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“I came across with your music while listening to some random music in an Apple Music show. Somehow, as I was listening Megapunk, I felt immediately walking through Chapinero or La Séptima close to Museo Nacional in middle of the night. I wonder if the music was made a Colombian. I checked it out, and surprisingly, it was. My question is: how much does Bogota influence your music or the feeling of doing it? I feel you capture the feeling Bogota had on me as I was living there. Some people wouldn’t associate this music with “Colombian music”, but I feel it has a powerful connection with the city life in Colombia, specially Bogota.
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Manuel,
Ah.. what an incredibly beautiful thing to read. Thank you for writing this to me. I believe, and have said this a million times when asked about “identity”: I believe firmly that where we are from, our city, our family, the language we grew up speaking, the conflicts (or lack thereof) we grew up surrounded by, the weather (in my case the rain), it’s all of it which makes up our roots, our country, our city, our family, it all is so profoundly and intrinsically a part of who we are. Identity is the fabric our souls are made of, woven with infinite threads, each one different from each other, all unique. Being from somewhere can not be simplified into a musical genre or even a language. It is so much more complex than that and deep, nuanced, intrinsic, hard to pinpoint, but you have just “hit the nail on the head”.
The “feeling” of Bogotá. The feeling of megapunk. Both connected, the same. I consider myself extremely Colombian in so many ways that aren’t “obvious”, or packaged, or defined by the north gaze. The darkness and melancholy I carry as consequence of the violence we have faced, the cruelty, the gratefulness and joy to be alive among the dead, the strength of spirit of our ancestors, the calmness with which we deal with crises. All of that is intrinsically and profoundly Colombian, in my eyes. I -like you- feel my music is overwhelmingly Colombian, i hear it, i feel it, i recognize it in what i make, i recognize my country, my city, in what i make, and when i listen back to it, years later with perspective i hear it, i see it, and i've always found it hard when other people don't. So, thank you. For recognizing it and writing to me about your experience which serves as solid evidence that what I feel is correct and can be seen by others.
Now, to answer your question: I was born and raised in Bogotá. My entire family is from Colombia, through generations back. Bogotá is me, as much as i am the city, i resonate with it deeply, it made me who i am, therefore everything i make carries Bogotá, and Colombia within it.
Ela.