Is Colombian fusion music being created for the purpose of making Colombian music edible for foreigners?
A couple of people in Bogota have recently expressed those sentiments to me.
One of them is Julian Mosquera Muñoz, Operations Manager at Fundacion Gilberto Alzate Avendano in Bogota.
He says that for him, fusion music is:
- Like a cheap handicraft to sell on the street rather than a unique, one of a kind piece of art.
- Ignorance of, and a form of shame about one’s own traditional music, instruments, beats and rhythms. Maybe the use of non-original instruments in fusion music is because artists lack the ability to create those sounds with traditional instruments.
- A desperate way of getting new audiences for one’s music – of making one’s music ‘listenable’ for those who don’t know it – especially for foreigners.
Is there truth in that cynicism? I like to think not, but who am I to say? I am just a foreigner who loves Colombian fusion music!
I will leave you to ponder this perspective on Colombian fusion music, while I leave Colombia for a bit to explore what’s happening in Jamaican music. Kingston first, then on to Montego Bay for Reggae Sumfest 2013. 🙂
