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PAPER The Drum Beat - 21 - COLOMBIA - Bogota en el Umbral

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The Drum Beat - 21 - COLOMBIA - Bogota en el Umbral
Additional Information and Commentary

By Adelaida Trujillo-Caicedo
Citurna Producciones en Cine y Video
Bogotá, May of 1999
adelaidatrujillo@cable.net.co


8. Colombia: Programmes - Bogota en el Umbral

Bogotá en el Umbral ( Bogotá in the threshold) - Public Space and Culture for change / Mayor's Office of Bogotá and the Instituto Distrital de Cultura y Turismo.

The Mayor's office of Bogotá is determined to change the attitude of the inhabitants of Bogotá towards the capital city. The main objective is to re-create a sense of belonging in a city with a population of more than 8 million, daily migration from the rural areas, and one of the highest rates of criminality in the world.

The "umbrella" concept is "convivencia ciudadana" ( citizen conviviality),which is constructed on the basis of recovering public space in the city - defined as the only space where everyone is equal - and the idea of stimulating culture and the appropriation of culture for social change. (Note: The administration is elected by popular vote and this term is from 1998-2001. All the activities described below are in process of development or in production, are fully funded and are for free access to all)

The notion of public space is very weak in Latin American cities, where individualist behaviour and a lack of planning and respect for urban norms has degenerated in a definition of cities as transitory places where one circulates, but one does not belong to. And where the "other" (rich and poor) is someone we should be beware of. Access to culture (popular and "high arts") is also conceived as something that divides and not as something that may integrate and communicate. One of the Mayor's office main projects is to coordinate actions from its different departments into a main objective of enabling the environment for change. This is done via simultaneous actions which emphasize access to cultural activities as the connecting point:
a) a mass media communication strategy on public space and the notion of equality and belonging, which uses a positive message that trademarks every action the administration undertakes (Campaign: "Bogotá is 2600 meters closer to the stars"). Activities include:
  • no-car streets on Sunday to stimulate the use of the bycicle ("Ciclovía")
  • free Sunday access to all galleries and museums in the historic city-centre
  • safe environments in plazas and parks
  • massive In - the- Park activities for involving thousands of people - eg: Salsa in The Park , Rock, Rap, Hip Hop, Tango, etc
  • a multimillion dollar investment in restoring green areas in the city and construction of new ones
b) this is combined with an education and law enforcement campaign on traffic and pedestrian behaviour combined with stimulus for the use of the bicycle and construction of cycle roads. A very controversial regulation has been the installation of cement bolardos [bollards] on the sidewalks as a repressive measure to stop the parking of cars on the sidewalks, so that pedestrians can literally walk the streets

c) "Rumba Sana" - (Healthy partying) is part of the drugs and alcohol prevention programme directed to the general population, but with an emphasis on youth. It is articulated into the idea of using the city's public space for entertainment with no need of alcohol (for example, non-alcoholic coctails are served in those events hosted by the administration). There has been a massive investment in open air concerts and education activities directed to schools

d) "Tiempo Libre es tiempo para crecer" ( "free time is time for growing") articulates previous activities to the community, with emphasis on the youth. Weekly invitations to participate in local barrio fora ask the community to express thru dialogue and conversation what they think the administration could do locally for the youth, what it is not doing, what they think the administration should do for the communities in the area of culture, right to culture, access to cultural events, as well as job opportunities

e) "Bogotá en el Umbral" ( Bogotá in the threshold) is the main communication- culture project for the celebration of the millenium (1999-2000). Culture is defined as the element that leads to a process of change, and show a different image of the city and the country. The programme is led by the Institute for Culture and Tourism of the Mayor 's office, and the basic elements are the following:
  • arts and culture as the vehicle for the construction of a city that people want to belong to
  • conviviality ( again convivencia) in the city is possible through access to high quality entertainment or a cultural event: these can change individual and collective consciousness
  • culture and education have to go hand in hand and are the only mechanisms to promote social change
  • there is a social responsability of the administration in using the power of culture as a focal, joining point
  • processes must be triggered so that the community appropiates culture and understands it as a fundamental right stated in the constitution.
The idea of "threshold" is used to define the year of 1999 as a transition point for the millenium, a time and space to re-examine the past and think about the future of arts and culture and its social role and responsability for changing a society in positive terms.

In this context, the Mayor's office by "Bogotá en el Umbral" focuses on reclaiming cultural expressions through the use of public space for public involvement. There are five lines of action defined:

1." Imaginación en el umbral" (Imagination in the threshold) - awards and fellowships for all the arts. A national and international jury will select the most outstanding and innovative works of art, in all genres and for all audiences. The invitation is to reflect on the next millenium in the city. The works will be presented in open spaces in the city, as well as in the theatres with free access. Competitions include: film, literature (all genres), sculpture, murals, painting, dance (classic, contemporary and traditional), music (composition , performance), photography, historic essays, theater and dramaturgy.

2. "Fiesta en el Umbral" (Fiesta in the threshold)- creation of a bi-annual cultural carnival-festival for Bogotá. The venue will be the historic centre, and will be the beginning of a project for the 'rennaissance' of the historic centre. The events will be repeated in the communal spaces of the "localidades" ( administrative name for groupings of barrios) and open air spaces. All events will be free and the festival will take three weeks. Events include: "Festivals In the Park"( all genres of music). "Hiperfestival" (August 6 -23) includes national and International events in theaters and closed spaces (theater, dance, concerts and popular music), as well as "Open Air programming" (poetry, oral narration, serenades, mimes). 'Exhibitions': series of exhibitions in major museums (world art, new artists, environment); and follow up of events that already are part of the cultural programming mentioned above.

3. "Hitos en el Umbral" (Milestones in the threshold) - specific attention will be given to the conmemoration of the arts, choosing certain 'landmarks' (hitos) that must be remembered for the millenium. The best museums will be chosen as the exhibition spaces for both national and international art exhibits,with art ranging from Picasso to Colombian colonial-religious expressions, to the new trends in architecture and photography here and abroad, as well as traditional and classical music.

4. "Barrio en el Umbral" (" Neighbourhoods in the threshold") - the
Institute is promoting all previous activities at the community level, but this is the component of the plan which works in closest coordination with the traditional local leadership associations 'Juntas de Acción Comunal' , thru the project "Acciones para la Convivencia' ( Actions for Conviviality). The idea behind it is that the arts can change the life of a community, as much as a musical instrument can change the sensibility of a child The Mayor's office will be inviting the members of the communities to submit all projects in the arts that constructed with the community : the focus is to support ideas that involve processes of community participation with the goal of making the city more human, strengthening a sense of belonging to the "barrio" and the city, as well as identifying the multiple diversities present in Bogotá. Activities include: whatever events the community define, dance and salon dancing, carnivals, theater in schools, local arts bienal, daily life museums, libraries in the parks, religious music in the temples, kids programming, creation of the 'Casas de la Cultura' in 12 'localidades', 'escuelas tejedoras de sociedad' ("schools as weavers of society") , which includes training more than 35000 kids in the arts; establishment of the Sistema Distrital de Cultura ('District's Culture System") , as well as other educational activities.

5. "Atravesar el Umbral" - (Crossing the threshold)- last, but not least the Institute of Culture is inviting all community barrios and localidades to participate in a contest of making the most innovative "Muñeco Viejo", which is a large stuffed cloth character filled with fireworks, a rural tradition that is still used all over the country to say goodbye to the previous year. The act of burning the doll is a symbol for getting rid of all 'bad spirits " and negative vibes. This is the symbol the District has chosen to pass through the threshold into the year 2000.

Contact:
Adriana Mejia
Director
Instituto Distrital de Cultura y Turismo - IDCT