a collective called Vivo Arte (Live Art) who have been doing some truly amazing things. They have a recording studio in the centre of Bogota and produce both their own music and music of other bands in the area. But this is only a small part of what they do.
Vivo Arte is a politically active group that is creating creating 'resistance art' and music of resistance. Here in Colombia there are major difficulties in expressing yourself against the official position. Traditionally there has been the path of violence that has lead the country down a long and bloody path which has not reached its end yet. Violence commited by the army and linked paramilitary groups threaten the many indigenous tribes that inhabit land that is of interest to multinational companies. This is something that Colombia has to deal with on a regular basis.
What Vivo Arte are trying to do is to teach a different way to resist what is happening to the people and, in so doing, create a new way of documenting the problems for both current and future generations. Just by doing this they are jeopodizing their own lives.
Another extremely improtant activity that they are involved in is the documentaion of indigenous music. They have been working with various tribes all over Colombia - there are 68 languages spoken in the country and countless tribes - to record their traditional music so that it is not lost. The recorded music acts as an archive and can be used by the tribes to protect their cultural heritage from displacement at the hands of revolutionary and paramilitary forces. Some of the music we heard was amazing and it is difficult to put into words the amazing work that this collective is doing. We were literally blown away. Each time they produce a CD of tribal music they give 500 discs to the tribe so that it can be retained by them as part of their culture. The rest they sell to try and fund the continuation of their project. The work they are doing in this area is so important as without it these languages and cultures could soon be lost forever. These are people that we will try to keep in touch with and hopefully help in the future.
We have set up our studio in a friend's house and tonight we are going to begin teaching people how to use it. Once we have soundproofed the space in the community centre we are going to move the equipment there. Slowly but surely our project is getting off the ground. If we can make a fraction of the difference that Vivo Arte do, then everything will be completely worthwhile.
Tuesday 21 April 2009
Community Radio
Colombians, it seems, are used to fighting for what they want. From the man on the street struggling to sell his wares to the more prosaic armed conflicts that seem to engulf the country in the eyes of the outside world. Last night we met a woman who has been fighting for a long time to gain what she wants.
Patricia is a member of 'Suba al aire' (raise in the air), a community project in the barrio of Suba to the north of Bogota. Like Ciudad Bolivar it is a vast area of more than a million people and is one of the major catchment areas for people fleeing poverty and conflict in other areas of the country. Last night Patricia was celebrating, although not counting her chickens before they are hatched. Suba al aire have just been awarded a license for a frequency for their comminity radio project.
Apparantly this has been a long and drawn out struggle that began 15 years ago when they were a pirate radio station. Patricia herself has been fighting the legal battle for 9 years and now, hopefully, they have won.
The problems initially arose when they applied to become a legal radio station serving the community in which they live. A radio station serving the community needs is exactly what Suba is crying out for, and has been for years. The government, however, didnt exactly see things the same way. It just so happens that the five men who control the majority of the communication media, including the commercial radio stations, are also memebers of congress; the same congress that prevented Suba from obtaining its own radio station.
Since then Suba has joined together with other community groups and fought tooth and nail to get the law changed. Along the way they have won several victories but have always been left disapointed by some clause or another. A couple of years ago after one victory a subclause was added that stated that anyone who had broadcast illegally could not have rights to a frequency. This obviously included Suba al aire and the other radio stations that had already been broadcasting. And so the battle continued.
Personally I don't understand the reason for the government trying to prevent community radio programs from being aired. They are not trying to compete with the commercial stations, they are merely trying to provide a service to their local area. I have been informed that this simplistic view is not one shared by the many officials that want to make a cut off everything that happens in the country.
I truly hope that Suba have won their monumental battle with the governmental corruption that has fought to prevent them from producing community radio programs. For now Patricia is not holding her breath, lets hope that Suba has its own air waves soon.
Patricia is a member of 'Suba al aire' (raise in the air), a community project in the barrio of Suba to the north of Bogota. Like Ciudad Bolivar it is a vast area of more than a million people and is one of the major catchment areas for people fleeing poverty and conflict in other areas of the country. Last night Patricia was celebrating, although not counting her chickens before they are hatched. Suba al aire have just been awarded a license for a frequency for their comminity radio project.
Apparantly this has been a long and drawn out struggle that began 15 years ago when they were a pirate radio station. Patricia herself has been fighting the legal battle for 9 years and now, hopefully, they have won.
The problems initially arose when they applied to become a legal radio station serving the community in which they live. A radio station serving the community needs is exactly what Suba is crying out for, and has been for years. The government, however, didnt exactly see things the same way. It just so happens that the five men who control the majority of the communication media, including the commercial radio stations, are also memebers of congress; the same congress that prevented Suba from obtaining its own radio station.
Since then Suba has joined together with other community groups and fought tooth and nail to get the law changed. Along the way they have won several victories but have always been left disapointed by some clause or another. A couple of years ago after one victory a subclause was added that stated that anyone who had broadcast illegally could not have rights to a frequency. This obviously included Suba al aire and the other radio stations that had already been broadcasting. And so the battle continued.
Personally I don't understand the reason for the government trying to prevent community radio programs from being aired. They are not trying to compete with the commercial stations, they are merely trying to provide a service to their local area. I have been informed that this simplistic view is not one shared by the many officials that want to make a cut off everything that happens in the country.
I truly hope that Suba have won their monumental battle with the governmental corruption that has fought to prevent them from producing community radio programs. For now Patricia is not holding her breath, lets hope that Suba has its own air waves soon.
Sunday 19 April 2009
Ciudad Bolivar
About an hour from the centre of Bogota, on the Transmilenio bus system, lies the vast barrio of Ciudad Bolivar (Bolivar City). Despite its million plus inhabitants Ciudad Bolivar is not a city in its own right but rather one of the poor neighbourhoods that lie on the periphery of the Colombian capital. Upon arrival at the main bus station you wait for buses taking you to the smaller neighbourhoods that make up Ciudad Bolivar. In some kind of ironic urban planning, the location names adorned on the front of the buses are for areas called 'El Paraiso' (Paradise), 'Tesoro' (treasure) and 'Vista Hermosa' (Beautiful View).
We took the 'El Paraiso' bus and got off in the community of 'Juan Pablo II' (John Paul the 2nd), before trekking up toward the 'Associacion Biblioteca Comunitaria' (Community Library Association). We were invited there by some friends who work there every Saturday running a media education program in the centre for both kids and youths alike. We were there to do a recky on the place to see if it was possible to build a studio there and also to see if it would be used by people.
What we found was an amazing program trying to bring an education to the underprivileged kids who are brought up in the area. The centre has been running for about 20 years and, after first opening as a library service, now offers a primary school education to about 60 or 70 kids from the area. The centre is such an important project for these kids who, without it, would unlikely recieve any formal education and would probably never learn to read or write without it. It was truly increadible to watch as a small group of kids got to grips with the first basic ideas of stop motion graphics, whilst some others rapped and beat-boxed into a mini disc recorder. The Saturday media program is teaching the kids the basic techniques with which they can express themselves to the outside world.
I spoke in length with one of the coordinators of the centre, Jose Ignacio Caro, who told me a lot about the history of the centre he has been working at for some 14 years or so, the current problems they are facing and the history of the area in general.
Ciudad Bolivar's size swells every day due to the constant influx of the vast numbers displaced by the war between the revolutionaries and the government and the paramilitaries in the country. Education is not obligatory and, due to governmental corruption on all levels, the centre does not recieve the public funding that it so deperately needs. Therefore the centre survives day to day struggling to pay for the basic services it needs to operate and on the generosity of volunteers.
Recently there has been a sinister occurance threatening Ciudad Bolivar. Paramilitary groups have published pamphlets and distributed them, declaring a curfew in the area that begins at 10pm. Anyone caught out on the streets are executed in what the paramilitary see as just targets of prostitutes, drug addicts and youths. Jose infromed me that this is nothing new, however. Youths have long been the target of paramilitary groups. He called it a constant massacre which began in 1988 with the killing of 14 youths in one night. Since then they have been killed in ones or twos, but the amount and frequency of the killings adds up to a veritable massacre.
If there was ever a place where the people need help and an outlet for their frustrations it is here.
A little more humbly than before I sign off.
We took the 'El Paraiso' bus and got off in the community of 'Juan Pablo II' (John Paul the 2nd), before trekking up toward the 'Associacion Biblioteca Comunitaria' (Community Library Association). We were invited there by some friends who work there every Saturday running a media education program in the centre for both kids and youths alike. We were there to do a recky on the place to see if it was possible to build a studio there and also to see if it would be used by people.
What we found was an amazing program trying to bring an education to the underprivileged kids who are brought up in the area. The centre has been running for about 20 years and, after first opening as a library service, now offers a primary school education to about 60 or 70 kids from the area. The centre is such an important project for these kids who, without it, would unlikely recieve any formal education and would probably never learn to read or write without it. It was truly increadible to watch as a small group of kids got to grips with the first basic ideas of stop motion graphics, whilst some others rapped and beat-boxed into a mini disc recorder. The Saturday media program is teaching the kids the basic techniques with which they can express themselves to the outside world.
I spoke in length with one of the coordinators of the centre, Jose Ignacio Caro, who told me a lot about the history of the centre he has been working at for some 14 years or so, the current problems they are facing and the history of the area in general.
Ciudad Bolivar's size swells every day due to the constant influx of the vast numbers displaced by the war between the revolutionaries and the government and the paramilitaries in the country. Education is not obligatory and, due to governmental corruption on all levels, the centre does not recieve the public funding that it so deperately needs. Therefore the centre survives day to day struggling to pay for the basic services it needs to operate and on the generosity of volunteers.
Recently there has been a sinister occurance threatening Ciudad Bolivar. Paramilitary groups have published pamphlets and distributed them, declaring a curfew in the area that begins at 10pm. Anyone caught out on the streets are executed in what the paramilitary see as just targets of prostitutes, drug addicts and youths. Jose infromed me that this is nothing new, however. Youths have long been the target of paramilitary groups. He called it a constant massacre which began in 1988 with the killing of 14 youths in one night. Since then they have been killed in ones or twos, but the amount and frequency of the killings adds up to a veritable massacre.
If there was ever a place where the people need help and an outlet for their frustrations it is here.
A little more humbly than before I sign off.
Friday 17 April 2009
Airport tax
I suppose it says a lot about the workings of a country when you get fined at the customs bringing a load of equipment to daonate to a project. In the end it was easier for us to pay an import tax on the equipment we brought in than get it impounded and try and fight our case through the embassy. The best part about the whole situation was after we opened our bags at customs all the girls working there grabbed hold of our bubble wrap and proceeded to pop it for the next half hour. It kept me amused whilst in the office trying to sort out the situation. At least everything arrrived, and we didn't have to pay for over weight baggage in the UK either. You win some you lose some.
We have only just arrived really but have already been out buying equipment that we need to set up the studio. Last night we met some people that we are going to work with. Their project sounds very interesting, they are running a schoool teaching media techniques in a communty centre in one of Bogota's poorest barrios. Their plan is to start working in other places and create a network by making radio programs and videos about the lives of the young people there and broadcasting them however they can.
We have already set several meetings with people interested in Fairtunes, all positive stuff. Looking forward to getting stuck in.
Take care
Jon
We have only just arrived really but have already been out buying equipment that we need to set up the studio. Last night we met some people that we are going to work with. Their project sounds very interesting, they are running a schoool teaching media techniques in a communty centre in one of Bogota's poorest barrios. Their plan is to start working in other places and create a network by making radio programs and videos about the lives of the young people there and broadcasting them however they can.
We have already set several meetings with people interested in Fairtunes, all positive stuff. Looking forward to getting stuck in.
Take care
Jon
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Fairtunes: creating futures through music
Well here we go,
Jon last and Nick Minton are heading out to Colombia on the 16th April 2009. We are going to set up a small recording studio with a project called 'Por nuestros medios'; a new Bogota based group teaching media skills to young people in the 'Ciudad Bolivar' barrio of the Colombian capital.
This will be Fairtunes' first soujourn to build a studio in Colombia. Our aim is to help musicians to have free access to recording facilities and to provide them with a space in which to promote themselves. This is merely the beginning. Follow this space to keep in touch with our project and journey.
Big love
Jon
Jon last and Nick Minton are heading out to Colombia on the 16th April 2009. We are going to set up a small recording studio with a project called 'Por nuestros medios'; a new Bogota based group teaching media skills to young people in the 'Ciudad Bolivar' barrio of the Colombian capital.
This will be Fairtunes' first soujourn to build a studio in Colombia. Our aim is to help musicians to have free access to recording facilities and to provide them with a space in which to promote themselves. This is merely the beginning. Follow this space to keep in touch with our project and journey.
Big love
Jon
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