Drawing by Fat – Barranquilla
“The other sopresa has been the richness of the social rap movement here. It is one of the few available spaces for real dialogue in this country with its complex and crazy war, and feels like the next generation of the protest poetry we studied at Umass. Colombian hiphop stretches both mind and heart; it is a complex mix of poesia, periodismo, y politica, of protestas, prophecias y ritmos. In its attempt to provide an alternative news source as told from the inside out and not the outside in, it is reminiscent of the testimonio movement in Central America, though its griots are younger and generally more urban. Like testimonios and like traditional protest poetry, hiphop here tells the stories of people whose voices we would otherwise not hear, stories of social cleansing, displacement, blatant racism, police brutality. It speaks out against the violence that erupts from all sides, analyzing not only its effects but its roots. It breaks down the exploitation of U.S. imperialism and the implications of a “globalized” economy on an uneven playing field. ”
Ruth Henry – Boston
In 2009 Intermundos releases the first audiovisual package to come out Internationally about Colombian hip hop, a cultural expression which has been adopted and adapted by the Colombian youth since the early 90’s and has flourished in all of Colombia’ principal cities. The DVD includes the feature length documentary Frekuensia Kolombiana as well as the first documentary about Colombian hip hop – Testimonios Hip Hop Colombiano, also included are nine video clips by different Colombian hip hop artists. The CD is the first compilation of Colombian hip hop to come out internationally and includes 18 tracks of Colombia’s finest hip hop from Bogotá, Medellin, Cali and Barranquilla. Also included in the package is a 36 page booklet with lyrics translated to English and a variety of information about the groups featured and their cultural and social background. All of the artwork was done by Bogotá’s freshest stencil crew Excusado Print System. This is an independent project made possible by Intermundos, a grass roots non for profit based in Colombia.
Visit Frekuensia’s website:
www.frekuensiakolombiana.com
www.myspace.com/frekuensiakolombiana
You can visit our old hip hop site for more info on Colombian hiphop, reports from the beginning of the 2000 decade.
www.intermundos.org/hiphopcolombia1.htm
Also a page we created for a hip hop collective called La HeroiK from Cartagena de Indias on the Caribbean coast. La HeroiK was the collective that started the movement in Cartagena, offering access to equipment, a space to practice, workshops, films etc. La HeroiK was run and made possible by Nicanor Orozco.
http://intermundos.org/en/heroik.htm