Between Saturday and Sunday, 210,000 people attended Rock in the Park. At the close of this article it was too early to calculate how many people came in total to Simón Bolívar Park in Bogotá, but it was estimated that 150,000 more would join on the holiday Monday. This is a music festival without prejudice, a space for the peaceful coexistence of lovers of guttural-voiced metal, punk in all its variations – even one with Andean airs and influences from the bambuco of groups like Ensamble Arsis, which was born in Soacha and in whose sound he integrates bandolas and tiples, or Las Guaguas del Pank, a band from Pasto; the most Latin rhythms, such as the fused cumbia of the Puerto Rican producer Cabra, or the melodious voice of the Mexican Julieta Venegas, which goes between folklore, pop and activism.
The XXVII edition of one of the largest free festivals in South America fulfilled its objective, this year premiering the curatorship of Héctor Mora, Camila Rivas and Rodrigo Duarte.
(Also read: Bogotá: thousands of souls sing together again in Rock al Parque)
There was no shortage of technical problems – sound failures were recurrent during the three days – and some criticism, because while some attendees were happy with the inclusion of zero-rock artists, others were concerned about the lack of a specific line that can be followed blurring
The stellar and most anticipated presentations of the festive Monday were those of Aterciopelados and Los Auténticos Decadentes, on the main stage; El Kanka, Cabra and Julieta Venegas, in the Bio, and Los Arboles, in the Eco.
Eduardo (46 years old) and Angélica (43) have been attending Rock al Parque since its beginnings, in 1996. At that time they were just friends and today, now married, they went with their son, 14 years old, and their nephew. It’s the first time they all went – they were waiting for the kids to reach the minimum age to enter. The younger ones came attracted by Los Aterciopelados, Julieta Venegas and Los Auténticos Decadentes, but that did not stop them from singing along with their parents to the songs of Las Pastillas del Abuelo.
(You may be interested: Rock al Parque comes harder, more eclectic and eager to make Bogotá tremble)
The excitement of passing through a Rock in the Park is not only for the public; The artists also express the satisfaction and importance of being on a stage like this. “I am very grateful to be able to participate in such a prestigious festival,” said the vocalist of Las Pastillas del Abuelo, who has completed two decades in music and who in Bogotá brought together entire families to his presentation.
For Julieta Venegas, being “headliner in Rock al Parque is wonderful. I am very excited because, in addition, it has a lot of meaning for me, because the first time I played at a festival outside of Mexico was at Rock al Parque –she recalled in an interview with EL TIEMPO–. It has something very beautiful, very meaningful to me (…). It is a wonderful festival and I feel very honored to have been put there.”
“We know that new generations are growing up in a city with a very wide musical offer and we want the festival to also represent them,” said Camila Rivas, programmer of this edition. That’s how it went.
(Also read: Julieta Venegas’ reunion with Rock al Parque)
The good weather accompanied the three days of the festival, which had its massive pogos (the famous ‘blenders’) and which was the place of expression for attendees to express their support for Palestine in the war with Israel that has been going on in Gaza since the beginning of October.
CULTURE EDITORIAL*
TIME
* With reporting from the EL TIEMPO School of Multimedia Journalism
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2023-11-14 06:04:42
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